UPDATE:  "Ryan", the creator of the World of Starcraft video and module has been offered a job with Riot Games, confirmed by the League of Legends Design Director Tom "Zileas" Cadwell according to PixelatedGeek.com:

When I see a modder with a lot of drive that has done something cool, I tend to contact them. I shot him an email recently asking if he was interested in exploring an opportunity here. As to what comes of that, who knows — that depends on the mutual fit and his own goals.

It didn't take long for Blizzard to react to Monday's release of a trailer showing what modders were calling "World of Starcraft". The lead modder on the project, Ryan, received a notice from YouTube that his video had been removed due to "copyright complaint(s) regarding material (he) posted". It appears that Blizzard's ultra-agressive stance protecting its copyrighted materials came full bore on this group's project.

This post from the mod team is quoted at Rock Paper Shotgun:

You created a tool that allowed us to do anything with your assets. You encouraged us to use your assets and were eager to see what we might come up with. You had to have seen this coming?

I know it’s hard to trust someone you’ve never met to piggyback on your own legacy. The brilliance of StarCraft combined with the multiplayer focus of World of Warcraft. You might be a little worried about your lore being butchered… or even more-so worried about a guy with no supervision tainting the name of your company with poor product.

Let me assure you that I am in no way shape or form going to deliver anything less than complete perfection. I’ve been following your work since Warcraft. I’ve worked with every editor you’ve put out since I was 13 years old.

If you have a problem with what I am doing… or would like to talk about it. I’m all ears. But please don’t send me some messenger with a cease and desist letter.

Read more here and find all of the relevant links as well.

The video previously hosted here at MMORPG.com has been taken down due to the recent copyright infringement information received from the video owner from Activision - Blizzard.

Offer him a job, he has talent.

 Damn, he should be laureled and get a job offer to work for Bliz.

I agree, they should offer him a job. Take him into the fold.

Activision, such decent chaps.

They make modding tools for Starcraft...then when people mod Starcraft, they pull copyrights on them?

Blizzard should have seen this coming when they kept insisting that they weren't going to do a World of Starcraft.  :T

Yeah, I'd love to see how you guys would react if it were your itellectual property that was being misused.  Especially in a way that undermines any future plans you may have for the IP.  I'm willing to bet my life that most if not all of you would be up in arms with lynch rope in hand.  Not only upset at the principle of the matter, but the detrimental effects on income as well.

Originally posted by kishe

They make modding tools for Starcraft...then when people mod Starcraft, they pull copyrights on them?

 They weren't modding SC2, they were making a completely different game with the modding tool and to make it worse, labeling it as World of Starcraft.  I mean really, it's indefensible by anyone but asshats.

Its the title "world of starcraft" that has caused the issue nothing more, does not take much imagination to see what would happen if a popular blogger thought it was an official blizzard game and before you know it blizzards customers think this is the real deal rather then a mod for SC2. 

Originally posted by Solestran

Originally posted by kishe

They make modding tools for Starcraft...then when people mod Starcraft, they pull copyrights on them?

 They weren't modding SC2, they were making a completely different game with the modding tool and to make it worse, labeling it as World of Starcraft.  I mean really, it's indefensible by anyone but asshats.

Originally posted by Meowhead

Blizzard should have seen this coming when they kept insisting that they weren't going to do a World of Starcraft.  :T

No kidding.

But, I still maintain their big "surprise" is going to be that they were actually being sneaky this whole time and have indeed been working on a SC mmo (code named: Titan).

The last thing Blizzy would want (if I'm correct) is for anyone to be doing anything like what were seeing with this modder situation.

Honestly? I mean, what's up with the title? "Targets"? You make it sound like bad Blizzard screwed over a poor guy when in reality, they have every right to do so. It's their intellectual property and why should they trust some random guy to make a World of Starcraft anyway? Also, it's not like his forum got shot down. I do not know everything about youtube's copyright , but couldn't it be that some random user flagged them? Or that youtube flagged those videos until they have word from Blizzard? Let's not judge what is going on before we all have official word. Even if they pulled those videos, maybe they just want the name changed, which wouldn't be that big a deal.

Originally posted by expresso

Its the title "world of starcraft" that has caused the issue nothing more, does not take much imagination to see what would happen if a popular blogger thought it was an official blizzard game and before you know it blizzards customers think this is the real deal rather then a mod for SC2. 

Agreed that name is what is causing all this copyright stuff.

Meh, Blizzard released the tools and if they haven't illegally hacked the engine to create it then blizzard should just effing piss off.  Just because you have a metric crap ton of money does not mean that you can change the rules whenever it effing suits you.  If it weren't for the mod community Blizzard would be another johnny come lately.  Keep pissing in people's Cheerios they will eventually move the eff on.

I read some of the comments posted on that site and here is the most solid response:

"It’s basic brand confusion. People are historically stupid and will not realise that this is a mod, particularly when you name it something so official and it’s clearly using recognisable Blizzard assets."

But i couldn't help but imagining the faces of Blizzard employees when they found the mod videos..

WORLD OF......

STARCRAFT??!!!

Originally posted by Solestran

Originally posted by kishe

They make modding tools for Starcraft...then when people mod Starcraft, they pull copyrights on them?

 They weren't modding SC2, they were making a completely different game with the modding tool and to make it worse, labeling it as World of Starcraft.  I mean really, it's indefensible by anyone but asshats.

Uh, no.  They were totally modding SC2.  The SC2 mod tools are pretty amazingly flexible, really.  This would have been simply a mod that was unplayable unless you actually own SC2.  It's not like the man was stealing their money or something.

Yes, they probably have to make the guy stop, to protect their own copyright, but they could have been nicer about it.  There's a huge gap between 'Can't you be a bit more polite when fans are using your own modding tools to create a mod of one of your games' and 'asshat'.

LOL! Great pic, Vyeth. :D