WoW:Blizzard AddOn Policy: Difference between revisions
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=== Legalities === | === Legalities === | ||
For those who are Legally minded, or are otherwise concerned or interested. | For those who are Legally minded, or are otherwise concerned or interested. Reading the '''AddOn Policy''' below is strongly suggested for everyone. | ||
*[ | *[https://eu.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/wow-user-interface-add-on-development-policy/1642 World of Warcraft - AddOn Policy] | ||
*[http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html Blizzard World of Warcraft - Terms of Use] | *[http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html Blizzard World of Warcraft - Terms of Use] | ||
*[http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/termsofuse.html Blizzard BattleNet - Terms of use] | *[http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/termsofuse.html Blizzard BattleNet - Terms of use] | ||
Revision as of 09:58, 23 February 2020
Details what's important for developers to know in creating or distributing WoW AddOns.
Reference
Reference materials for the legal aspects of WoW AddOn development
Legalities
For those who are Legally minded, or are otherwise concerned or interested. Reading the AddOn Policy below is strongly suggested for everyone.
- World of Warcraft - AddOn Policy
- Blizzard World of Warcraft - Terms of Use
- Blizzard BattleNet - Terms of use
- Historic "Glider" Summary Judgement
- Blizzard General Legal FAQ and Copyright Infringement Summary Reminders
Summary
Excerpt from 2010
With the release of Patch 3.1, Blizzard Entertainment introduced a new UI AddOn development policy[1] which was further updated in May 2009 and later in November 2010.[2] Here is a summary below:
- AddOns must be free of charge.
- AddOn code must be completely visible.
- AddOns must not negatively impact World of Warcraft realms or other players.
- AddOns may not include advertisements.
- AddOns may not solicit donations.
- AddOns must not contain offensive or objectionable material.
- AddOns must abide by World of Warcraft ToU and EULA.
- Blizzard Entertainment has the right to disable AddOn functionality as it sees fit.
Updates:
- Enforcement began after May 19th, 2009.
- AddOns must not re-distribute in-game music and audio files or other copyrighted materials.
It isn't exactly clear how Blizzard plans to enforce this policy, but developers should follow the policy or risk some sort of exclusion of their AddOns from the game. The following sentence ends the introductory paragraph of the policy: "failure to abide by them may result in measures up to and including taking formal legal action."[1][2] See the Reference section above for the "Glider" case.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Blizzard Entertainment 2010-11-24. UI Add-On Development Policy. Old World of Warcraft Community site (US). Archived from the original on 2010-11-24.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Blizzard Entertainment 2010-11-16. UI Add-On Development Policy. Official UI and Macro forum (US).
Blizzard Entertainment 2011-03-07. WoW User Interface Add-On Development Policy. Official Interface and Macros forum (EU).