Legality of RunUO

[ZedoBar]

ServUO Version

Publish Unknown

Ultima Expansion

None

Hi Everyone !
I'm new here but an old ultima online player.

I'm a dev and I want to launch a project that will be based on Ultima Online + RunUO + NFT's. My doubt is about how it can be "illegal" and the future of the project can be an headache because of Eletronic Arts.
Anyone knows anything about it?

Thanks!

 

[Inezza]

Hi,

We are running our servers in a grey area that is breaking TOS. The only reason we are left alone is that there is no money made on our part. Ultima Online emulators don't really steel players from EA servers. People that play on emulators would not pay for a subscription, at least players on older expansions, older rulesets can't even be compared with today's servers. Today's UO is even free to play.

I would guess that you will get mail from their legal department if you making money from their games in any shape or form.

 

[Baggins]

I would say NFT's would be a big no no... for a start you do not own the IP for Ultima so will be slammed as soon as you try and make an NFT out of it.

 

[Anon the Felon]

Also, NFTs are about the stupidest thing. You don't need to try to infect everything with them.

 

[miralen]

In terms of legality of running a server, this comes up on the various emulator forums/channels every so often, while yes it is a grey area, the fact that POL, RunUO and ServUO are still around to this day doing precisely what they've been doing for in some cases 20 some odd years ought to put this to rest.

Where you'll run into issues is if you're trying to profit off your server. If you're grabbing art or other copyrighted material from other games, books or movies you may also run into issues but not from EA/Broadsword.

Bottom line, don't expect or try to make a quick buck running a free shard, you're looking at probable legal issues down the road and ethical issues using the work of countless developers who came before you in the free shard community whose work you'd undoubtedly use in some area or another.

 

[redgreenandblue]

We are running our servers in a grey area that is breaking TOS. The only reason we are left alone is that there is no money made on our part. Ultima Online emulators don't really steel players from EA servers. People that play on emulators would not pay for a subscription, at least players on older expansions, older rulesets can't even be compared with today's servers. Today's UO is even free to play.

I would guess that you will get mail from their legal department if you making money from their games in any shape or form.

How are the servers breaking TOS? ServUO and RunUO are original software, that don't contain any source code that is owned by EA. The way I see it, they are projects that happen to be compatible with some software owned by EA (the clients) but are otherwise completely distinct.

EA in that sense are kind of like a company that owns a web browser. They cannot stop you from creating some web service that their browser happens to be able to access.

Maybe the users of the clients are breaking TOS, but I'm not sure that the operators of the servers are.

 

[SeifUO]

How are the servers breaking TOS? ServUO and RunUO are original software, that don't contain any source code that is owned by EA. The way I see it, they are projects that happen to be compatible with some software owned by EA (the clients) but are otherwise completely distinct.

EA in that sense are kind of like a company that owns a web browser. They cannot stop you from creating some web service that their browser happens to be able to access.

Maybe the users of the clients are breaking TOS, but I'm not sure that the operators of the servers are.

Tell that to the people who tries to emulate WoW

 

[Inezza]

How are the servers breaking TOS? ServUO and RunUO are original software, that don't contain any source code that is owned by EA. The way I see it, they are projects that happen to be compatible with some software owned by EA (the clients) but are otherwise completely distinct.

EA in that sense are kind of like a company that owns a web browser. They cannot stop you from creating some web service that their browser happens to be able to access.

Maybe the users of the clients are breaking TOS, but I'm not sure that the operators of the servers are.

== TOS ==

(c) Official Service. Ultima Online has been designed by Origin Systems for play only on the Service. The Software is licensed to you for play on the Service only. Origin does not grant you a license to use the Software for any other purpose. You agree to play Ultima Online only on the Service and not through any other means. You further agree not to create or provide any other means through which others may play Ultima Online, for example, through server emulators. You may not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software, including any proprietary communications protocol used by the Software. You acknowledge that you do not have the right to create, publish, distribute, create derivative works from or use any graphics, audiovisual display, software programs, utilities, applications, emulators or tools derived from or created for Ultima Online unless specifically authorized in writing by Origin Systems.

==

UODemo's internals and protocol was reverse engineered by Batlin. Ryan and Krrios used this information for RunUO.

 

[redgreenandblue]

Oh, I stand corrected then.

Oh well, I suppose they consider cracking down on modder communities to be bad politics, or they would have done it by now.

Arguably, when a game reaches a certain age, modders are what keeps interest in it alive.

 

[Cormac]

How are the servers breaking TOS? ServUO and RunUO are original software, that don't contain any source code that is owned by EA. The way I see it, they are projects that happen to be compatible with some software owned by EA (the clients) but are otherwise completely distinct.

EA in that sense are kind of like a company that owns a web browser. They cannot stop you from creating some web service that their browser happens to be able to access.

Maybe the users of the clients are breaking TOS, but I'm not sure that the operators of the servers are.

Its a;; in how much cash you have to defend yourself , at one time everyone thought by buying a copy of the game cd you were ok .
but you would still be violating the ToS as mentioned elsewhere we aren't worth chasing in legal fee's .

So don't sell access and or ask for donations for copyrighted stuff . and you should be fine .
I asked in 2008 for advice from a attorney friend and basically what he told me but HE was clear free advice is worth exactly what you paid .

How are the servers breaking TOS? ServUO and RunUO are original software, that don't contain any source code that is owned by EA. The way I see it, they are projects that happen to be compatible with some software owned by EA (the clients) but are otherwise completely distinct.

EA in that sense are kind of like a company that owns a web browser. They cannot stop you from creating some web service that their browser happens to be able to access.

Maybe the users of the clients are breaking TOS, but I'm not sure that the operators of the servers are.

Still need EA's client files to run the Server to run so are using their property . But you might could show they have not pursued others so have allowed the practice .