Heaven/TQA Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Yes... If Curt is right than pps should post the apologize of Atari, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Weren't the VCS carts done with the Atari permission exactly like Nintendo ones? No. Atari sued Activision, but lost. I think that pretty much opened the doors for everyone else to make games for the VCS. Michael That lawsuit was over non-compete agreements (Activision were former Atari staff) and they did not lose, the matter was settled out of court with Activision agreeing to pay Atari royalties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I'm no Atari sycophant, but if the OP has indeed received an apology from them, I too would like to see it. This whole dust-up almost reminds me of an incident in the late 90s, when a disgruntled viewer of The Practice sent a complaint letter to ABC and received a rude response from an anonymous ABC employee which did not reflect the company's official position. ABC investigated and sent an apology, but the rude letter was all over the world before the apology had time to get its boots on, because it conveniently fit into the agenda of the people who were spreading it (and the apology did not). We may not like the increasingly aggressive stance that publishers appear to be taking about their intellectual properties, but I think we should dial down the overheated anti-Atari rhetoric a little bit until we know the whole story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I'm not isolating svenski, this is a message to everyone contributing to mass hysteria. This is a textbook example of Stockholm Syndrome - shut the hell up already, and find a new thread to post in. Reading a thread titled "fibernutz is gay" would be far more entertaining than this BS. Or you all could continue to fuel this fire until this thread is locked. I really wish I could say some kind of buzzkill statement that would get everyone to move on. Dead-on. For one side, this thread is an expression of true and legitimate concern (e.g. protecting the legitimacy and instrinsic value of the Hobby). On the other hand, the childish pile-up of commiseration, lack of prudency and useless comments is a F-WASTE of time, and certainly in detriment of the Forum's substance and viability. Time for a dead-lock, once the Letter of Apology is shown. F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 And besides, what would JayMiner think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 And besides, what would JayMiner think? Bryan, Please cease and desist any and all usage of our trademark, JayMiner(t). We will actively pursue legal solutions if you do not. Thank you for your time, Legal Department JayMiner LLC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 It's probably nothing more than an upstart attorney trying to make a name. Either that, or some executive exploring ways to make money. Or something. Either way, it's most definitely not for the love of the hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 And besides, what would JayMiner think? Bryan, Please cease and desist any and all usage of our trademark, JayMiner(t). We will actively pursue legal solutions if you do not. Thank you for your time, Legal Department JayMiner LLC Dear Sirs, Please tell me which, if any, of the following of my domains infringe on your intellectual properties: www.jayminer.com www.jayminer.net www.jayminer.gov www.jayminer.edu www.jayminer-meetsingles.com www.jayminer-male-enhancement.us www.jayminer-nigerianbank-notascam.co.uk www.jayminer-ask-me-about-my-timeshare.com Thank you for your time. I look forward to reading several large packets of legal papers from you. -Bryan (esq.) II Mrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Dont forget www.jayminer-wishthatfaicuaidudewouldleavemealone.com 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 That lawsuit was over non-compete agreements (Activision were former Atari staff) and they did not lose, the matter was settled out of court with Activision agreeing to pay Atari royalties. No, it was not over that. There was never any "non-compete" agreement - there was no 2600 competition when members of the Activision bunch joined up at Atari, and even then some came over from Coin in the first place. Atari sued Activision and it's employees for $20 million over unfair competition (which is where you probably got confused) and conspiracy to appropriate trade secrets. You don't need to have a non-competition agreement to sue for theft of trade secrets and/or applying those trade secrets (unfair competition). The settlement had them licensing some of Atari's patents and copyrights. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Weren't the VCS carts done with the Atari permission exactly like Nintendo ones? No. Atari sued Activision, but lost. I think that pretty much opened the doors for everyone else to make games for the VCS. Michael That lawsuit was over non-compete agreements (Activision were former Atari staff) and they did not lose, the matter was settled out of court with Activision agreeing to pay Atari royalties. I'm not sure I'd call an out-of-court-settlement "winning a lawsuit" (and I realize you didn't say that it was), because I think by definition that phrase implies winning a legal battle in court, whereas an out-of-court-agreement isn't a judgement by a court in favor of the plaintiff. Maybe it wasn't strictly a loss, either, so my bad I guess. But the point I was really trying to make is that Atari did not, and could not, stop everyone under the sun from churning out their own games for the Atari 2600, as Jose had asked/suggested. They *did* sue various companies for making games that were "too similar" to some game that Atari had the rights to, but they weren't able to stop the production of Atari 2600 games by companies who had no authorization from, or agreement with, Atari. If that had been true, I'm pretty sure we'd have never seen the likes of the Mystique games. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I'm not isolating svenski, this is a message to everyone contributing to mass hysteria. This is a textbook example of Stockholm Syndrome - shut the hell up already, and find a new thread to post in. Reading a thread titled "fibernutz is gay" would be far more entertaining than this BS. Or you all could continue to fuel this fire until this thread is locked. I really wish I could say some kind of buzzkill statement that would get everyone to move on. Dead-on. For one side, this thread is an expression of true and legitimate concern (e.g. protecting the legitimacy and instrinsic value of the Hobby). On the other hand, the childish pile-up of commiseration, lack of prudency and useless comments is a F-WASTE of time, and certainly in detriment of the Forum's substance and viability. Time for a dead-lock, once the Letter of Apology is shown. F. it is always interesting to me when people try to take the approach of talking down to contributors in a forum thread without specifically mentioning names as if it were not any worse to lump everyone in to one group as it was for some to go to extremes with their opinions here. I find it equally as interesting to see people call for a thread to be locked as if they would supersede the very fine moderators we have here. the bottom line is, the letter from atari legal is disturbing to hobbyists. as a member of atariage, which could just as easily be in the cross-hairs here, extreme comments aside, I do not see any problem with discussing how to combat an attack on the hobby either real or perceived. I agree the discussion going off the rails arguing about past litigation is off topic and ridiculous, it is certainly not a reason to lock a thread or talk down to people. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I agree the discussion going off the rails arguing about past litigation is off topic and ridiculous, it is certainly not a reason to lock a thread or talk down to people. It is what it is. It's on the posts, and the rest is pretty much blah, blah, etc. A lock of this thread may well be in the best interest of AA (and everyone on-board), due to overall poor judgement displayed during handling this sensitive matter, as well as the external connections/ramifications of it. Personally, I would even ERASE IT from the face of this earth, and be done with it. F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fibrewire Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I agree the discussion going off the rails arguing about past litigation is off topic and ridiculous, This is the very reason why when faced with two bad choices, I am picking the lesser of the two. it is certainly not a reason to lock a thread or talk down to people. Count the posts in the thread, and give me a ratio of constructive posts to defamatory posts. I agree that this needs to be addressed, but if you were an attorney, it would be easy to make one's case that AtariAge beyond a reasonable doubt has exreme prejudice towards Infogrammes. I am all for constructively addressing this situation, but please LESS LYNCH MOB and more facts, k? Have a nice day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Count the posts in the thread, and give me a ratio of constructive posts to defamatory posts. I agree that this needs to be addressed, but if you were an attorney, it would be easy to make one's case that AtariAge beyond a reasonable doubt has exreme prejudice towards Infogrammes. I seriously doubt "AtariAge" (meaning Albert, et al) would ever be found responsible for random forum posts. (But, or course, IANAL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Tell them to go get f'cked. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Tell them to go get f'cked. :thumbsup: In light of the recent apology, I guess I will have to retract that comment The sentiment remains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Joe Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Can anyone tell me, what the h. my own written programmes - and those written by people here in the forum - can affect any of ATARI´s copyrights? Stay calm, nothing to get too worried about. That's just a standard C&D form letter that takes them all of two minutes to cook together and send you. If the software you are distributing is your own, and you are certain they are mistaken, then don't worry about it. They arent going to show up tomorrow morning and seize your assets. I get letters like this all the time and have for years, I just ignore them and keep on truckin'. :thumbsup: It's just "Atari" being protective of their property and probably a bored attorney trying to cover all bases and show her bosses that she's competent. Atari is in poor shape (when are they not?) and downsizing is always an issue. If they keep contacting you just tell them they are mistaken. They'll go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Joe Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Count the posts in the thread, and give me a ratio of constructive posts to defamatory posts. I agree that this needs to be addressed, but if you were an attorney, it would be easy to make one's case that AtariAge beyond a reasonable doubt has exreme prejudice towards Infogrammes. Have a nice day! "Beyond a reasonable doubt" would be applicable in a criminal matter. This would be a civil matter. And likely not even that, at most it would go through arbitration. They arent going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal council to go after somebody for an 8-Bit game that they have written themselves, Atari doesn't have that kind of money to throw away. It takes 2 mins to put together a C&D like that and it's easy to just send them out if something gets flagged even if they are wrong. If you didn't do anything wrong don't get too worried. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 In light of the recent apology, I guess I will have to retract that comment The sentiment remains. Maybe they're apologizing, but it was still a troubling bit of unnecessary drama. Are we to expect such erratic behavior again in the future? I would at least hope future C&D letters would address specific concerns instead of a spin of the wheel of accusations. What about the others who got letters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
José Pereira Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 (edited) Maybe I am feeling important now. Or I am not and Atari are 'Nuts' Do you remember the Letter I send them? That Letter was about PPS and not me. When I open my Mail I have their apologizes to me. I thought and thought and then read it carefully and they were talking and translating PPS one. What this is revolting is that they aren't writing nor reading anything. It seems that an automatic Program detects and send hundreds or thousands of Letters with the same 'building sh... blah, blah,...' Probably this is what PPS received, or wasn't PPS and they (their automatic Program) thought I was PPS. Here's their Letter: "Dear Jose, Recently Atari, Inc. sent a notice to your domain to remove certain downloadable content. Further examination has revealed that your domain’s content is not of an infringing nature. Atari sincerely apologizes for disrupting your website and values the relationship it has with its fans in the 8-bit community. Thank you, Atari Legal" Then they show PPS and my Post. Why I still think that's not the case to be happy Edited August 24, 2011 by José Pereira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Now I'm really confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
José Pereira Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Now I'm really confused. Atari, Inc. said:"Atari sincerely apologizes for disrupting your website and values the relationship it has with its fans in the 8-bit community." Maybe it's time to ask them for something Anyone have ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fibrewire Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Maybe it's time to ask them for something Anyone have ideas? Corporate sponsorship of AtariAge??? Maybe they would work WITH us to produce a relaunch of the "Getting Back to Basics" Atari 800/XL/XE line so that programmers could actually learn about what the hell they are doing 'under the hood' so to speak. It worked for Curt Vendel and the FlashBack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 You sorta have it... Sega won the lawsuit because the console required that a cart have the name SEGA contained within the code, which was copyrighted, so if you sold a game and weren't paying royalty to SEGA, then you were using their copyright without permission and they could sue and win, it was the simplest and greatest form of "content control" - no complicated encryption chips or anything fancy, they just enforced their copyright. Weren't the VCS carts done with the Atari permission exactly like Nintendo ones? No. Atari sued Activision, but lost. I think that pretty much opened the doors for everyone else to make games for the VCS. Michael That is why all the consoles now put up a splash screen with the company name. The first company to win a lawsuit (was it Sega?) did it on the grounds that the software was claiming that it was authorized by them since it came up right after the splash screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts