Activision Kills Long-Awaited King's Quest Fan Project

[Shadeovblack]

They don't deserve to live.

 

[Grahamburger]

But actually no, the law does require one ot protect their IPs actively. Simply, whether it's an infringement or not depends on the threat level, so to speak, a subjective evaluation of how close to the original the derivative work is, and whether the intended audience will recognize substantial similarities between the two works. In other words, a Harry Potter fanfiction, for example, would be tolerated as long as it just stays a text file on the net. But put it in an actual book that looks like a Harry Potter book and you'll get a C&D.

To put it an actual book that you SELL would certainly get a C&D, a book distributed for free would NOT. There was no commercial plans for TSL. And I'd really love to see a source for where you guys are getting the idea that one must actively protect their IPs under the law, cause I've been researching all day and I haven't seen that anywhere.
http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/909/wipo_pub_909.html, for example doesn't say anything about that all
http://www.intelproplaw.com/Copyright/, neither does this, which is interesting because it covers all of the applicable laws in pretty great detail
So I also went to the library and skimmed some books, none of which mentioned that. And then, I called a friend of mine who's in law school and asked, and she didn't think that was accurate either. In fact, all I can find as far as ways to lose the rights to your intellectual property, other than selling it, is to be dead for 50 years. So, uhm, yeah, one of you trying to say Activision was being forced into this by the law REALLY should find a source for that.

But a bigger sticking point as far as I can see from the Silver Lining site is they never mention Activision actually acepted to uphold the Vivendi contract at any point. They just mention negotiating with Activision when the IP changed hands, which tends to hint the contract had to be invalid already, or else it wouldn't have needed to be renegociated.

When a corporation (or even just a person) merges or takes over another company, they are obligated to honor all contracts and agreements held by the previous owner UNLESS there is no paperwork or proof of said agreements. Given that Vivendi still exists and is in fact the parent company, if that loophole is what's going on then they really should be in SO MUCH TROUBLE. It's paperwork, they pay people to file that and corporations are *supposed* to keep all major paperwork for at least seven years (generally a good idea for people too!) after it's become inactive -- which, at least as far as I've been informed by the team, that agreement had not reached the end of its term because the project wasn't finished. There was a clause that said either party could cancel the contract at any time, so there's no breach of contract -- but that doesn't make it a good decision.

The only area where there's room for exploration is reusing their assets for another project as long as they remove everything that ties it to King's Quest, something they perfectly have the right to do. It's a classic C&D dickmove, requesting more than you're legally entitled to.

The fair use laws also leave a HUGE gray area that it could be argued TSL fell into after they changed the name to The Silver Lining . It did not claim to be a King's Quest and wouldn't be sold, so it was not competition. It used some of the original King's Quest, but it also introduced a lot of original material. Because of the contract that Activision decided to disregard, however, it's a little late for that argument.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Hold on a moment, you've got a few holes in your summary. A couple of rather big ones.

Actually, everything you said in your three points just reinforces my original statement. You're mad because Activision exercised its legal right to protect its IP and so you're going to use it as a justification to steal some stuff.

It's a dick move, absolutely. You want to protest it? Sign the petition, send an email and don't buy any more Activision games. But using this ridiculous "they did it first" excuse to justify piracy is just being silly.

 

[Captain Blackout]

Hold on a moment, you've got a few holes in your summary. A couple of rather big ones.

Actually, everything you said in your three points just reinforces my original statement. You're mad because Activision exercised its legal right to protect its IP and so you're going to use it as a justification to steal some stuff.

It's a dick move, absolutely. You want to protest it? Sign the petition, send an email and don't buy any more Activision games. But using this ridiculous "they did it first" excuse to justify piracy is just being silly.

ARgh! I had a response...
Ok, really short one: I don't need justification for being a pirate, never have, never will. I have changed what kind of pirate I am over the years and adopted a culture most people here would not understand. My original point, however, still stands:
Activision bitches about pirates, then screws over the fans and consumers. I'm calling hypocrisy and BS. I don't buy Activision games, and if I steal one because I feel they earned the honor I'll be giving it away. This isn't about free games for me, I haven't stolen a game in years. This is one self-aware pirate looking at Activision and saying: "You guys are dicks, and we both know it. I'm a pirate because I made a choice for myself. You guys are pirates because you want all the money for yourselves. Fuck off Mr. Kotick."

Now please stop accusing me of being silly, there are more details than you know about here and we'll fill an entire thread by ourselves if I try and fully explain this to you.

Also: I'll sign the petition right after someone vets it and shows that the info won't be used for anything else.

 

[pj2elliot]

I can't tell you how sad I am by this! King's Quest is an unforgetable part of my childhood, and I hate to see the TSL team take such a hit. I mean, they're making zero money off this, why couldn't Activision just let them continue with this one release? I mean, they'd be respecting the hard work and creative talents for the TSL team AND get still have total control of the King's Quest name, ya know?

This is important: There is a petition being filed online to save The Silver Lining. The goal is 100,000 signatures. A petition worked when Vivindi wanted to shut TSL down, so maybe it will work with Activision? Who knows, but it never hurts to try!

Here is the address: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/savetsl/

If the link doesn't work, google "save the silver lining". It's the first page that pops up.

If you do decide to sign the petition, please DO NOT use profanity and DO NOT say you're someone you aren't. This needs to be professional, an honest effort.

Let's tell the gaming community that we're tired of games with predictable plots and half hearted design. I've played the TSL demo and it's a beautiful piece of work. PLEASE sign the petition!

 

[Andy Chalk]

Now please stop accusing me of being silly, there are more details than you know about here and we'll fill an entire thread by ourselves if I try and fully explain this to you.

But there is no explanation beyond your sense of entitlement. "I don't need a justification for being a pirate, never have, never will." That says it all. You want stuff without having to pay for it and you're using this to try to make yourself appear high-minded in the process.

Go philosophically pirate your game and "stick it to the Man" and be a hero to the 14-year-olds and all that, but don't try to sell it as some kind of morally upstanding behavior. I've heard it all before, and I'm tired of it.

 

[Bobby_C]

In fact, all I can find as far as ways to lose the rights to your intellectual property, other than selling it, is to be dead for 50 years

That's because from what you say you've only been researching copyright law, which is only one aspect of IPs. Try trademark law instead.

 

[Captain Blackout]

Now please stop accusing me of being silly, there are more details than you know about here and we'll fill an entire thread by ourselves if I try and fully explain this to you.

But there is no explanation beyond your sense of entitlement. "I don't need a justification for being a pirate, never have, never will." That says it all. You want stuff without having to pay for it and you're using this to try to make yourself appear high-minded in the process.

Go philosophically pirate your game and "stick it to the Man" and be a hero to the 14-year-olds and all that, but don't try to sell it as some kind of morally upstanding behavior. I've heard it all before, and I'm tired of it.

So tired of it that you completely missed the part where I said I haven't stolen a game in years? So tired that you missed the part where this isn't about a sense of entitlement? I will sell this however I see fit, quit going after anyone who claims piracy asr a way of life, I've heard it all before and I'm tired of it.

I'm done with this, you've put yourself in the same boat as Baby Tea. Say whatever you want after this, you are clearly incapable of understanding where I'm coming from.

 

[Antari]

Great move Activision, attack the most dedicated fans you can. That'll help sales.

 

[SNIPERFOX ft. Harry P.Ness]

those monsterS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chronobreak]

So tired of it that you completely missed the part where I said I haven't stolen a game in years? So tired that you missed the part where this isn't about a sense of entitlement? I will sell this however I see fit, quit going after anyone who claims piracy asr a way of life, I've heard it all before and I'm tired of it.

I'm done with this, you've put yourself in the same boat as Baby Tea. Say whatever you want after this, you are clearly incapable of understanding where I'm coming from.

So, you have stolen games, just not recently? And that makes you any different how, exactly? You claim you are a pirate, but have not stolen any games for years... I don't get it, maybe you can elaborate, or, maybe you are using your moral justification to consider yourself "above" the average pirate in your own mind.

Anybody going after someone because they are pirating is certainly justified, because it is illegal. We don't need people promoting illegal activity in our forums, no matter what your reasons are. It isn't like stealing bread to feed your family, either. There is no legal justification for it, and an incredibly shaky moral one.

What's wrong with doing it the legal way? Why not just stop buying their products? Sign a petition, make sure to tell your friends about what the company is doing, maybe even start a website about it. Write a peice for a local paper or webzine. Don't steal.

 

[Captain Blackout]

So tired of it that you completely missed the part where I said I haven't stolen a game in years? So tired that you missed the part where this isn't about a sense of entitlement? I will sell this however I see fit, quit going after anyone who claims piracy asr a way of life, I've heard it all before and I'm tired of it.

I'm done with this, you've put yourself in the same boat as Baby Tea. Say whatever you want after this, you are clearly incapable of understanding where I'm coming from.

So, you have stolen games, just not recently? And that makes you any different how, exactly? You claim you are a pirate, but have not stolen any games for years... I don't get it, maybe you can elaborate, or, maybe you are using your moral justification to consider yourself "above" the average pirate in your own mind.

Anybody going after someone because they are pirating is certainly justified, because it is illegal. We don't need people promoting illegal activity in our forums, no matter what your reasons are. It isn't like stealing bread to feed your family, either. There is no legal justification for it, and an incredibly shaky moral one.

What's wrong with doing it the legal way? Why not just stop buying their products? Sign a petition, make sure to tell your friends about what the company is doing, maybe even start a website about it. Write a peice for a local paper or webzine. Don't steal.

You, like all the others griping at me, don't get it, and won't get it.

#1 Piracy as a philosophical stance: Syncretism is highly frowned upon in some circles. I don't give a damn, my faith is built by begging/borrowing/stealing the best from the schools of thought out there. The next person who tells me Christianity must be taken as a whole or not at all can take a long walk off a short pier, I'm a pirate and I can do whatever the hell I want. The rest is between God and I, not any of you.

#2 Piracy to feed my family: I work two jobs and still have a hard time making ends meet. When needed, I will bend a few laws to help my family, and have done so. Yes, there are times this is about feeding my family so you can take your assumptions and stuff them.

#3 Piracy for justice: Petitions, boycotts, legal actions don't work. Activision is never going to change as long as Bobby Kotick runs the show. Microsoft went through the same thing, and it wasn't until Gates wasn't the only one running things that their products started to show improvement. Money buys legal power. As long as this is the case, as long as lawyers are highly paid guns for a corporatacracy, then only pirates will get justice.


Don't like me as a pirate? Tough, I'm not going away, so deal with it. BTW, as I said before, I'll sign the petition when someone vets it and I know my email won't get spammed for trying to help.

 

[chronobreak]

You, like all the others griping at me, don't get it, and won't get it.

It's not me, it must be everyone else! I don't think it has anything to do with us "getting it", unless you are suggesting we are beyond the realm of capable thought.

Piracy as a philosophical stance

There is nothing "philosophical" about theft.

Piracy to feed my family

We are talking about video games, unless you are feeding your family games, which I do not think is very nutritious.

Petitions, boycotts, legal actions don't work

And piracy does? Give me some examples of piracy doing anything positive in gaming. It has crippled the PC gaming market and left us all with intrusive DRM. Yeah, thanks for sticking it to the mean, it really helps us out as fellow gamers.

And what legal action would you suggest, sue a company for not making the game you want? And there are plenty of companies that listen to petitons and the voices of their fans, like Telltale games. http://www.gamezone.com/news/10_04_04_06_00PM.htm

?When Sam and Max Freelance Police, was abruptly cancelled last March,? says Connors, ?we were moved by the groundswell of support from the fan community including an online petition to continue the development of the game.? This was the genesis of the company. ?When we saw the petition and how upset people were, we knew we had to start Telltale Games,? adds Bruner."

as long as lawyers are highly paid guns for a corporatacracy, then only pirates will get justice.

What justice?

Don't like me as a pirate? Tough, I'm not going away, so deal with it

Why are you even on a discussion forum if you are unwilling to accept the debates of others?

 

[Grahamburger]

In fact, all I can find as far as ways to lose the rights to your intellectual property, other than selling it, is to be dead for 50 years

That's because from what you say you've only been researching copyright law, which is only one aspect of IPs. Try trademark law instead.

Trademark would only cover the title, "King's Quest" which was not in the title of the game after the agreement with Vivendi was formed. Names, logos, symbols can be trademarked. You can even go so far as to trademark packaging. Ideas, however, can not trademarked, products are. Ideas are copyrighted -- hence why I was looking into copyright laws. Why is this, you may ask?
Because trademarks exist for only one purpose -- to identify the creator or source of the product, not to identify the product.
In other words, there is not any violation of trademark at all. Not even a little bit.

Furthermore, Phoenix Online Studios did Vivendi a MASSIVE favor by removing King's Quest from the title as the trademark had lapsed. Trademarks cannot be warehoused, so once you haven't used it for three years you no longer have a trademark. Unless Vivendi had registered a new "King's Quest" trademark (which they may have in 2006, after the first cease & desist, when they released the new collection), they're operating under the false belief that they actually own the title.

Am I the only one who does research on anything around here?

Oh, and a source:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm

 

[Captain Blackout]

*snip*

EDIT: Actually, on second thought, if you didn't get it from my last post, you won't get it. Think what you want of me, you will never actually understand me. I think I might just do something I haven't done in a while and 'borrow' something from Activision and give it away, just for you...

 

[Captain Blackout]

On piracy and Silver Lining: There are other options rather than stealing a game from Activision. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Rather than announcing one's fan project make it silently and release it without ownership.

Rather than let Silver Lining go down, re-word everything it and make it into a parody.

Just because piracy means stealing games to you guys, does not make it mean that to everyone. Piracy isn't just an act, it's a perspective.

 

[Brad Shepard]

What the fuck guys? Seriously?

You waste 8 years of their lives, for something that probably wouldn't even make a dime.

This is just beyond idiotic, this is god damn Blasphemy.

I'm a freaken ashamed activision, this is low.

Nintendo did the same thing with that zelda fan movie, its just hte comps dont care about us, they care about there money flow.

 

[Grahamburger]

What the fuck guys? Seriously?

You waste 8 years of their lives, for something that probably wouldn't even make a dime.

This is just beyond idiotic, this is god damn Blasphemy.

I'm a freaken ashamed activision, this is low.

Nintendo did the same thing with that zelda fan movie, its just hte comps dont care about us, they care about there money flow.

I don't think anyone expects differently, but Activision is trying to sell the KQ series (they put it up on GOG) without making any new games. How are you going to get new fans? You could take advantage of a free game that got made by fans....

Or you COULD screw yourself over (and screw over your money flow as far as this franchise is concerned) by throwing a C&D at it.

I swear I know rocks that have more brain cells than Kotick.