Hi, Quote I don't think there would be any licensing involved- since the game is basically obsolete- and the company isn't making money off of it, or am I wrong here? That's my main point- if I made a game similar to this, would I be conflicting with licensing or some such? End quote
Yes, you could be conflicting with the original authors if your game was exactly like the original product. The fact it is obsolete and the company isn't making or selling it any more does not make it public domain material. it is still guarded under U.S. copyright law. The thing to keep in mind that a copyright can be held for a person's or company's entire lifetime, and may be renewed by any surviving relatives. What that means for people like you and I we will not live long enough to see the copyrights run out on something we enjoy, and there is usually between 100 to 150 years before a copyright falls into the public domain. That is what happened with me and Montezuma's Revenge. The product is 24 years old, it isn't being sold, and who really cares? Well, legally I am in the wrong, because according to U.S. copyright law they might not release the copyright into the public domain until 2084. That is another 76 years away, and I will be too old to care by then. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
