| Author |
Message |
andreas haun (Ahs)
| | Posted on Saturday, August 26, 2000 - 2:42 pm: | |
hi,
i am german game collector (i play all the games as well)
i have many 2 person games in the collection and if anybody is interested in the rules, i will e-mail what he need.
cheers
andreas haun |
Marek Ctrnact (Marek14)
| | Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2000 - 12:08 am: | |
I am!
Just see my archive at www.chessvariants.com ;-)
If you would send me the rules, my e-mail address is xctrnac1@br.fjfi.cvut.cz |
Marek Ctrnact (Marek14)
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2000 - 5:09 am: | |
Just an update for this: I have implemented first of Andreas's games - Creepers. It is a connection game and there is not too much of those around here ;-)
Expect posting in just few days (when one of us will create a page for it). |
David GLAUDE (Glu)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2000 - 8:15 am: | |
Hi,
I am a belgian collector and good player of abstract, no random, full information games.
I have myself a set of games that are not available yet for Zillion (but when I have the time I try to implement them).
I would be particulary interested to receave scan of rules or basic description of games to try to make the Zillions implementation. (We should just make sure only one persone at a time try to make them or we will waist developement time that could be used for other game).
However, whenever possible I try to request the author autorisation before publishing ZRF files.
Currently I have a working version of BoKu, but the author is not willing to see a free computer version on the net.
I also have a version of BorderLine, the distributor of the game are Zillions friendly, but they want me to use their graphics for the board so that the Borderline(TM) appear, that the history, description, ... are official. So currently I have to wait for them to send me those BMPs.
I also have a ZRF version of ChiFouMi (a french game), but once again, the author where not willing to give the autorisation for a Zillions version.
I must admit that I start to have a real problem with games authors. Most seems to have a problem with the "free" availability of a computer version of their games. I am looking for legal advice or ways to avoid legal problem, but still distribute those games. Anybody having clues?
David GLAUDE glu@who.net |
Robert A. Kraus (Bobkraus)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2000 - 10:10 am: | |
Somebody please correct me if I am wrong but it has always been my understanding that you do NOT need the author's permission to publish (in the USA) your own version of his game (copyrighted or not) provided: (1)you give the game a different NAME; (2)you re-write the RULES in your own words; (3)you re-draw any ARTWORK in your own style. |
Marek Ctrnact (Marek14)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2000 - 2:28 pm: | |
As for David's message, Andreas Haun sends me scans of rules and I actually try to implement games according to them (well, one game so far). Of course, I think the text version of rules is better to send, but since Andreas started using freedrive account to share the files, I guess it's OK. Could you send me some of your games? |
Dan Troyka (Dtroyka)
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2000 - 2:58 pm: | |
Copyright protection of boardgames is murky. The U.S. Copyright Office has this to say about games generally:
"The idea for a game is not protected by copyright. The same is true of the name or title given to the game and of the method or methods for playing it.
"Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author's expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Copyright protection does not extend to any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in the development, merchandising, or playing of a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.
"Some materials prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text describing the rules of the game, or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container, may be registrable."
(full text available at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/ in pdf)
What the copyright office does not say is that others can publish the exact same game provided the text and graphics aren't copied.
In the video game context, one U.S. court famously ruled that K. C. Munchkin violated Atari's copyright on Pac-Man because it copied the "total concept and feel" of Pac-Man. (For the legally minded, the case is Atari, Inc. v. North American Philips Consumer Electronics Corp., 672 F.2d 607 (7th Cir. 1982)).
So, "the idea for a game is not protected by copyright," but you better not copy the "total concept and feel" of another game. Go figure.
Boardgames are patentable, by the way. If you're easily amused, check out the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office web page at www.uspto.gov, where you can do an online search for boardgame patents. There are quite a few abstract game patents, including lots of chess variants. |
David GLAUDE (Glu)
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2000 - 4:46 am: | |
Back with some more...
Here is information about Copyright and Games:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/fls/fl108.pdf
Exactly whay Dan is quoting (I think).
Now about Copyright and Computer Program:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ61.pdf
But you can only Copyright the source code it seems.
There seems to be a well known story about Tetris where a Tetris company try to remove all clone from the net. Check on Slashdot, this is where I found more information:
http://slashdot.org/articles/99/02/19/0827245.shtml
Now I still need to check for the Patent issue.
And obviously there is a Trademark issue.
So the rule might be:
* Rewrite the rules with your own words.
* Redesign the board (make monopoly on an hexagone rather than square and use other city name).
* Change the name of the game to something completely different: MakeMoreMoney.
* Make sure the "look and feel" is different???
Now, those Trademark/Copyright/Patent issue and rules are also more likely very US specific. Other contries might have other rules? What about Europe?
David GLAUDE glu@who.net
PS: I am asking myself what in Zillions-of-Games is protected and how...
The name(!)
The graphics/logo(!)
The source code(!)
The ZRF source code of game distributed(!?)
The language(???)
The concept(???)
Anybody from Zillions team can answer that? |
gary (Gary15)
New member
Username: Gary15
Post Number: 1
Registered: 4-2012
| | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 11:40 am: | |
Itīs Ok
Online sport bets |
|