Which regulatory agencies enforce this type of clause?

{'agency': 'FTC', 'reason': "FTC has jurisdiction if the prohibition on mod monetization is applied in a deceptive or unfair manner relative to Mojang's own commercial use of user-created content in the Minecraft Marketplace.", 'complaint_url': 'https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/'}

What is the severity of this clause?

ConductAtlas classifies this Mod Ownership and Distribution Restrictions clause as medium severity. Severity reflects the magnitude of rights affected, the breadth of users impacted, and the degree of discretion the platform retains.

Mod Ownership and Distribution Restrictions — Minecraft

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What it is

You own the mods you create from scratch, but you cannot sell them or distribute them combined with the Minecraft game itself.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Modders who invest significant time creating original Minecraft: Java Edition mods cannot sell those mods or monetize them in any way, even though they legally own the original content they created.

Cross-platform context

See how other platforms handle Mod Ownership and Distribution Restrictions and similar clauses.

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

Modders retain ownership of their original creations but are prohibited from monetizing them, which limits the economic viability of mod development and may conflict with practices on third-party mod marketplaces.

View original clause language

Any Mods you create for Minecraft: Java Edition from scratch belong to you (including pre-run Mods and in-memory Mods) and you can do whatever you want with them, as long as you don't sell them for money / try to make money from them and so long as you don't distribute Modded Versions of the game. Remember that a Mod means something that is your original work and that does not contain a substantial part of our code or content. You only own what you created; you do not own our code or content.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

(1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision engages copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 106 and EU Copyright Directive 2019/790) regarding derivative works and the boundary between original authorship and derivative content. The FTC Act Section 5 may apply if the prohibition on mod monetization is applied inconsistently relative to Minecraft's own Marketplace (where Mojang profits from user-created content). COPPA may be relevant if minors creating mods interact with monetization platforms. (2)

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Applicable agencies

FTC

FTC has jurisdiction if the prohibition on mod monetization is applied in a deceptive or unfair manner relative to Mojang's own commercial use of user-created content in the Minecraft Marketplace.
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Provision details

Document information

Document

Minecraft End User License Agreement

Entity

Minecraft

Document last updated

April 29, 2026

Tracking information

First tracked

April 18, 2026

Last verified

April 18, 2026

Record ID

CA-P-002825

Document ID

CA-D-00118

Evidence Provenance

Source URL

https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula

Wayback Machine

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SHA-256

3e36cbf81c9f13772db9a4cc67229149cadbb49256c9b0b7d536f61685dbd27f

Verified

✓ Snapshot stored ✓ Change verified

How to Cite

ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Minecraft | Document: Minecraft End User License Agreement | Record: CA-P-002825
Captured: 2026-04-18 09:56:01 UTC | SHA-256: 3e36cbf81c9f1377…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/minecraft/minecraft-end-user-license-agreement/mod-ownership-and-distribution-restrictions/
Accessed: May 2, 2026

Classification

Severity

Medium

Mod Ownership and Distribution Restrictions