So…the article I wrote about Ultima 4, copyright, and EA’s recent spate of DMCA actions against certain remake projects has attracted a lot of traffic. A lot. At last count, over 24 gaming sites — including several major ones — either linked to or mentioned (by name) Aiera and the Ultima 4 article, driving huge waves of traffic to the site.

Unfortunately, I’ve also been noticing a lot of misinformation being thrown about in regard to EA’s actions, BioWare Mythic’s “secret project”, and the state of Ultima 4 today. As such, I’m going to attempt to offer some corrections where I can.

Has Ultima Aiera (this site) received any DMCA notifications?

Source: VG24/7

No, absolutely not. Not that I wouldn’t be vulnerable to such a notification; I’m pretty open about the fact that I’m hosted through Mediatemple, who are based out of California.

Is this a reversal by EA?

Source: Broken Toys (implied in the headline), and various comments made here and elsewhere. PC Gamer too, actually.

No. EA, and Origin before them, never gave up the Ultima 4 copyright even after authorizing certain select members of the Ultima Dragons to post a specific version of the game — the 1997 PC Games/Computer Gaming World CD version — for free download. It was understood even then that there was to be no proliferation of hosted copies of the game, despite the fact that it was free, and EA has been legally entitled to defend the copyright against that sort of infringement since 1997.

It’s also worth noting that EA has not gone after either of the two remaining original, authorized download hosts.

But if they let people host it, why are they now asking them to stop?

Source: The Escapist

They aren’t. The sites that have been asked to take down their hosted copies of the game are not the same sites that originally received permission. The sites that originally received permission are still hosting the game for download, for free, and haven’t received legal notifications from EA.

But if it was released for free, why can’t others release it/host it for download/present it online for others to play for free?

Source: RPG Codex

If you have an Apple iPhone, you may have observed that every once in a while, games which normally cost something to obtain get released for free for a limited time. Armor Games’ Crush the Castle is a great example; it normally costs $0.99 USD, but was available for free for a while last year.

I know; I downloaded it.

Does this give me the right, having obtained it for free when the developer released it for free, to redistribute it as I see fit? Does it give me the right to rework it into a game that I can let others play online for free? 

Nope…not for one second. And things are little different with Ultima 4.

Has Ultima Aiera removed links to any Ultima 4 remakes?

Source: Game Politics.

No, absolutely not. What has been done, however, is that I have removed my copy of the actual Ultima 4 binary from the Ultima 4 entry on the site; that entry now points to the two hosted downloads of the game that I am confident possess the legal right to offer it. I have also moved the two project entries for the Flash-based versions of the game to the Cemetery.

EA are being bullies!

Source: Jean Leggett

I would argue no; others have argued yes. Legal action is often very swift and can seem brutal, especially when someone’s hard work — into which they have poured months of love and dedication — has to be taken offline as a result.

There’s nothing wrong with EA opting to defend their copyright; it’s theirs, and it’s theirs to defend and enforce. If there’s fault to be found, one could argue it is to be found in copyright law itself, but that’s a separate debate.

It is worth noting that EA’s actions thus far have been limited, and specifically have not touched on those Ultima Dragons who initially obtained permission to host the PC Games/CGW CD version of the game for download. Two of the four initially authorized sites went offline some time ago for unrelated reasons; the two remaining ones are still hosting the game to this day, and will continue to do so.

In other words: EA is actually abiding by the terms of the agreement that was struck between Origin (which at the time — 1997 — was an EA company) and the UDIC. It was various Dragons over the years who ultimately broke faith with that initial arrangement.

But fans have been sharing copies of Ultima 4 since 1997! It’s free!

Source: Gamasutra, GreyViper

Yeah, I know. But as I explained, the release was always limited in scope, and only permitted to certain representatives of the Ultima Dragons. Re-distribution by others was never allowed. If it’s happening (and it is), it’s what’s called piracy in legal circles.

Is EA preparing for a new Ultima game?

Source: NOWGamer, Game Banshee, and many others.

Almost certainly. And no, I can’t say more than that right now.

Is EA preparing for a new Ultima MMO?

Source: GameFront

It’d be news to me. Not that it’s not possible…but EA Redwood seems like an odd choice of studio for such a project, especially since EA already has a quite-talented MMO-focused studio (Mythic) looking after the Ultima IP and extant Ultima MMORPG already.

Update: GameIndustry and No High Scores have linked to this article; good show! Thanks for helping keep the rumours in check, fellas!