Copyright... (on pokemon games in particular)
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Brewmeister
Sponsor
Probably should go in "RM Discussion." But even there, you would probably get directed to the forum magistrate's (Venetia) post on Copyright Stickied in that forum.
Pokemon remakes, if they use ripped graphics, music, or any Nintendo(tm) resources, without written permission are illegal. I don't think anyone will debate that.
the arguments usually arise from what is practically enforcable. Nintendo is not going waste their lawyers time pursuing a 'free' fangame. They wouldn't recover their costs, and the best they could get is a 'cease & desist' order to prevent it from being distributed any further.
It's good that you're 'thinking about it'. It's one thing that I'm a stickler on if I'm working on a project. No "stealing", whether anyone thinks we can get away with it or not. Of course, it's up to you to set your own values.
Be Well
Pokemon remakes, if they use ripped graphics, music, or any Nintendo(tm) resources, without written permission are illegal. I don't think anyone will debate that.
the arguments usually arise from what is practically enforcable. Nintendo is not going waste their lawyers time pursuing a 'free' fangame. They wouldn't recover their costs, and the best they could get is a 'cease & desist' order to prevent it from being distributed any further.
It's good that you're 'thinking about it'. It's one thing that I'm a stickler on if I'm working on a project. No "stealing", whether anyone thinks we can get away with it or not. Of course, it's up to you to set your own values.
Be Well
If you're too worried about it, just make sure you give credit to the company/person. If you mention that it was made by Nintendo and someone who's never played Pokemon finds it, they'll be likely to buy real Pokemon games, thus leading to a sale for Nintendo. Also, I highly doubt there are people that search through the entire internet for illegal Pokemon games.
Brewmeister
Sponsor
Giving Nintendo credit will in no way indemnify you from responsibility if you are using their Intellectual Property (IP) without permission.
Refer to this FAQ. Although it addresses illegal ROMs & emulators, and not Fan Games, I think the answer illustrates Nintendo's argument to your logic that illegal use of their IP promotes sales.
Also, given that Nintendo has around 3500 employees, I'd be very surprised if not a single one of them is aware of this site, if not a member. And I wouldn't bet the farm that no one at Nintendo (or any other major game company) is actively looking for illegal use of IP.
Here's a nifty quote from the Nintendo site...
"Nintendo will continue to aggressively protect its intellectual property rights."
The 'crux of the biscuit' is... It's just WRONG! Think up your own ideas, that's what all those noodles between your ears are for. :scruff:
Be Well
Refer to this FAQ. Although it addresses illegal ROMs & emulators, and not Fan Games, I think the answer illustrates Nintendo's argument to your logic that illegal use of their IP promotes sales.
Also, given that Nintendo has around 3500 employees, I'd be very surprised if not a single one of them is aware of this site, if not a member. And I wouldn't bet the farm that no one at Nintendo (or any other major game company) is actively looking for illegal use of IP.
Here's a nifty quote from the Nintendo site...
"Nintendo will continue to aggressively protect its intellectual property rights."
The 'crux of the biscuit' is... It's just WRONG! Think up your own ideas, that's what all those noodles between your ears are for. :scruff:
Be Well
It's a little sad, really, that they're so strict. Unless a game is being sold for profit, I doubt they'd pursue it (as you said, they wouldn't gain anything). It's basically fan fiction brought to an extreme. I don't plan on making a Pokemon game, and even if I did make one I'd make it for myself. Anyway, I think you've answered the question spectacularly.
Guardian1239":mh8jg4pf said:
I think its a good thing that they are so strict. There's no middle ground no gray ambiguous line. It is or it isn't. Actually if a pokemon fangame was my pursuit I'd be more worried over getting an earful of Despain rather than Nintendo's attack dogs.
"I'd be more worried over getting an earful of Despain rather than Nintendo's attack dogs."
Lol thats the truth, hehe.
To be honest, I don't see how things like this can be illegal, but then again, are the rips from websites legal ? Anyways, I don't think they'd care about a non profitable game that like 200 people will play, it's too small to be brought to their attention, and even if it did, they'd just watch, and make sure it isn't sold or anything, I guess if noticed, something in the credits like "Big thanks to Nintendo for making the awesome pokemon games that inspired me to make this", which to be honest, is kind of fair, if they don't want people using resources from their game, they should make them export-proof, how this will be done, I have no idea, lol, but something could be done lol.
When a Pokémon game is made, for example, here on the forums, it should have in brackets (Fangame) or something so the Nintendogs don't bark at them, and try to use custom monsters or something to avoid a copyright breach.
Lol thats the truth, hehe.
To be honest, I don't see how things like this can be illegal, but then again, are the rips from websites legal ? Anyways, I don't think they'd care about a non profitable game that like 200 people will play, it's too small to be brought to their attention, and even if it did, they'd just watch, and make sure it isn't sold or anything, I guess if noticed, something in the credits like "Big thanks to Nintendo for making the awesome pokemon games that inspired me to make this", which to be honest, is kind of fair, if they don't want people using resources from their game, they should make them export-proof, how this will be done, I have no idea, lol, but something could be done lol.
When a Pokémon game is made, for example, here on the forums, it should have in brackets (Fangame) or something so the Nintendogs don't bark at them, and try to use custom monsters or something to avoid a copyright breach.
I never played any Poke'mon games but I might. As far as copyrights go, Poke'mon copyrights belong to Nintendo, no one else. Unless they wish to sell and I doubt they will. I'd personally rather play official games because I have seen tons of fan games that are not as good as the originals.
Bottom line is really, if it isn't yours, you're not entitled to it's copyrights unless a company officially releases it to the public domain. I'm not 100% for this idea though. As long as you are not making money off of someone else's copyrighted material, you be allowed to personally, and for FREE, use it for other things. Not to mention, most things in this world are not original anyway which means someone can't hold a copyright for water, it's just not right.
But I second what Brewmeister mentioned. Use your head, work at it, do some original stuff. Nintendo spends hard times making games FOR us, and everyone needs to realize that. Nintendo must be doing something right because they HAVE been around for over 100 years ya know.
All that needs to be done, is to maybe find someone around who is good at making Poke'mon from scratch, and have them draw you some up, and alter their appearance a bit, and change their names, then you should have original work. I've actually seen a lot of characters and stuff that resemble each other, and have different copyright holders.
Bottom line is really, if it isn't yours, you're not entitled to it's copyrights unless a company officially releases it to the public domain. I'm not 100% for this idea though. As long as you are not making money off of someone else's copyrighted material, you be allowed to personally, and for FREE, use it for other things. Not to mention, most things in this world are not original anyway which means someone can't hold a copyright for water, it's just not right.
But I second what Brewmeister mentioned. Use your head, work at it, do some original stuff. Nintendo spends hard times making games FOR us, and everyone needs to realize that. Nintendo must be doing something right because they HAVE been around for over 100 years ya know.
All that needs to be done, is to maybe find someone around who is good at making Poke'mon from scratch, and have them draw you some up, and alter their appearance a bit, and change their names, then you should have original work. I've actually seen a lot of characters and stuff that resemble each other, and have different copyright holders.
Nintendo should not have to do this, but they DO protect their games because a lot of people won't do things themselves, and they know that someone will try and take something. They have to work even harder to keep their property safe because of instances like this, and THIS is wrong. There will always be someone taking and this is so true, that they had to make a copyright law to influence it.jbrist":1katvuwq said:
AdamationStudios
Member
I totally aggree with Guardian, nintendo would then get more sales, sheesh, if i were the "head guy" I woud'nt care about it :thumb:Guardian1239":1gxzy6vj said: