Posted By
Ozymandias
on 2008-11-21
11:28:12
|  What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
Hello,
I noticed that some games have a message "No downloads available".
For example:
http://plus4world.powweb.com/software/Super_Cobra
http://plus4world.powweb.com/software/Hungaroring
What's the reason for this? Did the Copyrightholder deny distribution via this website? Or is it that no one has uploaded these games so far?
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Posted By
MIK
on 2008-11-26
10:16:12
 | Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
Talking of copyright and strange going on's. Mastertronic released a game that we all know called Spore
Come 2008 and that very name is used again for another game.
http://www.spore.com/ftl
I think there is another game out there using a classic old game name but can't remember it. Tho Big Mac would not be allowed today I'm sure without a licence. 
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2008-11-26
14:23:05
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
You're right, I never even thought of the Big Mac reference even though it's so obvious. I looked it up, and of course the sandwich came long before the video game. I have no doubt that a newly released game would be sued (even though the product is in a different market).
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Posted By
indi
on 2008-11-26
17:32:33
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
The reason they are allowed to bring out games now with names of the past, is that they never trade maked game names back then, so you could easily just bring out a game called spore. As for Big Mac, it just wasn't a big enough title to warrent attention 
APB (the Realtime worlds are doing) bought the name APB from Atari (the top down driving game) so they could use it. Same for Crackdown - Sega had the name and I think Microsoft bought it.
But unless you trademark it, anyone can use it....
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Posted By
TMR
on 2008-11-26
20:00:38
 | Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
From memory, there are limits to what you can trademark and i suspect that the "prior art" over the Mastertronic game Spore would actually mean that EA's trademark was invalid; certainly when Reaxion.com got all legal with me over the release of Reaxion on the Plus/4 and Atari 8-bit, they stopped emailing me after i pointed out i'd been using the name longer than they had. =-)
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Posted By
indi
on 2008-11-27
04:15:58
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
No, prior art only works with patents. Lets say Lucas didn't trademark StarWars, anyone could then come along and beat him to it, but I can't remember anyone being that stupid. These days everything is trademarked which is why you don't get titles that are identical.
Basically Copyright protects actual assets like graphics/sound etc. Patents protect concepts and ideas about ways of doing things, and trademarks protect brands and names.
As with patents however, there are certain "spaces" to which things are trade marked. comptures and IT, books, movies etc. are all in different spaces, so you have to apply for a trademark across the board - which everyone does these days. Same goes for patents.
However Copyright protects people from using your logo in another space...I think...So can't use that macdonalds logo just anywhere.
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Posted By
TMR
on 2008-11-27
05:01:05
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
Trademark isn't international, and the prior art thing does apply to American trademark law - i spent a while piling through some very dry legal documents to see where i stood over Reaxion.
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Posted By
indi
on 2008-11-27
05:45:53
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
No its not - neither are patents in fact. Not sure about Copyright, pretty sure thats world wide - since you don't have to pay anyone for it.
MMmm....it's interesting to know Prior-Art works there too...course like patents, it could still bankrupt you to prove it. *sigh* >
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Posted By
MIK
on 2008-11-28
11:30:19
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
Computer games and arcade machines were really an underground thing that took advantage of a situation that the masses had not cought up on. It was like selling an illegal drug but now in high street shops where no one knew what was really going on for years other than us! Great times indeed!
Sega's OutRun (1986) is a classic with its convertible Testarossa. Even in 1996 with the release of Sega Ages for the Sega Saturn Sega re-released OutRun almost arcade perfect.
Come 2001 and Sega changed its ways. The convertible Testarossa was replaced by another convertible car design Sega had now made up them selfs for the game Shenmue 2 so not to brake copyright rulez or whatever the case may be.
When Sumo Digital won the contract to port OutRun2 for XBOX Sega Japan gave them the source code for Shenmue 2's OutRun as a thankyou. Now that Sega had obtained a license for the release of OutRun2 XBOX from Ferrari Sumo Digital went back and returned the original car design to the classic Testarossa.
Sorry to go on a bit there, just I love this story so much. Your be amazed how many Sega fans ask for the old sega arcade games to show up on XBOXLiVE and the likes but they never think twice about the content of the games them selfs from back then. Shinobi featured Spider Man and also had posters of Marlyn Monroe on some walls if you didnt know!
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Posted By
indi
on 2008-11-28
14:42:09
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
Sega's pretty cool, I loved the old 16bit consoles they did and they have some amazing games in their back catalog.
We almost did outrun2 for Sega on mobile, we did a mock up and were ready to roll, but just before it was signed, we discovered they had forgotten to get the licence for the Farrari logo so it was dropped. *sigh*
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Posted By
MIK
on 2008-11-29
05:17:42
| Re: What's the reason for "No downloads available"?
Count your self lucky.
I'm sure you know what Ferrari are like when it comes to getting a licence. Everything has to be as perfect as the cars they make and even then you can expect some hold up while they aim for perfection. Thats the nice way of putting it any how. 
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