Nintendo and copyright.

CastletonSnob

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Apr 24, 2020
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People are mad at Nintendo for taking down the Mario 64 PC port. Because Nintendo is somehow in the wrong for wanting to protect their valuable IPs.

Why does Nintendo continually get shamed for protecting their IPs?
 

Houseman

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Apr 4, 2020
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How does Nintendo siccing their lawyers on a project like this "protect" them, and what are they being "protected" from?
 

Ezekiel

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May 29, 2007
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What's with all the corporate defense threads?

Where does one even find Mario 64 on PC? I've looked for the port. Edit: Never mind, found it, finally.
 

Houseman

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If Nintendo doesn't protect their IPs, they'll lose ownership of them.
So they say. The theory goes that, if a trademark holder doesn't enforce his trademark, it'll become generic, and if it becomes generic, they'll lose the trademark.
I don't see that happening anytime soon, especially not due to a port of a game.

To answer your question of "why are people mad", found in the larger context. People aren't mad because of this single instance in a vacuum. It's part of the larger debate about whether or not ROMs or emulators are ethical. Should we be able to take game that is no longer produced and make it playable with modern equipment? Should a game company be able to horde an IP away in the vault and allow nobody to enjoy it? Are either of those ethical?
 

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
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Nov 18, 2010
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There should be no harm in allowing access to IPs no longer on the market. On the other hand there’s a general misconception that anything digital makes it an unlimited commodity ripe for the picking. I think there’s a gap that need to be filled by the owners and end users for these cases. Something like a new clause that states if a piece of entertainment isn’t officially being sold anymore - even digitally - that the owners forfeit the right to do a damn thing about people acquiring it on their own accord.

It’s like the one man’s trash mantra. If they cared at all, they should at least find a way to keep these things in rotation. Call it legacy licenses or classic content or something. Anything but abandonment.
 

SupahEwok

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"Corporation takes action to protect its self-interest"

"Consumers get mad for it infringing on their own self-interest"

More at 11.
 
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