A pair of long-time costume modders for the PC versions of the Street Fighter games have been hit with a DMCA takedown notice by Capcom.
The pair of modders, known as "BrutalAce" and "Khaledantar666" were struck with notices on the grounds that they were using copyrighted materials to make mods. The two also had Patreon campaigns for the mods, meaning they received monetary compensation for the creation of these mods.
This part has become a major point of contention with Capcom, who are basically arguing that the modders have no right to be compensated for using copyrighted material.
Both modders worked on the PC versions of Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V, and are fairly well known within the fighting community for their creations in the past few years. Some of their videos have been published online, featuring modded costumes to recreate other famous video game characters such as Zero Suit Samus, Mai Shiranui, Jill Valentine, and others popular characters.
Both men were also known for their bikini mods, which gave primarily the female fighters scantily-clad clothing and showed off tons of skin in both cut-scenes and while fighting in-game. Khaledantar666 was additionally known for his work on nude models of Street Fighter characters in modding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BR8DStY2gQ
Both modders have reacted differently to the news.
Khaledantar666 stated that "The DMCA notice was issued because Capcom is stating that we (modders) are using copyrighted materials to make our mods and earn something from our work," and will stop offering mods for compensation, but will continue to make mods regardless of the DMCA threat.
BrutalAce reported on his Patreon page that his modding days are done for now. "I just wanted to say that I am going to quit releasing mods for unknown amount of time," he stated on his page. "I know it's not the best decision but one can only face that much hate and salt." BrutalAce however, noted that his recent ban on the ZetaBoards - a PC modding/community board - and recent altercations on reddit were other driving factors for his own hiatus.
It is unknown if Capcom will push further with this DMCA notice.
What are your thoughts on all of this? Is Capcom in the right? Leave your comments below