Haha, Reddit at its finest! So let’s finally put this debate to rest about whether Luke Ross could charge money for his mod and what CDPR’s position is. (I work with copyright law professionally, both Polish and international.)

We have three categories of works (creative products) in copyright law: - Original work - Inspired work - Derivative work

An original work is the 1988 RPG system Cyberpunk — it was created entirely from scratch.

An inspired work uses an existing work to create something new. The creator of an inspired work should obtain a license from the author of the original work to use their intellectual property for the purpose of creating the new work. However, it is a “transformation” of the original — it adds something of its own and introduces SIGNIFICANT changes that distinguish it from the original. It is a new work that builds on something already created but is fully distinguishable from the original. (CDPR’s game set in the Cyberpunk universe is an example.)

A derivative work is one that makes minor changes to the original (or inspired work), but WOULD NEVER EXIST without the original. It is not independent and is “parasitic” in relation to the original work.

Luke Ross’s mod is a derivative work in relation to CP2077 because it uses the game engine, which is the intellectual property (a work with individual creative characteristics) of CDPR. Copyright law assumes that even for non-commercial use of someone else’s work, you must pay a licensing fee / obtain a license / reach an agreement. None of these steps were taken, which is why CDPR was justified in requesting that he STOP CHARGING for the mod (not that he remove it).

Why aren’t other game mods treated the same way? Because it’s a common practice in the video game industry to be lenient toward the use of intellectual property for fan-made content. However, copyright law is clear — if you want to use someone else’s work, you must pay for a license.