There seems to be a lot of confusion in this thread regarding what is illegal and what is not. The one statement I read which needs to be repeated is...
If you think it might be infringing copyright laws, It probably is.
The facts are that when you purchase a game, you are paying for usage rights. This is NOT to be confused with actually owning the content. The act of reproducing or altering the content in any way without the consent of the game's creator is technically against the law. Does this mean those of us who mod games need to worry about the Feds breaking down the front door and dragging us off to prison? That all depends on the company who created the game, their lawyers, and the answers to questions like...
- Is the individual causing our company harm to our brand?
- Are we losing income due to the individual's actions?
- Would pursuing legal action be worth risking public outcry?
- Are these graphical mods resulting in increased sales?
- Would the legal verdict in our favor solve the problem?
The only way to be 100% free of the risk of criminal prosecution is keep the mods in strict accordance with the game's EULA agreement. Every software developer has their own enforcement policy which can be completely against modding on one game yet permissive on another, so I suggest that you do your homework first.
Reading this thread immediately reminded me of how in 2004, a group of modders got together to put together an HD remake of the popular classic Chrono Trigger... resulting in Square-Enix taking legal action against them. This case set many precedents for digital copyright law and applies to almost all mods NOT specifically consented to in the EULA. We actually studied this case in one of the Jurisprudence
courses I took as an undergrad.
If anyone is interested, there is a blog called
Law of the Game which is very informative and covers most aspects of digital copyright and trademark law.
This article
"Your Nostalgia, While Charming, Is Illegal: the Problem with Fan Remakes" is one i recommend.