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Topic: cloning a computer game - copyrighted? (Read 617 times) |
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Martijn
Newbie
Posts: 2
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cloning a computer game - copyrighted?
« on: Sep 14th, 2006, 8:08am » |
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Hello,
I would like to know more about computer game copyrights. Could anyone please tell me more about the things asked in the questions (and maybe it's not complete, could you then please add remarks, if useful)? The questions are concerned with the game Boulder Dash by First Star Software, but can also be applied to other games of course.
1. Is it allowed to clone the game (to make an own game that uses the same game idea etc.)? Namely, there are some commercial and licensed games, that are clones as well. Examples of them are Supaplex and Emerald Mine.
2. Is it against the law to use in your clone or in a screensaver, mouse cursor or whatever:
a. the same graphics as in Boulder Dash
b. the same sounds as in Boulder Dash
c. the same music as in Boulder Dash
d. the same source code as in Boulder Dash
3. May a webmaster put illegal clones on his website? As he is not the creator of the illegal work... he only provides it, so maybe it is allowed.
4. If not, is the webmaster guilty then if he puts a clone on his website which is illegal, but about which he isn't aware? For example, the clone can contain a copyrighted music file when the clone (game) has been completed.
5. Is it legal to make slightly different graphics, sounds, music (think of music remixes) or source codes, so that they are not copyrighted anymore?
6. Is it allowed to make screenshots of a copyrighted game?
7. Is it allowed not to provide the source code, but documents that tell you how Boulder Dash is built up on your site?
8. Is there anything else that should be asked here?
My website is called Martijn's Boulder Dash Fan Site (sorry, I may not provide URLs yet, as I am a new member of this forum), try Google for it.
And is this all according to the American Law (as Boulder Dash comes from America), the international law or the law of the country you live in?
I hope that anyone could help me. Thanks in advance.
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JSonnabend
Moderator
Senior Member
Posts: 2251
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Re: cloning a computer game - copyrighted?
« Reply #1 on: Sep 15th, 2006, 7:50am » |
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on Sep 14th, 2006, 8:08am, Martijn wrote:| 1. Is it allowed to clone the game (to make an own game that uses the same game idea etc.)? Namely, there are some commercial and licensed games, that are clones as well. Examples of them are Supaplex and Emerald Mine. |
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You are allowed to create a game embodying the ideas embodied in other games. You'll run into trouble if you utilize the same expression of those ideas as the other games, generally speaking.
Quote:2. Is it against the law to use in your clone or in a screensaver, mouse cursor or whatever:
a. the same graphics as in Boulder Dash
b. the same sounds as in Boulder Dash
c. the same music as in Boulder Dash
d. the same source code as in Boulder Dash |
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Yes to all four.
Quote:| 3. May a webmaster put illegal clones on his website? As he is not the creator of the illegal work... he only provides it, so maybe it is allowed. |
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Generally, a webmaster may not put illegal clones on his website. If he meets the requirements of the DMCA safe harbor provisions, he can avoid liability.
Quote:| 4. If not, is the webmaster guilty then if he puts a clone on his website which is illegal, but about which he isn't aware? For example, the clone can contain a copyrighted music file when the clone (game) has been completed. |
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See # 3, above.
Quote:| 5. Is it legal to make slightly different graphics, sounds, music (think of music remixes) or source codes, so that they are not copyrighted anymore? |
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Saying "so that they are not copyrighted anymore" is jibberish. The point is the original works are copyrighted, and to the extent you copy them, even if you alter them, you'll be infringing. At some point the changes are so extensive that the new works may not be considered copies at all, but based on the tenor of your questions, I would bet you won't get that far.
Quote:| 6. Is it allowed to make screenshots of a copyrighted game? |
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Doing so is copyright infringement, but may be excused as fair use depending on what you do with the screenshots.
Quote:| 7. Is it allowed not to provide the source code, but documents that tell you how Boulder Dash is built up on your site? |
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Huh?
Quote:| 8. Is there anything else that should be asked here? |
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Only if you have other questions.
Quote:| And is this all according to the American Law (as Boulder Dash comes from America), the international law or the law of the country you live in? |
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The foregoing is based on U.S. law.
- Jeff
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SonnabendLaw
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
Brooklyn, USA
718-832-8810
JSonnabend@SonnabendLaw.com
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Isaac
Senior Member
Posts: 3472
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Re: cloning a computer game - copyrighted?
« Reply #2 on: Sep 15th, 2006, 8:16am » |
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on Sep 15th, 2006, 7:50am, JSonnabend wrote:| Generally, a webmaster may not put illegal clones on his website. If he meets the requirements of the DMCA safe harbor provisions, he can avoid liability. |
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I'll just add here that if the web master or someone directly controlled by the webmaster are doing the putting, the web master will probably find difficulty meeting the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA.
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Isaac
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Martijn
Newbie
Posts: 2
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Re: cloning a computer game - copyrighted?
« Reply #3 on: Sep 15th, 2006, 2:42pm » |
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About 6:
I assume it is not allowed to provide the programming code of Boulder Dash on the site. But is it allowed to offer a document that tells about every aspect of the game how it is built up?
(For example: how long a certain tone lasts, data about levels, etc.)
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JSonnabend
Moderator
Senior Member
Posts: 2251
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Re: cloning a computer game - copyrighted?
« Reply #4 on: Sep 18th, 2006, 7:33am » |
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on Sep 15th, 2006, 2:42pm, Martijn wrote:About 6:
I assume it is not allowed to provide the programming code of Boulder Dash on the site. But is it allowed to offer a document that tells about every aspect of the game how it is built up?
(For example: how long a certain tone lasts, data about levels, etc.) |
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That's an interesting question. I suppose your level of detail might eventually cross some line, rendering the description a derivative work (or merely a transcription of some sort, perhaps). By way of analogy, you wouldn't be able to do what you describe for a complete movie, I believe. The same is true for the screen shots -- don't take 21 screenshots per second for the entire movie, for instance.
As for describing the game to other developers, you're free to describe the ideas embodied in the game -- that is, the what it does -- for incorporation into new works. You're not free to describe the expressions of those ideas -- that is, the way it does what it does -- for incorporation into new works. That latter would be considered copyright infringement, most likely.
- Jeff
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| « Last Edit: Sep 18th, 2006, 7:36am by JSonnabend » |
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SonnabendLaw
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
Brooklyn, USA
718-832-8810
JSonnabend@SonnabendLaw.com
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