Mod licenses could be improved

[snouz]

On a discord server, we came to have a big discussion about licenses with several modders.

There are some points that transpired that I think should be heard:

- Several people have expressed how lost they were with licenses, and they end up with one that don't represent how they wish their work be treated.
- Some licenses in the dropdown list (when publishing a mod) are almost the same, they're non-descriptive, and there are several notions that don't exist.
- The fact that people choose a license too permissive than what they really want (because they didn't want to delve into the subject) means they get offended when someone takes their work without asking, even though the license says they can. There is for several people a clear disconnect between what the license says, legally, and what is socially acceptable.

I think this thread could be a good place to discuss this topic, and I encourage other modders to give their point of view (in a calm manner if possible, as this subject is apparently not understood the same way by everyone, and that's what I want to address here)

My suggestions:

• Include at least one license that has ND (non-derivative), like Bob's copyright or Earendel's. A lot of people are choosing that, but they have to make a custom license to do that, which makes it confusing for everyone.
• A lot of people expressed they they're fine with most people using their work as long as we ask first. None of the available licenses reflect that wish. Something like "if I don't respond within a week, you're then free to use or redistribute". Something that expresses this sentiment:

  

  05-29-2025, 15-54-20.png (14.29 KiB) Viewed 475 times

• Apache and Mozilla have the same set of rights, people likely don't make the distinction, and barely anyone is choosing them.
• The difference between LGPL and GPL is so subtle that I don't think a lot of people know it. One of them could go.
• In fact, with the data you have from the mod portal, you could adjust the license list according to the most used.
• There was the suggestion that at least one license should include the notion that the work should not be used outside of Factorio modding.
• This table could be more clear:

  

  05-29-2025, 15-49-40.png (22.41 KiB) Viewed 475 times

  My suggestion:

  

  05-29-2025, 15-53-46.png (35.43 KiB) Viewed 475 times

  Making it more easy to grasp will make it more clear for creators, and increase the chance that their license reflect their wish.
• Remove from the preview the notions that are obvious or useless in the case of factorio modding (private use, patent...) and add some that people care about (crediting, asking, notifying...)

[RustyNova016]

"Not being reusable outside factorio" is a big point for me.
I love to help communities I'm in and giving them tons of free stuff, heck, even letting it monetize it if they want
but what I don't want is that, for example, a crappy android game dev steal my assets for their unrelated and ad filled game.

[eugenekay]

Excerpt from the Terms of Service:

THE MOD PORTAL

• The mod portal website and in-game integration are available to all purchasers of the game.
• We reserve the right to remove a mod or edit any mods listing without notice.
• All mods uploaded must have the permission from the author of the mod, and must not contain any copyrighted material unless it is permitted by the appropriate copyright owner.
• Any inappropriate behaviour by users in the discussions feature can lead to account deactivation.
• By uploading a mod to the mod portal, you grant us the irrevocable right to reproduce, adapt and distribute the mod and its content as necessary to operate the mod portal and provide the service to our users.
• Any adaptations or works derived from the Factorio assets are permitted to be included and distributed as part of your mod. However Wube Software Ltd. still retains all rights and license to these assets and the work derived from them, and reserves the right to request removal of these assets from your mod.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND SHARING

• You may use Factorio and other paid content for your own personal use.
• All the content in the game is owned by Wube Software Ltd. This also includes the user provided content that becomes part of game (for instance translations).
• If you distribute or otherwise publish your derivative works or modifications of the source code or / and art assets, you automatically grant to Wube Software Ltd. the irrevocable, perpetual, royalty free, sublicensable right and license under all applicable copyrights and intellectual property rights laws to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, perform, display, distribute and otherwise exploit and / or dispose of the modifications and / or derivative works (or any part of them) in any way Wube Software Ltd. considers appropriate. You also waive and agree never to assert against Wube Software Ltd. or its affiliates, distributors or licensors any moral rights or similar rights, that you may have in respect of such modifications and / or derivative works.

While I am neither a Lawyer nor have I published anything on the Factorio Mods portal, I am well-versed in Free Software Licensing & Code Auditing through Work. It is usually a very boring topic. A plain reading of these Terms suggests that subtantial rights must be assigned to Wube Software as an inherent part of Uploading the Mod - although these terms would not transitively apply to Users.

Factorio Mods are completely open source Lua Scripts in a ZIP file - there is no way to apply DRM or code protections, just simple obfuscation. So the entire idea that your Code Inventions, in a restricted interpreted Language for a Video Game, could be proprietary or protected would be an interesting legal theory to see in front of a Judge. I think that Custom Licenses or "you can't do that!" are very Silly in this context - everything should just be labelled as WTFPL, or possibly MIT/BSD. Developers who are going to exploit your Assets/Code will do so regardless of the License; restricting usage of novel algorithms through the AGPL only punishes those who are most willing to share like yourself.

[Galdoc]

Thank you very much for posting this. It means a lot.

[snouz]

I think that Custom Licenses or "you can't do that!" are very Silly in this context

I know what you mean, but I think the license is meant as a way for modders to express their wish toward how their mods can be used by other modders, and not really like a legal text for a judge.

In that way, these suggestions are meant to improve the harmony and understanding between mod creators.

[Loup&Snoop]

Factorio Mods are completely open source Lua Scripts in a ZIP file - there is no way to apply DRM or code protections, just simple obfuscation.

This is false. Your rights over your own work have all rights reserved unless YOU explicitly give them away. The terms that you cited only give Wube rights--they do not give rights to anyone else.
"I can open it up and see the source code." is not the same as "The code is open source." By that logic, you could open up factorio's Lua code and assets on your computer and sell it. Unless you get the rights to do that, you absolutely cannot do that. Or buy a book and sell photocopies of it (which I can assure you is illegal).

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Just to give context on discord discussion, the main discussion point was "It is socially expected to ask for permission before making a derivative/reproduction of a mod, regardless of license."

Main arguments in favor:

• In practice, modders are not sufficiently literate in licenses, and frequently apply the wrong license. Therefore, you should ask to verify their intent first.
• Even if the license says it is legal for you to do X, it is not socially acceptable to do so without asking, as it is common courtesy.

Main arguments against:

• When a modder picks a license, that modder is responsible for the consequences of their decision. If they don't know what to pick (many don't), the solution is to read more or ask about what license to pick. If you choose the wrong license, it is your responsibility to change it.
• If you expect people to ask a modder for permission regardless of their license, then their choice of license has no meaning (because it becomes functionally "All Rights Reserved").

I'm not here to ask Wube to pick a side (please don't), but to make clear what is going on that led to this thread.

[RustyNova016]

Personally I just changed my licensing to be clearer, and I think some may be interested in the same one:

## Licensing

Since there is no special license to keep assets in the factorio community, this mod got a special type of licensing.

The code is licensed under [MIT](https://choosealicense.com/licenses/mit/).

Graphics and sounds are distributed under [GPLv3](https://choosealicense.com/licenses/gpl-3.0/), with some key points
- Edited assets from factorio keep the Factorio's asset policy. This means that you can only reuse them for factorio mods
- If you use / edit my assets in a factorio mod, only those assets are affected by GPLv3. Not the other assets used
- Any assets not made for this mod (E.G. The void assembler) must respect the original author's policy
- Usage of the assets outside of Factorio modding is forbidden (But you can still ask for permission )

I do not know how much legal foothold this licensing got, but please be respectful. And in any doubt, don't hesitate to contact me

[Khazul]

I think no matter what you state, the reality is you are dealing with the obnoxious human nature that seems prevalent these days and thus you can state whatever restrictions you like, but exactly who is going to care and who is going to enforce that?

If you have lots of time and very deep pockets, then good luck getting ISPs in other countries to reveal identities and good luck in getting lawyer in the target jurisdiction to issue an initial cease and desist to the perpetrator along with a take down notice to WUBE in another jurisdiction.

The only meaningful change I would like to see is hidden mods (ie they never appear in a search, like on Steam), so that a mod can use the mod portal distribution and versioning mechanisms on a private server without having to make the mod public, however I expect WUBE long ago decided that is not in their interests to do so.