[quote who="Frogboy" reply="114" id="3740148"] There are no copyrighted characters in SC2. What are you talking about? [/quote] It's literally printed on the back of the Star Control 3 box: "Created by Legend Entertainment and based upon characters created and used under license from Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford" https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/275077-star-control-3-dos-other.jpg [quote] And even if there were co
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="104" id="3739923"] Enough. The 1988 agreement being in effect or not being in effect is irrelevant to this discussion. They have nothing to do with Star Control: Origins. They have no rights to it. Frankly, I think it’s pretty gross to see Paul and Fred’s fans spinning their awful behavior into unrelated arguments. If they they had any ethical or moral compass whatsoever they would acknowledge that DMCAing Origins on Ste
[quote who="Jafo" reply="103" id="3739920"] This is where people fall down.....quoting specifics in isolation, as if since it's written down somewhere it must be true and absolute.... [/quote] In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is indeed a reasonable assumption that a contract entered in to court proceedings as evidence is both true and absolute. Obviously, if the other party had offered ANY evidence or documentation to the contrary, this changes, but thus far th
[quote who="Prof_Hari_Seldon" reply="76" id="3739648"] Paul and Fred file DMCA notices against Steam and GOG not just for Star Control 1 and 2 but also Star Control 3 which Stardock holds the federally registered copyright for and that Paul and Fred had no involvement in. (December) [/quote] Star Control 3 uses numerous copyrighted material from P&F. You can read the exact contract for yourself in the court documents: <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/62
If anyone is interested in the history of video game copyrights, it's a little murkier than the Street Fighter example (but that is definitely a good reference point): http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/187385/clone_wars_the_five_most_.php The one I find rather fascinating is "Triple Town v. Yeti Town" since I would have naively assumed the two were dissimilar enough: they're not
[quote who="Prof_Hari_Seldon" reply="45" id="3737571"] You're not convinced? Did you read the judgement of the copyright office in the first post in this thread? They said only source code and audiovisual material (art assets) are copyrightable not game design. Stardock did not steal SC source code and Stardock did not steal or exactly copy audiovisual material from SC. I agree that red hyperspace looks very similar on the surface , but it is
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="18" id="3737284"] There's an entire series called "The Magicians" that to me is a pretty blatant clone of Harry Potter. [/quote] Unless the TV show has vastly misled me, it borrows from Harry Potter, Narnia, and the raunchy college sitcom genre in equal measure. And very definitely earns it's "R" rating. If it had a protagonist named "Hermione", horcruxes, and a nearly identical "Latin words are magical" system, you'd have a solid comparison, but
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="7" id="3737251"] Do you have any idea how many Harry Potter clones books are out there with just a few changes? SCO is not a clone of SC2 but even if it were, it's obviously a very different game experience. [/quote] Do you have any idea how many of those have faced legal action, and either settled out of court or been barred from sale in the US? You might want to choose an example that doesn't involve "prohibiting the [fan's] use of “
You're ignoring the bigger picture: while individual aspects are clearly not eligible for copyright in and of themselves, the broader "Look and Feel" is (debatably/potentially) copyrightable: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_and_feel#Lawsuits This is hardly the first time a software company has faced a copyright claim on the grounds of "look and feel" either. From that Wikipedia link: "Apple Computer was notable for
[quote who="anotherside" reply="4" id="3734225"] If one could move to a new Windows machine, install Impulse and tick a few checkboxes and one's preferred software would be installed, that would be great. [/quote] https://ninite.com/ covers a ton of basic, free applications: Browser, Messaging, open source office / PDF, and a bunch of other stuff. I keep a copy of my customized installer on Dropbox, and it's amazing any time I
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="3" id="3730589"] We took out the Arilou and Melnorme references as an olive branch to Paul and Fred. In response they used their GoFundMe to sue GOG and Valve for carrying Star Control: Origins. [/quote] That's an odd way to characterize their lawsuit - you're suing P&F for selling the games on GOG: "Additionally, on or about October 22, 2017, Stardock became aware that Reiche and Ford were, without Stardock’s permission, m
[quote who="dennylc" reply="722" id="3727613"] And please don't get me started on the legal crap. It boils down to this: Stardock bought the rights. [/quote] Stardock claims they bought the rights. But Stardock makes a lot of unsubstantiated claims. The bankruptcy sale only seems to list the "Star Control" trademark (singular, just one trademark), and the copyrights new to Star Control 3 (which don't seem to be getting any use). Heck, previously Stardock claimed it h
[quote who="pendrokar" reply="711" id="3727026"] They were very sure of what they had. But somehow still had to ask Brad what he got when buying the IP from Atari. [/quote] It doesn't hurt for them to double check. It was possible that Accolade had misled Brad and sold him rights they didn't have, at which point they'd want to jump in and clarify the situation. Accolade had already screwed up once by trying to sell the games on GOG [quote] No, what they
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="708" id="3726778"] We certainly know what Paul and Fred claimed to have owned at the time. Events have, however, shown otherwise. But I think we can all agree that Paul and Fred have very broad definitions of what is their property. [/quote] I don't think there's any dispute about what Paul & Fred own, at this point? They own the copyright to the source code: <a href="ht
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="706" id="3726763"] You keep quoting an addendum for Star Control IV [/quote] That's... not an addendum. It's an email thread. [quote] If you want to continue litigating [/quote] I hardly think it takes a lawyer to conclude that if Accolade was looking to buy the IP, it wasn't actually theirs. Bit absurd to suggest they'd enter in to negotiations to buy and license something they already own, after all :)<a id="ctl00
[quote who="SWVRoma" reply="702" id="3726588"] Quoting hetman, reply 700 One obvious item of genuine dispute is the trademark on the name itself, and while I can't comment on where the ownership truly resides by the letter of the law at this moment, it's pretty clear that P&F were happy to give up ownership over that particu
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="688" id="3726411"] GMOrz, the ethical fluidity you display (...) is impressive [/quote] My ethics have been constant throughout. Conversely, back in 2015 you insisted "We’ve made sure to post this publicly repeatedly so that there is a written public record that Stardock has zero rights to the classic Star Control 2 lore ( aliens , ships, story, etc.)." Now you're claiming that not only wi
[quote who="SWVRoma" reply="684" id="3726390"] F&P think they own ship vs ship battles. They think they own resource collecting and sale there of as a concept. They think they own very obviously Star Trek inspired ship designs to the degree that no other ship can look remotely similar. They think they own the concept of hyperspace travel, exploring space, and making contact with other races. [/quote] 1) Attacking minor details doesn't really undermine a
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="677" id="3726378"] We aren't the ones trying to "seize" anyone's IP. Stardock acquired the Star Control IP. [/quote] I've quoted the Star Control 3 license text before, and I'm happy to quote it again: Effective February 1, 1995, Accolade and Reiche entered into Addendum No. 2 to the 1988 License Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 3, to allow Accolade to develop and publish “Star Control III” wit
[quote who="arkanis9" reply="681" id="3726384"] now Paul and Fred want to kill the effort [/quote] Paul & Fred have taken no action that would threaten SC:O. The worst case from their legal action is that Stardock can't sell games they had nothing to do with making (Star Control 1+2). Conversely, Brad has been quite clear that if he wins, he'll hold veto power over Ghosts and any use of the classic races, on top of collecting millions in damages. [quote]<
[quote who="Frogboy" reply="673" id="3726369"] Why would you be banned for having a different opinion? [/quote] Some of us have noticed that Elestan got banned again. What rule did he violate?
[quote who="BionicDance" reply="661" id="3726325"] But somehow I think they can weather the loss of one customer; your protest, in the end, ain't gonna mean squat. Not without more people--a lot more people--waving placards and shouting three-word chants. [/quote] There's quite a lot of fans out there that object to Stardock's behavior. Keep in mind, Stardock isn't a huge company - a half million sales are a lot to them. Even a few thousand fans refusing to b
Will we be seeing our old friends the Arilou, etc. in SC:O, now or in future DLC? I've heard conflicting accounts that they were added to the game, added as separate DLC, or not included except for some bonus music tracks by Riku.
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