Semi-copyright Question

Games
1

So I have this paper-and-pencil type RPG game I am looking to adapt to an online game. Not an MMORPG (yet) but something more like Laser Squad Nemesis. Anyways, the two books in the series were published in 1991 and 1992. I don’t think that the company is still around, they were called Maverick Games based out of San Jose. I’m not aware of any other games they pulished, but they did.

Question 1: has anyone heard of this game company?

Question 2: if the company has simply dissolved and not sold assets to another, can I snarf the game rules/ideas without violating copyright?

Question 3: can adaptations like this be considered derivative works, and if so how does that fall under copyright laws?

I’m most anxious to hear from those who have actual real-time experience with this issue, as in negotiating this kind of thing with publishers and lawyers and such, but pointers to good articles are also valuable. I’m not so much interested in opinions unless from copyright lawyer types. It isn’t a matter of valuing an opinion so much as making good business decisions. :wink:

2

>Question 1: has anyone heard of this game company?
No

>Question 2: if the company has simply dissolved and not sold assets to another, can I snarf the game rules/ideas without violating copyright?

No. Copyright, unlike trademarks, cannot be “abandoned”. That company or its successor, or its stakeholders or creditors – whoever inherited its assets, has a copyright.

>Question 3: can adaptations like this be considered derivative works, and if so how does that fall under copyright laws?

Yes. Even if you do things like change the name of the game or a few gameplay aspects, if the “look and feel” is such that a reasonable person would think that your game copies as the copyrighted work.

Stefan

3

Sorry, all of my copyright law experience has been turn-based. Brings back fond memories of Sid Meier’s MP3 File-Sharing and Space Emulators IV, though.

4

That’s too funny, Mike. I think from now on I’ll write all legal briefs in turn-based mode. Sure, I’ll lose some of the twitch writing excitement, but I’ll be able to command the whole brief at once without furiously scrolling around my outline.

5

Ivan Hoffman has a new page up on his website. If you’re not sure how copyrights pertain to derivative works, it is worth a read.

http://www.ivanhoffman.com/derivative2.html

6

But what if there’s no inheritor? You would run the risk that someone might pop up unexpectedly but other than that, I don’t see a problem if nobody claims the copyright. Copyright needs an owner, it can’t exist in a vacuum.

7

So if the copyright to something appears to be in a vacuum, is there some way you can document you made a good-faith effort to find the owner? That way if your work goes live and he pops out of the woodwork the injunctive relief would certainly be far less. Yes or no?

8

It’s not the same Maverick Games as these folks, I take it…? Or the Maverick Games referenced here?

The latter seems likely as the publisher, although they’re listed as being in Iowa rather than San Jose…

ASJunk

9

Legal disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, and the following does not constitute legal advice or an attorney client relationship between you and me. :-)

That can get you in trouble. Someone still owns the copyright. You must find that person and obtain written permission. Else, you may be sued for a portion or for all of the profits and/or prevented from distributing the derivative work.

You can start your search here:

Keep in mind that even if you don’t find a copyright registration, the work is still copyrighted. A copyright owner is always free to sue for actual damages and profits. Registering your copyright merely lets you sue for additional statutory damages and attorney’s fees.

According to our latest copyright laws:

  1. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author3

(2) Where an author is dead, his or her termination interest is owned, and may be exercised, as follows:

(A) the widow or widower owns the author’s entire termination interest unless there are any surviving children or grandchildren of the author, in which case the widow or widower owns one-half of the author’s interest;

(B) the author’s surviving children, and the surviving children of any dead child of the author, own the author’s entire termination interest unless there is a widow or widower, in which case the ownership of one-half of the author’s interest is divided among them;

(C) the rights of the author’s children and grandchildren are in all cases divided among them and exercised on a per stirpes basis according to the number of such author’s children represented; the share of the children of a dead child in a termination interest can be exercised only by the action of a majority of them.

(D) In the event that the author’s widow or widower, children, and grandchildren are not living, the author’s executor, administrator, personal representative, or trustee shall own the author’s entire termination interest.

10

But what if there’s no inheritor? You would run the risk that someone might pop up unexpectedly but other than that, I don’t see a problem if nobody claims the copyright. Copyright needs an owner, it can’t exist in a vacuum.[/quote]

You’re talking practical risk vs. legal rights. I can’t assess whether these guys are going to pop out of the woodwork and assert their rights, but I will tell you that they are entitled to do so. There’s always an inheritor – if the business has gone bankrupt, it’s the creditors. If it’s just been wound down, it’s the shareholders. If they were individuals who’ve died, it’s their estates. Whether or not those people are inclined to assert their rights, or to actively protect them, is a question only people who know those persons can appropriately assess.

But the more successful the infringing venture is, the more likely it will be to attract the attention of someone who desires to assert those rights. It’s never worthwhile to base your business model on hoping that someone else doesn’t assert his/her/its rights.

Stefan

11

No on the first one, but good find on the second. I’ll follow up.