> From: John Kim [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Is there any precedent for this?? It seems to me that the > reverse is true. i.e. In the case of Warner Bros. Pictures v. > Columbia Broadcasting Sys., it was found that one could use the > character and even name it "Sam Spade" -- since the character was > not distinctive enough. Having read through thirty years of caselaw on the subject, my (non-legal professional) opinion is that if either the "Sam Spade" or "Sky Pirates" case was litigated today the IP owners would win both cases easily. The courts have reversed the Sam Spade decision, but they haven't come right out and done it openly; which is one reason IP copyright law is such a hash right now. I think the big sea change happened after Star Wars, when people realized that the characters and worlds of fiction could be turned into licenses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. That transformed a previously highbrow debate about the Framer's intentions into a discussion of what amounts to "real" property. The courts have increasingly seen fit to award IP owners near total control of their original creations and to exclude similar works and derivative works almost without exception. Congress needs to step in at some point and write law. Ryan _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
