90 replies to this topic

[TI99Kitty]

sku_u, on Wed Feb 9, 2005 9:42 AM, said:

You can pretty much consider all these off limits:

Big Five Software
EA
20th Century Fox
Nintendo
Coleco

I would add Disney and Paramount to that list, as they are companies that have actively pursued legal action people who put up fansites for copyrighted works (in fact, when Paramount made their "Star Trek" site a paysite in the mid-90's, they tried to shut down any fansite that had "Star Trek"-related material on it, and sued many of those sites' administrators).

With Coleco, I would think you could just contact the current holder of the trademark to ask permission. Opcode Games has done it, and apparently they are fairly easy to work with, as long as you don't do anything that "damages" their image (like making pornographic versions of Coleco games, for instance).

bear69designs, on Thu Apr 6, 2006 2:51 AM, said:

Does anyone know who currently owns the trademarks/copyrights on M Network and Data Age? Specifically I'm wondering about the company names and logos. Thanks for any info...

M Network was Mattel's label for porting Intellivision games over to Atari and ColecoVision consoles, so I would assume that the copyright/trademark is owned either by Mattel or INTV.

Edited by TI99Kitty, Mon Feb 1, 2010 1:05 PM.

[Cafeman]

A question for those who might know: What about doing games based on the works of H.G. Wells, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or Jules Verne? Are those "public Domain"?

[mäsäxi]

Quote

Can someone check if the patent/trademark for pong has expired? It was created on 1972/1973 so i would think the patents/trademarks would be expired by now. Not only that but there was never an "official" verson of pong for the Atari 2600, plus there are probally 1 Million Pong clones out there by now.

Quote

Not only is it still alive, the current owner even forced Atari Age to remove "Mondo Pong" and "Joustpong" from its store.

Hello.

Just read this topic and what came to my mind, was that I still remember HOW MANY pong clones were in the market in pong´s golden age.

I don´t know if atari or ralph baer sued any pirating company. (just try to count how many there were).... if they did or not, there existed lots of pong clones from numerous manufacturers around the world anyway. Plus all different console versions from same manufacturer.

but of course atari´s current copyright holder has the right to stop you giving away/selling your pong clone, even if atari didn´t do that in the seventies.

Edited by mäsäxi, Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:40 AM.

[2600 Nut]

Cybergoth, on Tue Oct 5, 2004 4:46 PM, said:

Hi there!

StanJr said:

all Activision stuff is off limits, right?

Hm... at least the original binaries. I have never seen them stopping a homebrew though... I guess they probably would, but still there's no reference yet...

Greetings,
Manuel

I have spoken directly with Dan Winters & Munia Morris from Activision with regards to this and they both stated in no uncertain terms that anything Activision considered as infringment on any of their 2600 IP (so this also includes the Imagic games) would promptly be met with a Cease & Desist order from their legal department.

-Mic

Edited by 2600 Nut, Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:55 AM.

[Retro Rogue]

2600 Nut, on Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:54 AM, said:

I have spoken directly with Dan Winters & Munia Morris from Activision with regards to this and they both stated in no uncertain terms that anything Activision considered as infringment on any of their 2600 IP (so this also includes the Imagic games) would promptly be met with a Cease & Desist order from their legal department.

-Mic

The irony being that most of their 2600 IP were infringements on Atari Coin IP.

mäsäxi, on Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:39 AM, said:

Hello.

Just read this topic and what came to my mind, was that I still remember HOW MANY pong clones were in the market in pong´s golden age.

They were unlicensed clones and a lot of them were either shut down, or licensed from Magnavox.

Quote

I don´t know if atari or ralph baer sued any pirating company. (just try to count how many there were)....

Ralph never sued anyone, Magnavox did however.

Quote

if they did or not, there existed lots of pong clones from numerous manufacturers around the world anyway. Plus all different console versions from same manufacturer.

We actually have a listing of everyone licensing from Magnavox in the 70's, it's quite sizeable.

Quote

but of course atari´s current copyright holder has the right to stop you giving away/selling your pong clone, even if atari didn´t do that in the seventies.

The name itself, PONG, is copyrighted and trademarked and still actively used by Atari Interactive. They don't however have the right to stop you from doing a general clone that doesn't make reference to the name. Any such claim on the game itself was lost when the original Atari settled with Magnavox out of court and became a licensee of Magnavox. Magnavox owned the patents for ball and batt games, which have long since expired and there were never any copyrights on the audiovisuals.

Edited by wgungfu, Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:17 PM.

[raindog]

2600 Nut, on Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:54 AM, said:

I have spoken directly with Dan Winters & Munia Morris from Activision with regards to this and they both stated in no uncertain terms that anything Activision considered as infringment on any of their 2600 IP (so this also includes the Imagic games) would promptly be met with a Cease & Desist order from their legal department.

Whatever happened to:

Cybergoth said:

I'll limit it to trademarks where already "something" happened, not wanting to wake any sleeping dogs...

I think a great homebrew is a great homebrew whether it's named "Space Invaders" or "Space Instigators". But to ask permission is to seek denial.

[Pong]

wgungfu, on Sun Dec 19, 2010 2:39 PM, said:

The name itself, PONG, is copyrighted and trademarked and still actively used by Atari Interactive. They don't however have the right to stop you from doing a general clone that doesn't make reference to the name. Any such claim on the game itself was lost when the original Atari settled with Magnavox out of court and became a licensee of Magnavox. Magnavox owned the patents for ball and batt games, which have long since expired and there were never any copyrights on the audiovisuals.

So I can make a Pong clone called Prong and live life like nothing happened? Atari/Tengen can't do anything about it?

[Retro Rogue]

Pong, on Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:46 AM, said:

wgungfu, on Sun Dec 19, 2010 2:39 PM, said:

The name itself, PONG, is copyrighted and trademarked and still actively used by Atari Interactive. They don't however have the right to stop you from doing a general clone that doesn't make reference to the name. Any such claim on the game itself was lost when the original Atari settled with Magnavox out of court and became a licensee of Magnavox. Magnavox owned the patents for ball and batt games, which have long since expired and there were never any copyrights on the audiovisuals.

So I can make a Pong clone called Prong and live life like nothing happened? Atari/Tengen can't do anything about it?

Atari/Tengen?

[Pong]

wgungfu, on Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:49 AM, said:

Atari/Tengen?

I have no idea why I call Atari by both names. Tengen? The Atari for Nintendo?

[Retro Rogue]

Pong, on Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:36 PM, said:

wgungfu, on Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:49 AM, said:

Atari/Tengen?

I have no idea why I call Atari by both names. Tengen? The Atari for Nintendo?

Tengen was a division of Atari Games, the coinop Atari (1984-2000). Neither one of which is around anymore or affiliated with the trademarks or copyrights to PONG. That's held by Atari Interactive, a division of Atari SA (formerly Infogrames SA).

Edited by wgungfu, Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:41 PM.

[RevEng]

Cafeman, on Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:24 PM, said:

A question for those who might know: What about doing games based on the works of H.G. Wells, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or Jules Verne? Are those "public Domain"?

Its nearly a year later, but here's your answer and then some...

If a work is in the public domain, then you're usually legally clear to copy the work and/or produce derivative works, including characters, settings, etc. The works you mention are public domain.

I say usually, because the "public domain" status of characters and settings is tied to the public domain status of the work containing their first appearance; there are some cases where a later work has slipped into the public domain (due to lack of registration or notice, both of which used to be required for a copyright to be valid) but the work with the original appearance hasn't become public domain. (see the Superman Cartoons of the 40's for one example)

The other wrinkle is if a character has changed since their first appearance, you can only make derivative works based on the public domain works, but not on later non-public domain ones.

There's definitely some cool stuff in the public domain to work with...

You mentioned some classic stories. Project Gutenberg is probably the easiest place to find those. (though being on PG doesn't necessarily mean a work is PD)

Wikipedia has a list of films in the public domain, with the original "Night of the Living Dead" being one highlight.

Then there's public domain golden age comic books.

Lastly, I always thought it would be cool to make a game based on public domain propaganda/public-service films, like Reefer Madness or Duck and Cover.

Edited by RevEng, Tue Jan 4, 2011 5:04 PM.

[Chilly Willy]

RevEng, on Tue Jan 4, 2011 1:13 PM, said:

The other wrinkle is if a character has changed since their first appearance, you can only make derivative works based on the public domain works, but not on later non-public domain ones.

Good point, and a perfect example is the various Disney movies based on PD characters. Ever notice how Disney changes the story and/or characters just a little? That gives them a copyright on the new character/storyline. Want to do your own Sleeping Beauty game? Fine, just go back to the original source, and don't make changes similar to Disney's.

[RevEng]

Chilly Willy, on Tue Jan 4, 2011 2:51 PM, said:

Good point, and a perfect example is the various Disney movies based on PD characters. Ever notice how Disney changes the story and/or characters just a little? That gives them a copyright on the new character/storyline. Want to do your own Sleeping Beauty game? Fine, just go back to the original source, and don't make changes similar to Disney's.

Nice illustration!

Its funny how copyright talk always leads back to Disney, isn't it?

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

TI99Kitty, on Mon Feb 1, 2010 12:52 PM, said:

I would add Disney and Paramount to that list, as they are companies that have actively pursued legal action people who put up fansites for copyrighted works (in fact, when Paramount made their "Star Trek" site a paysite in the mid-90's, they tried to shut down any fansite that had "Star Trek"-related material on it, and sued many of those sites' administrators).

Any idea what their stance on "fan fictions" might be? I don't mean to derail the thread, but that kinda hits home.

[Chilly Willy]

[d2f]Iggy*SJB, on Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:46 PM, said:

TI99Kitty, on Mon Feb 1, 2010 12:52 PM, said:

I would add Disney and Paramount to that list, as they are companies that have actively pursued legal action people who put up fansites for copyrighted works (in fact, when Paramount made their "Star Trek" site a paysite in the mid-90's, they tried to shut down any fansite that had "Star Trek"-related material on it, and sued many of those sites' administrators).

Any idea what their stance on "fan fictions" might be? I don't mean to derail the thread, but that kinda hits home.

Check the author guidelines at fanfiction.net - they keep a list of all the companies/authors who get all pissy when you "steal" their characters. Star Trek fanfiction is in something of a resurgence now, and Paramount seems to be fine with it. There's even a bunch of different fan-made shows for Star Trek that airs with Paramount's blessing.

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

Awesome resource! Thank you, very much!!

If you're into fanfictions, I have two "Battlestar Galactica-Star Trek:Next Generation" crossovers, and am working on a pair of prequel "Galactica" stories. As a side note: I used the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica for the crossover, not the re-imagining. I'll check that site, and see if they allow people to post there. I'm assuming they do.

Thanks again!