Re: [stella] Tetris copyright?!!!

Subject: Re: [stella] Tetris copyright?!!!
From: Pete Holland <petehollandjr@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 14:00:14 -0800 (PST)
Herewith is some things from my file on copyright and video games. 
This is by no means definitive, but some interesting things.

1)  As I recall, around 1983 (give me a break, I was 12 at the time),
Namco sued Magnavox over the game K.C.Munchkin for the Odyssey 2 game
system.  They felt that the game was too simillar and was copyright
infringement.  The court case was successful, and Magnavox had to
cease production of the game (fat lot of good it did, the cartridge is
listed as common in lists).  I never heard such a case being filed
against other obvious Pac-Man clones by major companies.  I recall one
game that had a slightly diffent maze, and you moved a frog around the
maze.  I also recall the grocery store in my area having what the kids
called "Chinese Pac-Man".  It wasn't Chinese, it was a bootleg version
modified with a slightly different maze and play features that didn't
work right (the ghosts would flash twice before returning to normal). 
I recall this game mentioned in Electonic Games magazine, so it was
national, and I never heard of a lawsuit or anything against these
illegal modifications.

2)  About three years ago, Taito released a game called "Fighter's
Destiny."  The response was a modicum of interest from fighting game
fans (such as myself) and a lawsuit from Capcom, who felt that the
control layout and graphic style was too close to the almighty "Street
Fighter II" franchise.  A U.S. court threw the case out, saying that
if they ruled in Capcom's favor, they would be giving intellectual
rights to Capcom for all fighting games, since derivations could be
argued to stem from whatever game came out first (good news for the
makers of Karate Champ in the 80's).

Copyrights are an interesting area (take it from me.  I'm an aspiring
writer, and have had to deal with copyright problems).  A lot of
times, it comes down to derivations are allowed, as long as it isn't
too close.  My dad has "Dilbert's Desktop Games" for his IBM, and it
features, among other things, a "Space Invaders" rip-off.  That would
also mean that every football game is a rip-off of every other.  For
God's sake, how many Wolfenstein clones are there (Doom and Quake are
from the same company!)?  As much as it pains me to say it, it comes
down to money.  "It's A Wonderful Life" was public domain and should
have stayed that way, but Republic got the copyright back.  Congress
here in the U.S. recently granted Disney Productions a 20-year
copyright extension, since Mickey Mouse was about to become public
domain under the law, the only time I know of them doing such.  I'm
still not sure how the Tarzan stories are still covered under
copyright, but they are, owned by Edgar Rice Burrow's estate.  It's a
confusing area, but I have a friend who knows a lot about copyright. 
Any questions, I'll forward them to him if you want.
     There is a way to see if this "Tetris Corporation" is legit. 
Most businesses have to register in their state of operation and get a
business license.  Small businesses, like comic publishers, can dodge
until they become too big, but if you have to, say, rent a storefront,
you have to register.  If this place is buying up the rights to make a
profit and not as a private collector, it should be registered in one
of our fifty states.  Besides, Tetris is a Russian creation.  That is
the first copyright.  How did they get that, and the rights in other
countries?  While I still recommend checking it out, this doesn't
sound on the up-and-up to me.

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