On Mon, 2002-12-16 at 18:05, Joe Wreschnig wrote: > I'm intending to package PyDDR (http://www.clickass.org/~tgz/pyddr), a > Dance Dance Revolution simulator for UNIX systems. The basic idea behind > DDR is that you have a pattern of button presses (which you press with > your feet, hence "dancing") which you do in rhythm with music. > > PyDDR at the moment comes with one free song and step pattern file, > which I'll be packaging with it. However, I'd also like to include a > collection of step files (without songs) that are "copies" of the > official DDR step patterns. I'm not sure if these are free or not. > > The files are created as follows: Someone watches the required button > presses scroll by in the official version of DDR (from a Playstation > game CD). They copy down those buttons, and then write a file containing > that information but in a format PyDDR understands. > > Now, my guess is that these aren't free, because the step file is still > a copy of the original one. However, it's also possible that you can't > copyright just a series of button presses, and so since the actual files > containing their button data weren't copyrighted, these "reverse > engineered" button presses are. > > Can anyone better versed in copyright law than I comment on this?
I think that the dances described by the rising arrows are copyrightable as choreographic works (one of the specifically mentioned items in 17 usc 106). So, I agree with you. -- -Dave Turner Stalk Me: 617 441 0668 "The coked-up Hollyweird fatcats hate Turing Machines." -Murray, _0wnz0red_, Cory Doctorow