Gateway Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 This is directed mainly to the Al's of AtariAge because they are selling various products in the store, but everyone feel free to comment or enlighten me about this. In addition to trying my hand at programming homebrews for sell someday, I have some other ideas for "Atari" products, but I'm wondering about copyright issues. Atariage has for sell, for example: "Pac- Man Arcade" that I assume you've also sold copies of at Philly Classic, CGE, etc. in the past. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Hozer Video also sold this "Arcade" version. So this suggests that, as long as the original owners and/or liscencees are mentioned on the label, that you are "allowed" to sell this game with the Pac Man name. I guess my main question is: If I, for example, put the image of the first label of "Combat" that Atari put on all those carts, on, say, a T-shirt and sell them privately, or through AtariAge, could I be sued by Atari for this? By having an original label design for "Pac Man Arcade" on the carts you make and sell of this game, does that protect you from possible legal issues? OR are the "classic" game machines and games old enough now that nobody cares if I stick an Atari image on a product and sell it to my fellow Atari enthusiasts? I've noticed that the Atari "Fuji" symbol is still a trademark or something and not used on the homebrew labels I've seen in the store. I also have seen the excellent looking Activision reproduction labels on AtariCart.com. Will they be selling sticker sheets or something of those? I'm not trying to suggest anybody's done something wrong here! Au Contraire! I just want to be aware of any legal ramifications if I were to produce a product for sell that others in this community wanted to buy that uses names and elements previously used by Atari, Activision, etc. Any info and/or warnings about this would be appreciated! Also, any questions or clarification from me, just ask. Thanks in advance! I'll be checking this thread often! - Weston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 While it is doubtful a large company would bother with the small-time selling of items that takes place in the collecting community, any use of trademarked or copyrighted materials for commercial purposes is technically actionable under the law. Namco uses Pac-Man as a corporate mascot. They protect him zealously. Atari has become a sub-brand of Infogrames and they are taking steps to protect that logo. As I said, most of the small stuff flies under their radar, but it is good to keep in mind that commercial use of trademarked and copyrighted materials can open you up to legal action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snider-man Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 As I said, most of the small stuff flies under their radar, but it is good to keep in mind that commercial use of trademarked and copyrighted materials can open you up to legal action. Yup. Just ask me about my Futurama hack and the legal letter I received from Fox Television. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Yup. Just ask me about my Futurama hack and the legal letter I received from Fox Television. Ahh. time for another of Rhindle the Red's Match Game '03 entries: "Fox Television doesn't believe in letting their fans show appreciation for their shows. Even mentioning The Simpsons without express written consent will get you hit with a big fat _______." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gateway Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 As I said, most of the small stuff flies under their radar, but it is good to keep in mind that commercial use of trademarked and copyrighted materials can open you up to legal action. So are these "Arcade" versions of Pac- Man, Space Invaders, etc. considered small stuff? Does AtariAge have limitations to how they can advertise these games for sell? Forgive my confusion about all of this. I'm just trying to find out what I an get away with! I'm reminded of the Garbage Pail Kids phenomenon when I was a kid. Everybody, including myself, wanted as many of the collectable cards as we could get and the company that made them was rolling in the dough... until the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids( whom the likeness for the GPK characters was based ) threatened( or did ) sue them and they "promised" to not make anymore cards after they sold their current inventory( thousands of cards! ) Now those cards are rare. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 well, as someone's granpappy used to say: 'you can get away with anything, until you are caught' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gateway Posted February 14, 2003 Author Share Posted February 14, 2003 B U M P ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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