Jimquisition: Lawsuits, Memes, and Tasty Medicine

personion

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Dec 6, 2010
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I love 5th Cell and Scribblenauts. They're some of my favorite games. It's a shame they're getting hit with this. I don't really agree that they're "getting what they deserve" by using Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat in their games. It was an amazing experience to find in-jokes like that in a random DS game. As for the snubbing, it seems like they didn't think that the creators understood how the memes worked- after all, many other sources of media use pop-culture references and don't sued. I hope the lawsuit doesn't go through, I want to see more Scribblenauts.
 

QtheMuse

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May 23, 2010
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Actually S2 recieved permission to use nyan cat from the author for monetary gain before they used it.
 

Orekoya

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Sep 24, 2008
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personion said:
I love 5th Cell and Scribblenauts. They're some of my favorite games. It's a shame they're getting hit with this. I don't really agree that they're "getting what they deserve" by using Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat in their games. It was an amazing experience to find in-jokes like that in a random DS game. As for the snubbing, it seems like they didn't think that the creators understood how the memes worked- after all, many other sources of media use pop-culture references and don't sued. I hope the lawsuit doesn't go through, I want to see more Scribblenauts.
This is not a pop-culture reference. If you typed in 'nyan cat' and the game just made the nyan-nyan sound bit from the video or made a rainbow pass quickly through the far background where you wouldn't have able to see the cat; that is a pop-culture reference. What actually happens when you type 'nyan cat' is that game pops out the nyan cat's likeness. You've typed in a copyrighted character's name and got said copyrighted character. If this game was produced by another company, you typed in Sam Winchester and then got Jared Padalecki's likeness; it would be a safe bet to say that Warner Bros would be quick to do the same if not worse.
 

asinann

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Apr 28, 2008
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DVS BSTrD said:
Except for the fact that the game was released BEFORE the copywrite was even filed.
Under copyright law the copyright exists from proven date of creation (not hard with memes,) not date of filing.
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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CrazyCapnMorgan said:
Upon further thought, would "bait and switch" also be applicable in the lawsuit against SEGA and Gearbox? It seems to me it would, unless that is included in the false advertisement. In which case, I'll shut up about the whole damned thing.
Bait and Switch is more or less a specific case of false advertisement. The idea is that you lure customers in with a low price model that you don't have in stock and then try and push upon them a different model (often of a higher price). In this case, Pitchford and Co were still insisting it was the same product.

I'm not a legal EXPERT, I must say, but based on my understanding of the laws I'm pretty sure this wouldn't count.

I do want to see this play out, one way or the other.
 

MeisterKleister

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Mar 9, 2012
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I think the video of that real-life 'Forever Alone' guy is amazing! Where can I find that? Google doesn't come up with that video when I search.
 

Sir Prize

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Dec 29, 2009
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I'm pretty much in agreement with Jim, if only because WB would and have done similar things. You shouldn't complain about getting kicked in the shins when you do it as well. Also maybe if enough of this type of thing keeps happening someone will take a long hard look at copyright law, but that's just wishful thinking.
 

Infernal Lawyer

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Jan 28, 2013
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I'd like to personally address the people who think that it's 'hypocritical' of Jim to think that it's fair for WB to get smacked by copyright laws when he complains about publishers sitting on IP or pulling out the banhammer on 'offending' youtube videos because of the same laws:

Guys, there's nothing wrong with making a piece of work and expecting to get credit for it. Anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together would agree. The problem is that copyright laws as they rife for abuse and allow copyright holders to completely screw over people for minor infringements such as fan tributes or charity works. If Nintendo sued WB for using it's characters in Scribblenauts without permission, there would be absolutely no debate: Everyone would agree it was stupid of WB to use said characters offering money or at the very least asking, plus I very much doubt that they would ignore an angry letter from Nintendo saying "Give us our due, you thief" (yes I know they were licensed out, I'm not an idiot). And yet here we are in exactly the same circumstances, except for the fact that the copyright holders aren't massive companies (and also that the characters were only licensed just before the third game if I'm not wrong).

We don't hate copyright owners as a rule. We don't have a problem if WB gets mad when people put Bugs Bunny as a feature (rather than a reference) in their pay-to-play game or uses him to advertise said game, and we would fully respect their rights to sue. We understand WB's concerns with piracy and we don't mind legitimate threats being warned and/or taken down. What we DON'T like is when companies ban Youtube accounts because of fan-tribute videos (or even game reviews featuring game footage or even TRAILERS for the game, god forbid), threaten to sue men who craft copyrighted character costumes to wear at Cancer charity events (Nickelodeon threatened an NZ man for making a SpongeBob SquarePants suit from raw materials and attending a charity parade, even though owners of dozens of other characters featuring in the parade didn't mind) or using automated software to threaten anything that so much slightly resembles the TITLE of one of their films. Those acts of douche-baggery simply cannot be compared to what is undeniably stealing something and using it to promote your own paid software without so much as any sort of recognition.

Oh, but Nyan Cat and Piano Cat surely aren't making them any money or influencing any sales? THEY'RE IN THE FREAKING ADVERTISEMENTS. LOOK IT UP.

You are allowed to copyright something, gain profit off it and expect to be the only one gaining profit off it. We're fine with that. We just don't want you to be a dick about it.

Orekoya said:
personion said:
I love 5th Cell and Scribblenauts. They're some of my favorite games. It's a shame they're getting hit with this. I don't really agree that they're "getting what they deserve" by using Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat in their games. It was an amazing experience to find in-jokes like that in a random DS game. As for the snubbing, it seems like they didn't think that the creators understood how the memes worked- after all, many other sources of media use pop-culture references and don't sued. I hope the lawsuit doesn't go through, I want to see more Scribblenauts.
This is not a pop-culture reference. If you typed in 'nyan cat' and the game just made the nyan-nyan sound bit from the video or made a rainbow pass quickly through the far background where you wouldn't have able to see the cat; that is a pop-culture reference. What actually happens when you type 'nyan cat' is that game pops out the nyan cat's likeness. You've typed in a copyrighted character's name and got said copyrighted character. If this game was produced by another company, you typed in Sam Winchester and then got Jared Padalecki's likeness; it would be a safe bet to say that Warner Bros would be quick to do the same if not worse.
What he said. Claiming something is a reference and not a feature because the developers 'used their own art style to create their version' is ridiculous. Because stealing/failing to give credit for someone else's work/creation is only wrong when you copy it pixel for pixel, right?
 

EstrogenicMuscle

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Sep 7, 2012
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Jimothy Sterling said:
This is not to say, however, that my show is free of licensed material. Hell, SEGA has actually blocked some of my episodes from YouTube for using footage from its trailers, of all things. I don't like it, but this lawsuit wouldn't set any new sort of precedent, just turn around the existing ones on those who set them in the first place.
SEGA has been going crazy with copyrights lately. It is making me lose respect for them.

Which is sad because it seems they are finally getting back on track. Sonic Generations, Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing games, NiGHTs into dreams... lots of re-releases of classic games. They put up not only NiGHTs into dreams on Steam, XBOX, and PlayStation 3, but also Jet Set Radio, Sonic CD, Sonic Adventure, and lots of other stuff. They're polling fans abroad to see if they would like the Hatsune Miku games. And there's even talk of another Shenmue game.

But this stuff isn't doing them any favors. Heck, I've heard they've gone viciously after anything and everything Shining Force related. SEGA needs to stop this.
 

Soulcleaver

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May 16, 2013
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Enough is enough. We have to stand up to the Copyright Gestapo or they will nickel-and-dime us to death while crushing all creativity.
 

r_phix

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Mar 12, 2012
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Well...
The day I saw "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time" in Family Guy, with the dog Brian dressed up as a giant Banana, I laughed a lot ; and I was so happy to be surprised by the presence of internet meme, internet culture, on this show ! This was like a "private joke" between the scenarists and me.

But what's if now, everyone fears of using internet references ?

This is the best way to kill this popular culture... If the creators of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat win... well... good for them... but they will be the only winners... everyone else, us included, will lose. I will wait before opening the Champagne...
 

dbenoy

Regular Member
Jul 7, 2011
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DVS BSTrD said:
Except for the fact that the game was released BEFORE the copywrite was even filed.
Copyrights are automatically granted on creation.
 

dbenoy

Regular Member
Jul 7, 2011
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Whether I'm on the side of the meme creators depends on what their intentions are.

If they're doing this because they believe it's their right and they're entitled to the fruits of this extortion, then I'm not on their side.

If they're doing it to give this publisher a taste of it's own medicine, then I'm a fan for life :D
 

JimB

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Apr 1, 2012
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So a friend of mine was just watching this video, and he says he recognizes that pink-snouted critter standing in front of the gold bars that Mr. Sterling likes to use to represent avarice (EDIT: in this specific video, he appears at 1:36-1:38). He says it belongs to some old cartoon about aliens kidnapping Santa, but he can't remember its name. Does anyone know what he's talking about?