Re: A89: Fw: StarFox -Reply

To: <assembly-89@lists.ticalc.org>
Subject: Re: A89: Fw: StarFox -Reply
From: "Dux Gregis" <assets@eden.rutgers.edu>
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 22:38:03 -0500
Delivered-To: assembly-89-outgoing@towerguard.unix.edu.sollentuna.se
Reply-To: assembly-89@lists.ticalc.org




>
>
>In a message dated 11/19/98 9:11:12 PM, Daniel7073@aol.com writes:
>
>>> Is mario public domain, does anyone know?  is tetris even public domain?
>>
>>The TI versions are.  If you mean the real versions, Mario is copyrighted
>>by Nintendo, and I don't think Tetris in general is copyrighted, but I may
>>be wrong.
>>
>>Daniel Imfeld
>
>"The TI Versions are..."  Can you talk about the legal stuff a little more
on
>that part...?  How come those games are able to be made, and StarFox89
can't,
>both being from NOA right...? =P  Was this settled a long time ago about
the
>generalness of these two types of games? Well theyre still used by name...
=P
>
>Someone made a good point that if they called Tetris, "Falling Blocks", it
>would not be the same.

It's not just names that are copyrighted ... you can't make a cartoon with
mickey mouse just because you renamed him Fred the Fish.

 The name IS very important to a game also, and so is
>everything associated with that Name... I'm sure we as programmers can
invoke
>our creativity and originality more, but its just good make a "Port" of
those
>great games from higher systems that we all grew up with and loved, as
close
>to the original as we could, to the Calculator...
>
>So, well, the TI Community should just be allowed to make anything without
any
>threats such as this. An obvious reason that we do not charge for programs
and
>its just a hobby, BUT another main point that those higher companies just
dont
>get is that the games are going to a Calculator!  I mean, we are doing this
>stuff to the best of Our and our Calculator's ability... You should not
even
>have to ask NOA for permission to do this... Ok, THEY should feel honored
that
>we continue to like that game, and we [Miles] were influenced enough by it
to
>want to write a port of it to the 89... ;)  Hmm, here's an option that can
get
>you by all this: Just get hired by NOA real soon and you can do anything
you
>want with it!  ;)
> --Jason K.
>