The first update after the start of the school.
NetEase, do you think you live up to your slogan of "game enthusiasts"?
The calm before the storm#
Confession is good for the soul.
I am the one who asked this question on Zhihu.
On February 5, 2023, it was supposed to be an ordinary day. New members kept joining BakaXL's user group, and TT's Bilibili account's fan count continued to grow. The play count of BakaXL's promotional video also reached an unprecedented 414,000. Everyone thought that BakaXL was really gaining popularity this time, solidifying its position as one of the "Three Greats". As for me, who was about to start school the next day, I was busy preparing the things I needed.
However, things didn't go as planned. No one knew what would happen that night.
Deletion, Locking, and No Appeal#
That night, when I logged into QQ as usual to chat with friends, I saw that TT (referred to as "The Person Who Failure" in the chat records below) mentioned all members in BakaXL's user group.
I thought TT had added some new features to BakaXL, so I subconsciously clicked on the group chat to check. But when I saw it, I was taken aback.
BakaXL's promotional video was reported for copyright infringement by NetEase, so it was returned and locked by Bilibili.
However, HMCL and PCL2, which had a greater impact and higher video play counts than BakaXL, didn't face any major issues. Only the lively update announcements couldn't be posted.
The locked dynamic has now been changed to "folded".
When the news came out, the entire group exploded. Almost everyone criticized NetEase for its actions.
At that time, in the group, this was my opinion:
NetEase (or Bilibili) did not clearly state where the infringement occurred, and NetEase did not lock the region. Since there is no region lock, as players, we have the right to choose. We can choose to play the Chinese version of "Minecraft" or the international version of Minecraft, depending on our choices as players and how NetEase actually operates the Chinese version of "Minecraft".
Afterwards, TT tried to appeal, but found out that "the submission time exceeded 15 days, so no appeal can be made."
Then, TT contacted Bilibili customer service and provided BakaXL's software copyright certificate. However, even so, the customer service did not give a positive response and kept saying "the rights holder reported copyright infringement."
After that, this question on Zhihu came up.
From the night of February 5 to the time of this article's publication, this question has already received 100,000 views, so it is expected to have a significant impact.
The returned modified article#
On February 6, TT tried to modify the article and re-upload it. After deleting parts of the original video that included "Minecraft" and game footage, TT resubmitted the article. But it turned out to be a waste of time, as the result was "locked" and "advertising content."
Just one day later, Bilibili approved the modified article and called TT to say "there is no problem with your article now."
As for the original article, TT couldn't submit any materials for an appeal because Bilibili did not follow the proper procedure.
Mojang's EULA, NetEase's User Agreement, and the Law#
There is a conflict between Mojang's EULA and NetEase's User Agreement.
BakaXL complies with Mojang's EULA, but NetEase's User Agreement conflicts with Mojang's EULA regarding the development of Minecraft-related works.
For example, NetEase's User Agreement states, "The full or partial content of the game shall not be publicly displayed," while Mojang does not prohibit this behavior in its EULA.
In an article by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, experts expressed the following opinion:
"Depending on the type of game, unauthorized game live streaming can be considered 'transformative use' of the game and can therefore be deemed fair use. This conclusion not only conforms to copyright law principles but also benefits the development of the esports industry."
Therefore, if NetEase believes that the game footage in BakaXL's promotional video infringes on copyright, it is fundamentally untenable.
At the same time, one of BakaXL's developers, "Liu Guoqing," received a response from a lawyer after consulting them, stating that "Bilibili's actions are illegal, and it must inform the creator of the specific points of infringement."
My thoughts#
In Minecraft's more than ten years of history, Mojang seems to have never reported any third-party launchers for copyright infringement. However, after obtaining the rights to the "Chinese version of Minecraft," NetEase began reporting copyright infringement by developers of the international version of Minecraft, which is truly laughable and difficult to understand.
This can be proven by HMCL, which has an eight-year history.
The success of Minecraft relies heavily on the contributions and creations of the community. In such a situation, we should fully utilize the openness and inclusiveness of the Minecraft community, actively encourage developers to create original resources. However, NetEase's actions go against this principle, dampening the enthusiasm of developers and being completely detrimental to the development of the domestic Minecraft community.
This incident has made me worried about what the future of the international version of Minecraft community will be like in China. Will the future of this sandbox game, created jointly by Mojang and the player community, become more closed and dark?
BakaXL, a very niche launcher, has encountered such treatment. Under the operation of NetEase, who will be the next victim among international Minecraft developers?
References#
While writing this article, I referred to the following materials. All quoted materials are distributed and disseminated in accordance with their original agreements.