

The Silver Lining project: copyright gone wrong - yason
http://www.tsl-game.com/

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yason
This is once again just mind-boggling.

They didn't copy or reverse-engineer stuff. They didn't abuse any existing
copyrighted works but instead invested a lot in creating their own non-
commercial sequel of the game.

They made a completely new game, with their own storyline and engine. The only
reference to the King's Quest is that made it a sequel to the original series.
Oh, they even dropped the name King's Quest almost a decade ago. In essence,
the new game is an original copyrighted work by _them_.

There's something horribly wrong with that.

You shouldn't be able to "own" characters or a plot or a storyline: you should
be able to own _actual works_ based on a set of characters, the plot, or the
storyline.

Merely continuing from where the original ended should in no way imply a
derivation of works.

~~~
cduan
It is pretty well established that using the characters etc. of one work to
make a new work constitutes copyright infringement (it would be a derivative
work). (Quick Google search turns up: <http://www.publaw.com/fiction.html>)
The new work certainly has copyrightable elements of its own, but that does
not change the basic fact that the new work infringes the old.

The bigger issue in my mind is the license. It is generally the case that if
someone gives you a license to property, and you spend money in reliance on
that license in a reasonable and expected manner, then the license becomes
irrevocable. If Vivendi granted Phoenix a license, and Phoenix spent money
developing the game, I can't see how the new property owner Activision can
just retract the license.

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psawaya
Another sad story like this: <http://www.opcoder.com/projects/chrono/>

It's pretty insane to think how much work went into both of these games, and
that they will never see the light of day.

~~~
derefr
In both cases, it's idiotic to throw away all the _non_ -copyrighted parts of
the work. It can't use the IP? Fine, throw out the IP, and use whatever's left
over to make something new. GraalOnline did this with the Zelda IP, for
example. Any author who got their start writing fan-fiction knows the reality
of throwing out all the "canon" characters and setting and realizing you still
have a story. There's just no sense in letting it all go to waste.

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bliss
I wonder if this means that Activision are going to breathe life into the old
kings quest franchise and this move was to avoid dilution of their IP

