Page updated on Jan 7, 2023

On ZooBerry, Mod Authors, and Mod Licenses

Mods around the Zoo Tycoon scene, specifically for Zoo Tycoon 2, would sometimes have a license given by the author. Often the licenses would say “public domain” if the author was open to derivative mods based on their work. However, “public domain” has a very clear definition under US copyright law that we would rather not get into, especially since modding in general implies modification of proprietary game assets.

When browsing mods on ZooBerry, you will find a field that says “Does the author allow derivate mods?”, the answers will be one of the following:

• Yes
• No
• Unknown

If yes, the author has expressed at some point that people can use the published files as a base to create a derivative mod. If no, then this permission has not been given. If unknown, the author never made their wishes public and therefore should be treated as a no.

Other licenses

If a mod author created their own art assets from scratch (3D models, textures, etc), the license given will be available in the mod description. These licenses range anywhere from Creative Commons to MIT, depending on the author and the work it covers.

If you’re interested in publishing your mod to ZooBerry and you made your own assets from scratch (they’re not a modified work from the base game files), you might consider using such a license.

Open Licenses

MIT License

• For a comprehensive rundown of the MIT license, you can visit this resource: MIT License Rundown
• To access a copy of the MIT license that you can use for your own project (remember to customize the relevant sections), click here: MIT License Copy

Other Open Source Licenses

Please take the time to visit https://choosealicense.com/. It is designed specifically for someone who wishes to publish their work with a certain framework in mind and can help you get there quickly.

Q&A

Why use an open source license?

There are numerous well-established licenses available. If you’re eager to share your work freely and encourage derivative works, it may be worth considering the benefits of protecting your hard work within the boundaries you wish to establish, even within the open-source community.

What if you don’t pick a license?

That’s okay! If you don’t choose a license, your work is automatically protected by copyright law and remains yours. However, not declaring a license implies that your work is not open source and not available for derivative works. Most of the legacy mods on ZooBerry were released before modders started specifying licenses, resulting in these works remaining closed. On that note, if we mislabeled a mod as closed and it is in fact open, please let us know!

In Summary

When choosing an open source license, remember that you are making a commitment to allow the public to use, modify, and distribute your work. It is essential to understand your chosen terms to avoid any potential miscommunication with your users.