Trademarks, Copyrights, and games you ACTUALLY own.

[deathtaker26]

  Okay, so I've been talking to people on this forums quite often and seeing a lot of arguments and discussions on the topic. It's pretty obvious that many eclipse games are based around popular titles such as Pokemon or The legend of zelda. Well before you go off creating a game like this, or if you already have a game like this, let's take a moment to discuss legal terms.

  One of the biggest issues I've seen is that people think that a major game company, such as Nintendo, allows for someone to create a "fan-made" game as long as it's non-profit and the the company is credited for the concept. **This is false!** First of all there is no commercial or any sort of financial gain for Nintendo out of this. You are actually stealing their product.

  "But wait mr.toothpaste man, What about a disclaimer?"… Well, disclaimers aren't a "get out of jail free card". All a disclaimer does is state that you didn't create or own any aspect of the product. They don't allow you to steal the idea and use it anyway but it has to be added to your product or game to state that you are in no way affiliated with the original company. Basically of something is to happen to someone on your fanmade game which involves a lawsuit. It states that you get sued NOT the major company.

  I've also seen people on this forum putting (R)'s or (C)'s representing right protection on their game names when they include things such as Pokemon or Zelda. Please remove that as it's illegal. You did not add a right protection to your game as it is already trademarked by a major company. Something that is already registered as a copyright or a trademark cannot be registered again. If the game was your own idea and you created the name by yourself doesn't mean you have it copyrighted simply by adding a (C) next to it. In fact, right protection cost money, In florida to copy right a business name which is a basic name cost $255 USD. And this is just to register it as your name, for example I'm Dylan Dodds and if I wanted to register a copyright for my company and only want to pay the $255 I would have to use the name Dylan Dodds Inc. Custom names Such as Soulz Inc. would cost a lot more. My name isn't actually Incorporated It's trade marked as Soulz Inc. Inc. is part of the name so if I were to get it Incorporated it would be Soulz Inc. Inc. (yep truths out I know ways around incorporation lol)

  Now, you are a little more educated about right protection but lets talk about trademarks.

  A trademark is basic a symbol such as a logo identifying a business or product. However it's not always just an image it can also be text. It's used to distinguish one product from another even if it's under one manufacturer. So that pokeball you use in your game's logo, better remove it, that too is illegal to use!

  Now something just a tad off topic from the rest:

  Creating your own game from your own idea.

  It always gets me why people want to use things such as Pokemon for a game. Just because you put everything together doesn't mean it's your game. Think of it this way, you didn't make the engine, you didn't make the idea, you didn't make the sprites or the characters, **IT'S NOT YOUR GAME!** Think of something more creative. Use your imagination a bit that's what game design is all about. Don't steal an idea someone else has already made. It's illegal and it's not yours. So while all you guys who are making your Pokemon games and what not just remember. You don't own it, you have no right to call it yours, and you're not a true game developer until you come up with your own ideas and your own games.

Hope this helped you out!
~Crest, god of toothpaste.

EDIT:

I forgot to mention that there are different copyrights for different areas. You can have a copyright for a country or you can copyright something in a state, my company, Soulz Inc, which I've been using as an example, is only registered under the state of Florida through sunbiz. There are different lisences too such as LLC and what not, I suggest researching more into that as well. So since I only have a state copyright someone in New York can create a business called Soulz Inc. as well and legally I can't sue because of their location.

[Wilfre]

FINALLY! Someone to say that, it seems like many games I see are Zelda or Pokemon…

[deathtaker26]

@Forgotten:

> FINALLY! Someone to say that, it seems like many games I see are Zelda or Pokemon…

That's all it seems eclipse is full of. It's about time someone states that if you're making an online game where you didn't create the idea, it's not your game and you know nothing about proper game design. Eclipse is used to educate users how to develop games not steal ideas.

Though yes, even I'll admit at one point I did have a pokemon online game but I shut it down simply because it wasn't my idea.

[JustinSD]

What about games and hosts that are all completely offshore?

It goes by the countries copyright laws correct?

[deathtaker26]

@JustinSD:

> What about games and hosts that are all completely offshore?
>
> It goes by the countries copyright laws correct?

I actaully just remembered that and edited the post before you replied. There are different copyrights for different location but obviously Nintendo has many different registrations for their company Such as Japan, US, the UK, etc. so yes you can copyright in different countries and locations dependent if a company already has that copyright in that country

Nintendo has a country copyright for the US so legally if I wanted to create a state copyright for my state named Nintendo I couldn't

[cheatking]

I love the UK and it's free auto-copyright.
[Fun facts](http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law)
Everything I make is safe for 70 years after I die. :D

[deathtaker26]

@Mr.Sean:

> I love the UK and it's free auto-copyright.
> [Fun facts](http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law)
> Everything I make is safe for 70 years after I die. :D

copyright is free in the UK?

[cheatking]

@Crest:

> copyright is free in the UK?

"Copyright is an automatic right and arises whenever an individual or company creates a work. "

[Ruins of Hell]

@Crest:

> copyright is free in the UK?

It is ~~free~~ automatic in the US too, and any country who has accepted the [Berne Convention](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works). [However, there are some reasons for registration.](http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#automatic)

[Harris6310]

@Crest:

> My name isn't actually Incorporated It's trade marked as Soulz Inc. Inc. is part of the name so if I were to get it Incorporated it would be Soulz Inc. Inc. (yep truths out I know ways around incorporation lol)

With this, you are basically doing what you are complaining about. It may not be illegal for you, but it still looks incredibly stupid and unprofessional.

[deathtaker26]

@Harris:

> With this, you are basically doing what you are complaining about. It may not be illegal for you, but it still looks incredibly stupid and unprofessional.

Not necisarily, it's only a local business for one so it doesn't really matter and the it was a name I came up with when I was 12 I got it registered when I was 14 I don't feel like paying 150$ or whatever the fee is to change it now.

And that is not what I'm complaining about, I'm complaining about people stealing professional company's work and calling it theirs.

[cheatking]

@Soul:

> It is ~~free~~ automatic in the US too, and any country who has accepted the [Berne Convention](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works). [However, there are some reasons for registration.](http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#automatic)

The US has an official copyright thing registration thing?

[Ruins of Hell]

@Mr.Sean:

> The US has an official copyright thing registration thing?

Yes.

[deathtaker26]

@Soul:

> Yes.

I had no idea in Florida you have to register copyright and it isn't cheap

[Likestodraw]

Yeah, there are a LOT of people who only seem to make Pokemon, Mario, or Zelda games. It get's a little annoying.

[RyokuHasu]

@Crest:

> If the game was your own idea and you created the name by yourself doesn't mean you have it copyrighted simply by adding a (C) next to it. In fact, right protection cost money, In florida to copy right a business name which is a basic name cost $255 USD.

My only problem with this is that I read the copyright law. It only states that you must have undeniable proof that it is an original idea and that you had it first. And that Simply putting your name, the year it was created, and the © mark is all you need for it to be copyrighted, if you can prove to a court of law that it was yours first.

The place you "buy copyrights" from is to have them do that service for you. the money pays for them creating all the proof you would need to stand up to any court. otherwise you can do it yourself and HOPE that your home-brewed evidence is enough to convince the court system, vs. having a bigger more powerful entity making the proof for you.

Somewhere on this forum i have posted a direct link to said law and gave directions to the correct clauses.

Another thing is that you can copyright only specific parts of your game if you want rather than the entire game, like only your title, story, plot, and the stuff you DID make are all things you can copy right. only the parts you didn't make can't be covered, even with expressed permission of use.

Edit:
there is also a clause that i posted about the use of MP3s in games you don't need a licence for it if you distribute under 5000 copies of your game.

Laws are fun to read.

Some good ways to Home-Brew a copyright

-MAIL a CD of your game to yourself inside a package, it will be post marked with a date and SEALED only open when you go to court

-just add your name, the year, and the (c) mark and pray you never have to go to court to fight for whats yours

-do it for a class assignment and have them turn your written parts into Turnitin.com where it will be cataloged and dated with you as the original author IF they say yours is original and not copied.

-Win any court battle over your material and it will be cataloged as yours and the court system MUST take into consideration all previous rulings in that specific piece (this is a piece by piece and tiring way to do it)

these are all LEGAL and LEGIT ways to copyright yourself.

[deathtaker26]

@Ryoku:

> My only problem with this is that I read the copyright law. It only states that you must have undeniable proof that it is an original idea and that you had it first. And that Simply putting your name, the year it was created, and the © mark is all you need for it to be copyrighted, if you can prove to a court of law that it was yours first.
>
> The place you "buy copyrights" from is to have them do that service for you. the money pays for them creating all the proof you would need to stand up to any court. otherwise you can do it yourself and HOPE that your home-brewed evidence is enough to convince the court system, vs. having a bigger more powerful entity making the proof for you.
>
> Somewhere on this forum i have posted a direct link to said law and gave directions to the correct clauses.
>
> Another thing is that you can copyright only specific parts of your game if you want rather than the entire game, like only your title, story, plot, and the stuff you DID make are all things you can copy right. only the parts you didn't make can't be covered, even with expressed permission of use.
>
> Edit:
> there is also a clause that i posted about the use of MP3s in games you don't need a licence for it if you distribute under 5000 copies of your game.
>
> Laws are fun to read.
>
> Some good ways to Home-Brew a copyright
>
> -MAIL a CD of your game to yourself inside a package, it will be post marked with a date and SEALED only open when you go to court
>
> -just add your name, the year, and the (c) mark and pray you never have to go to court to fight for whats yours
>
> -do it for a class assignment and have them turn your written parts into Turnitin.com where it will be cataloged and dated with you as the original author IF they say yours is original and not copied.
>
> -Win any court battle over your material and it will be cataloged as yours and the court system MUST take into consideration all previous rulings in that specific piece (this is a piece by piece and tiring way to do it)
>
> these are all LEGAL and LEGIT ways to copyright yourself.

Hmm taught us different in economics but then again those text books were old as hell. Either that or my teach was retarded T_T

[RyokuHasu]

I was an honors business student in high school, enrolled in a special program centered around nothing but honors business courses… we learned some pretty useful shit! XD

[Exception]

@Ryoku:

> -MAIL a CD of your game to yourself inside a package, it will be post marked with a date and SEALED only open when you go to court

The Poor Man's Copyright is actually invalid. It doesn't work as a source of proof, and neither does it stand in court.

@Ryoku:

> -just add your name, the year, and the © mark and pray you never have to go to court to fight for whats yours

Yep, definitely a legit way of copyrighting your material without ever telling any court.

@Ryoku:

> -do it for a class assignment and have them turn your written parts into Turnitin.com where it will be cataloged and dated with you as the original author IF they say yours is original and not copied.

Isn't a legit way of copyrighting. Proofing, maybe, but copyrighting it?

@Ryoku:

> these are all LEGAL and LEGIT ways to copyright yourself.

No, apart from your last one, these are ways to prove that you own them, and even then, only one of these is actually valid.

If you want to copyright yourself, and you **care** enough to do so, rather than doing half-arsed methods, follow the actual procedures according to your country (or state, in the case of the US), and actually get the copyright if the project really matters to you.

[RyokuHasu]

hey I never said that they WOULD stand up in court.

I'm just saying that the law does technically allow these methods.

If you just want to put a name, year, and © on your (Original) game go right a head, you can... good luck in court.

Edit:
The success of how well you do with home brewing depends on just how original you are, just how much you CAN prove, and the judge you get.... some are hard-asses some are a bit more liberal. Along with a TRUCK load of other possibilities why it would fail if your attempt it yourself.

[Wilfre]

I've always wondered how you could make an RPG like Zelda of Maria into an MMO.

[Joost]

This thread is pretty hypocritical towards fangames, since literally every Eclipse game uses stolen music or graphics.

[Exception]

I wouldn't say literally every. Most, definitely.

[Joost]

Great, the one guy who's doing something original, just my luck.

[Exception]

:P, naturally.