Fan projects usually do not end in good port. And it is not usually the problem of the users themselves, but it is the companies that make different claims to avoid the illegitimate use of their licenses.
Now, we are faced with a situation with these characteristics. So far, the balance has been tipped in favor of the modders rather than the company. GitHub , the software hosting and dissemination platform, has accepted a counter-notification against Take-Two by a developer about the reverse engineering carried out in GTA 3 and Vice City, as reported by TorrentFreak.
Re3 and reVC projects
The origin of all this problem arises with the arrival of Re3 and reVC, two developments for Rockstar games using reverse engineering . The purpose of both projects is to facilitate adjustments and modifications so that both titles are more compatible with current systems.
For this, it is necessary to use an official copy of the game so that everything works correctly, something that Genbeta’s colleagues told us. Following its publication, Take-Two took a stand on the issue and decided to file a copyright infringement complaint.
Publisher’s complaint
“The content of the links below consists of copyrighted materials owned by Take-Two. The use of our copyrighted content in these links is not authorized and should be removed immediately ” explained from Take-Two Interactive.
If you do not know GitHub, it is important that you know that it has forks, which allow a developer to duplicate part of the source code (also called a repository) and make their own changes without affecting the main project. That is why more than 200 forks were eliminated , but one person objected.
Theo, a developer from New Zealand, filed his own counter-notification, challenging the stance taken by the company that publishes Rockstar games.
Theo argued that the withdrawal was not legitimate. In conversations with TorrentFreak, the developer clarifies that the code used is not completely identical to the original , so it indicates that it cannot be claimed as its own by Take-Two.
“It appears that the code in the re3 repository is reverse engineered, not a direct decompilation. I think Take-Two’s claim is totally wrong if this is the case, given that the code may be functionally identical, but not exactly identical, no they have no rights to the code. I don’t agree with the way Take-Two handles situations like this. “
Github accepts the counter notification
Two weeks after the event, GitHub has restored the fork , making the content accessible to the public again. According to the DMCA (Digital Age Copyright Law) rules that the platform owns, after a counter notification, access will be restored within 10 and 14 business days, although it is an automatic process that does not support the position. from either party.
GitHub would have kept access prohibited if Take-Two had taken legal action , which it has not done yet. Theo assures TorrentFreak that he knows perfectly the legal risks he is facing with this decision, although he hopes that the company will end up shelving the matter.
