On Wed, 9 Feb 2000, Clay Halliwell wrote:
> Only as far as the view angle was concerned. A choice of perspective does
> not a copyright make.
But are the litigious companies suing over copyright violation or
trademark infringement? I doubt that the so-called "clone" games contain
any of Atari's original code (copyright violation) so Hasbro would have to
be suing over the "dilution of the distinctive elements of their games"
(trademark infringement) or some other equally specious claim.
I'm sorry but imitation or "cloning" (creating a product from scratch that
mimics an existing product) has long been held as legal in the technology
field (provided that some ground rules are followed)... just look at the
case of IBM's original PC versus Compaq's original portable computer.
Making a game that resembles or plays like one of the Hasbro/Atari games
is not "making games based on properties they don't own or control" as the
article reads.
I think that Hasbro/Atari should stop their bullying ways.
Paul Hart
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hart@xxxxxxxxxxx ><8> ><8> ><8> http://www.iserver.com/
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