quote: Original post by Apoztel
not to bitch but the correct quote is
"All your base are belong to us"
it''s such a classic!
I''m employing irony.
All your bases belong to us
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Is game cloning (as freeware) legal?
I''m employing irony.
All your bases belong to us
quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
Original post by Mayrel
If we imagine that the game is for educational purposes, and a game released on GameDev quite probably would be, we can assume that it passes this test. Clearly, if the copying is not for educational use (or otherwise exempt under sections 107, 108 and 110), then it doesn''t pass this test.
What? That''s a gross misinterpretation of the law. If you made one copy, that might be educational use, but I _highly_ doubt it.
Even then, that''s not an argument for distributing the final product, since people playing the game isn''t ''educational.''
Did I mention the ''final product'' (by which I assume you mean the published version of Sierra''s product)? No. I was specifically refering to the production of a clone, since that is the topic of this forum.
quote:
This clause is to reproduce _short passages_ for educational use. So a book on computer graphics can contain a picture of Leisure Suit Larry (copyrighted artwork) if it''s cited properly. Even an educational book wouldn''t be able to get away with providing all the artwork from the game, or even a sigfinigant portion of the game.
If you had just read my post a little more closely, you would have seen me mention the fact that most (if not all) of the media in the clone should be newly created. At no point is my post condoning the bit-for-bit cloning of Sierra''s product.
All your bases belong to us
quote:
I specifically would like to create a Sierra Larry game because many people have requested someone to create it since it is a favorite of many gamers, and since Larry 8 was abandoned I decided to look into it and make a new version for the public. I guess I could rename the characters and redraw the sprites, but this will be alot of work, I was actually going to rip the sprites from the previous games - much easier.
That''s not only trademark violation (which you _might_ get away with) that''s also copyright violation. Do _not_ rip the sprites if you want to stay out of court. They are still actively selling the games this artwork belongs to (in collections).
Precisely correct. The distribution of ripped media outside of fair use is illegal without the consent of the copyright owner.
quote:
Public domain is no license at all. It means you voluntarily give up all copyright rights that you have. You won''t be able to do this with your game because you don''t own the art assets or the characters.
You can give up the copyright you have on your game. The fact that Sierra own the copyright on part of your game doesn''t magically give them ownership of the copyright of your entire game. They can require that you hand over/destroy all material upon which they own the copyright, but they can''t require that you give them the copyright over your entire program.
However, that''s nothing to do with public domain specifically. Whether it''s open source, shareware or commercial, the same rules apply (although certain non-profit uses of assets are not infringements.)
All your bases belong to us
The original poster should check these projects out. See how/if they dealt with the copyright holders. (this legal discussion is all very interesting, but sometimes copyright holders have given permission, such as an Archon remake I read about. I''m not sure what the case is with the games below)
Space Quest: The Lost Chapter (indie "Space Quest 2.5" game)
http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2308
King''s Quest 1 VGA (remake with new graphics)
http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2881
Night of the Hermit (uses Herman Toothrot from Monkey Island)
http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2880
Space Quest: The Lost Chapter (indie "Space Quest 2.5" game)
http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2308
King''s Quest 1 VGA (remake with new graphics)
http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2881
Night of the Hermit (uses Herman Toothrot from Monkey Island)
http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2880
Not entirely on-topic, but this discussion of disassembly vis the Sega vs. Accolade and Nintendo vs. Atari cases makes interesting reading.
All your bases belong to us (I know. It''s irony.)
All your bases belong to us (I know. It''s irony.)
Author
quote:
The original poster should check these projects out. See how/if they dealt with the copyright holders. (this legal discussion is all very interesting, but sometimes copyright holders have given permission, such as an Archon remake I read about. I''m not sure what the case is with the games below)
Ill check them out, thanks
Downloads, D3DXSprite tutorial, New platform game: .-= The ZeroOne Realm =-.
Yes it would be illegal. No, you would not be breaking copyright law if all your code/artwork/sounds were unique. Yes, you would be breaking trademark law by stealing characters/ideas. Many people confuse copyright and trademark. The best way around this is to pretend you are not cloning them...
Creating a clone at school would definitely break trademark law. And even creating a game from ripped copyrighted material, where''s the education? By stealing their artwork, you certainly aren''t learning anything, nor are you teaching, unless your whole purpose of the project was to demonstrate stealing copyrighted material, but this would probably break the DMCA.
Mike
quote:
Making clones of a game at school may still be an infringement if you aren''t doing it for educational purposes.
Also note that cloning a game isn''t necessarily a violation of copyright. Copyright doesn''t apply to ideas or procedures, so the way in which a game operates can''t be copyrighted. However, text, images and music can be copyrighted.
Creating a clone at school would definitely break trademark law. And even creating a game from ripped copyrighted material, where''s the education? By stealing their artwork, you certainly aren''t learning anything, nor are you teaching, unless your whole purpose of the project was to demonstrate stealing copyrighted material, but this would probably break the DMCA.
Mike
Author
I have come across a remake of Kings Quest 1, and KQ2 and 3 are in the making. How does Sierra allow this? Is it ok to "remake" a previous game? The only thing I can come up with is that Sierra have stopped making money with the original KQuest games since they are only in 16 color mode and are over 10 years old.
Therefore if I remake Larry 1 (already done..I know) with Larry 6 graphics, will Sierra complain?
Therefore if I remake Larry 1 (already done..I know) with Larry 6 graphics, will Sierra complain?
Author
I have come across a remake of Kings Quest 1, and KQ2 and 3 are in the making. How does Sierra allow this? Is it ok to "remake" a previous game? The only thing I can come up with is that Sierra have stopped making money with the original KQuest games since they are only in 16 color mode and are over 10 years old.
Therefore if I remake Larry 1 (already done..I know) with Larry 6 graphics, will Sierra complain?
Therefore if I remake Larry 1 (already done..I know) with Larry 6 graphics, will Sierra complain?
Downloads, D3DXSprite tutorial, New platform game: .-= The ZeroOne Realm =-.
quote: Original post by Anarchi
I have come across a remake of Kings Quest 1, and KQ2 and 3 are in the making. How does Sierra allow this? Is it ok to "remake" a previous game? The only thing I can come up with is that Sierra have stopped making money with the original KQuest games since they are only in 16 color mode and are over 10 years old.
Therefore if I remake Larry 1 (already done..I know) with Larry 6 graphics, will Sierra complain?
Sierra isn''t all-seeing. They have to notice these projects before they can serve them with a cease-and-desist.
Either these people have permission (which you should ask them about) Or they will probably get asked to stop as soon as Sierra notices them.
Sierra will not complain if you remake Larry 1 with new graphics. (It might be a good idea to do so for learning experience if you''re so hot on doing it!) They''ll just complain if you tell anyone about it or give anyone a copy.
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