Wombat2112
Banned
If you only use original resources, code scripts, art etc. does that that mean you are safe? For instance if you had someone commission original art for your project?
Re: Copyright Enforcement - Discussion
- Thread starter Wombat2112
- Start date
DC Youre stretching it too far IMO with nintendo vs sega and nintendo kong, why ?
A movie/game character of gorilla animal of big size is not owned by nintendo or universal studios,cooper estate or delarurentis , its too common and uncharacteristic animal to build a strong case about it.Courts are not a place of justice, these are places where connections and money matter.
Nintendo actually goes after people making mario fangames whenever they feel like it, they even went as far as not allowing mario gameplays on YT and copyright striking vids.
Sega is more mellow about this but still, if they have a product thats coming, and fangame is too popular so it can potentially hurt sales (people prefere fangame over official one) then sega is losing money - money on advertising that does not work.
Warner bros is attacking mortal kombat fangames, because they put a lot of money into advertising official MK game, they hate when fangames are too high on google search results.
It all comes down to money and timing.Same thing happened here with double dragon, dude came here and requested C & D because they were releasing their own official DD game.
My own game was seen by multiple Mattel employees and i did not get C & D letter, but if i would make game now and release it then they might of stop me, because theyre up to release of new he-man animated series.So if some other product interferes with popularity of it, they will go after it.
Thats really all about the subject.
For example SNK employees mostly dont have idea about old snk games, companies dont care that much, product has its own lifespan of few years , then its hard to rerelease some games and acquire copyrights and licenses again for rerelease.... a license is valid only for X amount of time.
With all that being said, if you do get C & D letter, you will lose in court so dont bother to fight it, if you really want to release it, then just wait a few years until their new title will fade out a bit.
Your chances of receiving that letter grow with popularity of your fangame but sometimes copyrights are split all over the place like with he-man for example, matel owns rights to toys, but actual filmation cartoon is owned by classic media at the moment, thye actually compete, and mattel is trying to extend the license for animated shows, they just cant use filmation derivatives in any shape or form, they have to create their own he-man version.
Id say most vigilant about fangames is warner.
A movie/game character of gorilla animal of big size is not owned by nintendo or universal studios,cooper estate or delarurentis , its too common and uncharacteristic animal to build a strong case about it.Courts are not a place of justice, these are places where connections and money matter.
Nintendo actually goes after people making mario fangames whenever they feel like it, they even went as far as not allowing mario gameplays on YT and copyright striking vids.
Sega is more mellow about this but still, if they have a product thats coming, and fangame is too popular so it can potentially hurt sales (people prefere fangame over official one) then sega is losing money - money on advertising that does not work.
Warner bros is attacking mortal kombat fangames, because they put a lot of money into advertising official MK game, they hate when fangames are too high on google search results.
It all comes down to money and timing.Same thing happened here with double dragon, dude came here and requested C & D because they were releasing their own official DD game.
My own game was seen by multiple Mattel employees and i did not get C & D letter, but if i would make game now and release it then they might of stop me, because theyre up to release of new he-man animated series.So if some other product interferes with popularity of it, they will go after it.
Thats really all about the subject.
For example SNK employees mostly dont have idea about old snk games, companies dont care that much, product has its own lifespan of few years , then its hard to rerelease some games and acquire copyrights and licenses again for rerelease.... a license is valid only for X amount of time.
With all that being said, if you do get C & D letter, you will lose in court so dont bother to fight it, if you really want to release it, then just wait a few years until their new title will fade out a bit.
Your chances of receiving that letter grow with popularity of your fangame but sometimes copyrights are split all over the place like with he-man for example, matel owns rights to toys, but actual filmation cartoon is owned by classic media at the moment, thye actually compete, and mattel is trying to extend the license for animated shows, they just cant use filmation derivatives in any shape or form, they have to create their own he-man version.
Id say most vigilant about fangames is warner.
There's no stretch bWWd. Much of my curriculum is copyright law and I had to study these cases extensively. Almost everything you just said is anecdotal at best. I can't speak for your part of the world, but that simply isn't how copyright works in the USA and most other industrialized countries emulate our policy.
The point here isn't to debate what we think should be done or if this and that company are bad. If you all want to have that talk then please start another thread. This one is simply to explain how copyright enforcement works.
DC.
The point here isn't to debate what we think should be done or if this and that company are bad. If you all want to have that talk then please start another thread. This one is simply to explain how copyright enforcement works.
DC.
I get it, in the end its simple, if tou use someone elses assets - youre not safe, but some companies will go after you more often than others, if you are a threatand its a good knowlegdge to have.Recently wb shut down burton batman movie game in a matter of hours, they have their own batman game coming.
I had some court cases and read about people experiences , its mostly people who never were in court believe its a justice system.Its money making system for all parties involved besides regular joe.Its the same all over the globe , money is god for a lot.
Theory is intersting but practice is what really counts.Analysing similar cases helps and followin g money trace.
Some peoplemight not like it, it looks like im assuming corruption but i did not made it like this and i wish nobody here will be sued , its whoever has more $ for lawyers , or knows relative of relative of the judge.A lot of people in country/government owned institutions deal under the table and i have friend who can confirm it here.aBut ill end the post before it becomes too political.
Some people are just more innocenter than others in courts.
Im fine with removal of my posts in this topic if its meant to be sticky info of some sorts.
Im also fine with bringing up C & D cases in gaming to this topic so people could see how it went.
I had some court cases and read about people experiences , its mostly people who never were in court believe its a justice system.Its money making system for all parties involved besides regular joe.Its the same all over the globe , money is god for a lot.
Theory is intersting but practice is what really counts.Analysing similar cases helps and followin g money trace.
Some peoplemight not like it, it looks like im assuming corruption but i did not made it like this and i wish nobody here will be sued , its whoever has more $ for lawyers , or knows relative of relative of the judge.A lot of people in country/government owned institutions deal under the table and i have friend who can confirm it here.aBut ill end the post before it becomes too political.
Some people are just more innocenter than others in courts.
Im fine with removal of my posts in this topic if its meant to be sticky info of some sorts.
Im also fine with bringing up C & D cases in gaming to this topic so people could see how it went.
bWWd said:
As you mention it, a few members here have asked me not to donate money to them anymore because companies are going after the fan game making guys, It's kinda sad really because I've donated thousands of moneys to this community and it's members over the years, I donate because of the time people put in and to show appreciation, not the final product, there are ways around it (donating I mean) but if it comes down to the courts and receipts are checked it could be dangerous for those being prosecuted
Split off to avoid derailing the informational article, and answer a question.
Wombat2112 ,
Absolutely not. In fact, if a suit is ever filed against you, making or commissioning your own assets will likely be used as evidence of blatant and willful attempts to encroach on the property. I kind of covered this already. You are far more likely to get away with using assets from an IP than the IP itself.
With the odd exception of fonts, most game companies let us get away with using their graphics and sounds because they consider them disposable. They could change their minds and claim copyright at any time, but it isn't very likely they will. The property and its codebase are a different ballgame. There isn't a commercial property owner on Earth that will knowingly let you get away with IP encroachment or use of their code.
In short, the only way to be 100% "safe" is to get licensed permission or create your own original property and the assets for it. Then you can be the one sending out C&D orders.
DC
Wombat2112 said:
Wombat2112 ,
Absolutely not. In fact, if a suit is ever filed against you, making or commissioning your own assets will likely be used as evidence of blatant and willful attempts to encroach on the property. I kind of covered this already. You are far more likely to get away with using assets from an IP than the IP itself.
With the odd exception of fonts, most game companies let us get away with using their graphics and sounds because they consider them disposable. They could change their minds and claim copyright at any time, but it isn't very likely they will. The property and its codebase are a different ballgame. There isn't a commercial property owner on Earth that will knowingly let you get away with IP encroachment or use of their code.
In short, the only way to be 100% "safe" is to get licensed permission or create your own original property and the assets for it. Then you can be the one sending out C&D orders.
DC
Wombat2112
Banned
Damon Caskey said:Split off to avoid derailing the informational article, and answer a question.
Wombat2112 said:
I may have misunderstood but where I am confused, when I was in marketing the legal aspects were never a concern of my department but we did have basic US copyright reference guides as to not waste the boards time when making proposals. But if I draw a picture of a character that is essentially an orange with arms and legs and call him Mr. Orange if I have the original drafts and the work in my possesion at every level of progression meaning I have just the drawing of an orange and then a draft with the eyes added, proof of each step from my initial conception. How could anyone else claim legal rights to my work...Mr. Orange? Well maybe Donald Trump could lol. I remember the reference guide having a basic question and answer page and one was. When does my copyright begin : Answer technically whenever your work is completed, however obtaining copyright is the only solid way to protect my Intelectual property in a court.
Wombat2112 ,
Absolutely not. In fact, if a suit is ever filed against you, making or commissioning your own assets will likely be used as evidence of blatant and willful attempts to encroach on the property. I kind of covered this already. You are far more likely to get away with using assets from an IP than the IP itself.
With the odd exception of fonts, most game companies let us get away with using their graphics and sounds because they consider them disposable. They could change their minds and claim copyright at any time, but it isn't very likely they will. The property and its codebase are a different ballgame. There isn't a commercial property owner on Earth that will knowingly let you get away with IP encroachment or use of their code.
In short, the only way to be 100% "safe" is to get licensed permission or create your own original property and the assets for it. Then you can be the one sending out C&D orders.
DC
Wombat2112,
Please use the quote system properly. You are quoting entire posts and yourself in responses. It is very difficult to read.
Also, you still are not understanding what I'm telling you. Yes - if you create a new property, it is yours. Full stop. That's never up for debate.
What I am referring to are situations where you create the assets, but don't own the property. Let's say you decide to make a Mario game. You draw all your own sprites, make sound effects, fonts, and even code your very own platform engine to run it on. Then you put it out for free.
Do you think you are safe from Nintendo? Of course not! It doesn't matter that you made the assets or that you aren't selling the game. You still encroached on their intellectual property and they're not going to allow it. If they can't find you, they'll just contact whatever hosting services you are using. Sure, once a project is on the internet you can find it somewhere, but no reputable distribution hub will touch you.
DC
Please use the quote system properly. You are quoting entire posts and yourself in responses. It is very difficult to read.
Also, you still are not understanding what I'm telling you. Yes - if you create a new property, it is yours. Full stop. That's never up for debate.
What I am referring to are situations where you create the assets, but don't own the property. Let's say you decide to make a Mario game. You draw all your own sprites, make sound effects, fonts, and even code your very own platform engine to run it on. Then you put it out for free.
Do you think you are safe from Nintendo? Of course not! It doesn't matter that you made the assets or that you aren't selling the game. You still encroached on their intellectual property and they're not going to allow it. If they can't find you, they'll just contact whatever hosting services you are using. Sure, once a project is on the internet you can find it somewhere, but no reputable distribution hub will touch you.
DC
Wombat2112
Banned
Damon Caskey said:
Ok,....that was what I meant by my original post "completely original resources" meaning no previously created or conceived characters such las Mario or Zelda completely original in conception. I am working from the ground up no previously known characters, assets, everything...it's all entirely my conception. I don't want to borrow any aspect from any previous project that has been used...even if it wasn't protected content That is why I abandoned all previous projects I wanted to start from a blank slate. Even assets that are free and open to use I am staying away from. Including everything from art music and sound effects on my guitar and keyboard. I working on a shooter because I felt the art was the simplest and I am making the planets, the space in the background, the ships, weapons, everything, coding. I don't want anyone to have any conceptual design but my own or another person who might want to help to which I would give full credit to. I did some early stuff to practice but when I got better healthwise "ok I'm gonna do this" lol. I Before that I didn't think I would have the time but now I can work on this if it takes 5 years...which was realy always my primary goal. Right now I am only working on art, art art phew!