Atari filed suit yesterday against StateFarm for their blatant IP theft of Crystal Castles in their Gamerhood ad series.

[Razzie.P]

13 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I think you have to sue within a reasonable amount of time.

Atari gonna sue Father Time!

[+x=usr(1536)]

Someone better get Atari's legal department on the line ASAP, because the 8-Bit Guy's latest video shows SIX SECONDS of blatant IP theft involving Crystal Castles gameplay and even some of the cabinet!

 

 

He is gonna be so sued!  Like, with a lawsuit filed against him and everything!  That'll teach him to steal Atari's IP!  Yeah!

[+Living Room Arcade]

@x=usr(1536)  No, no.  Pretty sure that's what Fair Use is for.  So people can use bits of other people's IP to make videos on Youtube to discuss and review their works without fear of being sued. 

 

Guys, did I say that right?  

Edited March 27 by Living Room Arcade

[roots.genoa]

Since I'm pretty sure The 8-Bit Guy's videos are monetized, it doesn't change much. Every time you post a video on YouTube, it is (automatically) checked for music and film copyrights, which only matters if the video is monetized. So I guess Atari could send him a C&D if they were really mean. But of course he doesn't have as much money as StateFarm.

[Tavi]

On 3/24/2024 at 12:54 PM, Zeptari said:

If I owned something and someone was using it without my permission.. just saying.

I imagine this would be like trying to sue Google Earth/Streetmap for displaying your house. You can always ask to have it removed, but Google is not actually stealing anything from you.

I am no lawyer, but I am thinking if this was a valid case, every TV show and movie would be facing hundreds of lawsuits for any identifiable product/logo/artwork being shown on screen.

As this does not happen, I am thinking that an IP being incidentally shown is not considered infringement.

Now if they were giving away 'Witches Brew' games with every new policy, Atari might have a case. But I cannot see this going anywhere.

Edited March 27 by Tavi

[+Stephen Moss]

On 3/24/2024 at 7:42 PM, BIGHMW said:

Would any of my wallpapers I would be using on The Atari Report (or even the name sake for the channel) if I were to bring it back be in violation of any of Atari's IP rights???

I don't think that would necessarily infringe IP as I believe that generally refers more to things like game code as assets (i.e. sprites), however I am sure the Atari logo will be trademarked so they could pull you up on using that without permission.

Also a name like "The Atari report" could potential make people think it is either created or endorsed by Atari which depending on peoples view of the resulting output could reflect negatively on Atari the company, and so they may have issue with you using their name in the title of anything you do. Additionally if you are deriving income from it then as you are profiting from using the Atari name you may be guilty of "passing off" I think it is called as you are in some way trading on their name and reputation to derive an income.

 

Really, the best thing to do is ask them. Explain what you are doing and where you want to use their name and logo, shown them mock-ups if you can to give them a clearer idea. If they give permission you're good to go, otherwise you risk them choosing to take action against you for doing so.

 

I cant seem to add a quote from the last page so in reply to @Living Room Arcade comment above that 

 

Quote

Pretty sure that's what Fair Use is for.  So people can use bits of other people's IP to make videos on Youtube to discuss and review their works without fear of being sued. 

 

Guys, did I say that right?  

 

 

I am not sure exactly what the IP laws are in the US (or anywhere for that matter), certainly copyright law allows you use up to a percentage of copyrighted material for the purpose of critique/review and possibly an example (depending on the circumstances) of a way of doing something, as long as it does not involve an key integral part of the copyrighted material, i.e. revealing the murdered in a who done it.

So if that person is just showing gameplay then I personally think that would be more of a copyright issue than an IP issue (showing game code) and so you would be correct in that it should be covered by fair usage.

 

As others have stated I am not sure Atari will get anywhere with this as State Farm have reasonable tried to obscure the name Crystal Castles/the Atari name and Fuji logo, even then it would seem from what I have read here having not seen the ad myself that State Farm were just creating some kind of general gamer reference and thus going for the general the look of an arcade, not something specifically to do with Atari.

Think of it this way, if a TV crew were doing a piece in an video game arcade and an Atari video game just happened to be in the background, I don't think there would be anything Atari  could do about its inclusion as it is incidental to the TV report, not the focus of it. Otherwise the TV news company would have to go the the manufacture of every game visible to get permission to include the images of them before airing the report which would seem to me to be an unreasonable expectation.  

[JPF997]

This whole thing has been a PR disaster, I really hope they backtrack on this whole lawsuit nonsense, three years of hard work by Wade and the team at Atari SA to  restore the company's reputation with the gaming community and the general public is about to go up in flames all because of a stupid stunt.

[+x=usr(1536)]

6 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

@x=usr(1536)  No, no.  Pretty sure that's what Fair Use is for.  So people can use bits of other people's IP to make videos on Youtube to discuss and review their works without fear of being sued. 

 

Guys, did I say that right?  

Fair use, schmare use.  He's a blatant infringer and must be sued!  SUED, I SAY!  THE HONOUR OF ATARI IS AT STAKE!

[zzip]

15 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

16 hours ago, zzip said:

It's still a 1980s-style arcade cabinet in a world where most gaming is done at home, not at the arcade

Then why is Stranger Things popular among teenagers who weren't born in the 80s?

Because present day culture is so vapid?   Still at arcades with modern and retro machines, all the young people are playing the new redemption machines,  I don't see many of them in the area with the retro and pinball machines.

[MrBeefy]

4 hours ago, JPF997 said:

This whole thing has been a PR disaster, I really hope they backtrack on this whole lawsuit nonsense, three years of hard work by Wade and the team at Atari SA to  restore the company's reputation with the gaming community and the general public is about to go up in flames all because of a stupid stunt.

You should eat a taco while waiting for them to backtrack. You going to get hungry waiting. They won't backtrack unless they know they are going to get spanked by StateFarm.

1 hour ago, zzip said:

Because present day culture is so vapid?   Still at arcades with modern and retro machines, all the young people are playing the new redemption machines,  I don't see many of them in the area with the retro and pinball machines.

You act like civilization is so far removed to not know what a generic arcade cab looks like.

 

Even big newer cabs are in the realm of old ones.  Redemption games were popular bitd too. I remember playing skeeball for tickets in an arcade.Arcade.

 

Heck, arcade 1ups have been in stores in recent history. So people can easily recognize arcades when they see them.

 

Since I think they lost the case with Target, I'd venture a guess they will on this one too. Unless they showed off gameplay or something its nothing more than a furniture prop in a commercial with its proper name even obscured.

 

Does the other game look like a Mortal Kombat fighting game on screen? Did they name that one Get Wrecked?

Edited March 27 by MrBeefy

[+GoldLeader]

---

 

Changed my thought after reading the text of the commercial...Thought maybe they were targeting older folks who fondly remember arcades also, based on the idea and image alone...But it does seem to skew younger or at least target "gamers" as their demographic.

[zzip]

13 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

You act like civilization is so far removed to not know what a generic arcade cab looks like.

 

Even big newer cabs are in the realm of old ones.  Redemption games were popular bitd too. I remember playing skeeball for tickets in an arcade.Arcade.

 

Heck, arcade 1ups have been in stores in recent history. So people can easily recognize arcades when they see them.

That isn't the point.   If they are targeting a young gamer demographic

 

Imagine when we GenXer's were entering adulthood in the 90s,   some insurance company (or any company really) marketing execs asked "what's popular with young people today?"  "dancing!"  great!   So they put out commercials featuring young people at sock hops or greaser dances or doing "The Twist".    Sure we knew what those things were, but such a commercial would not speak to us,  we might even laugh at how hokey it was!   Yes dancing was popular, but in the 90s it was about raves,  moshing,  "The Macarana".  

 

So a commercial today targeting young "gamers" but showing 40-year old arcade cabinets seems equally out of touch.

[+Living Room Arcade]

The Crystal Castles arcade machine in the photo appears to have been converted into a newer and more popular arcade game.  

The message is, "Crystal Castles is outdated and nobody wants to play it anymore."  

(Actually, that may be true!  Maybe only us old guys like to play those old 80's classic arcade games!)  

So, I agree with Atari taking action to protect their image.  (Even if the State Farm ad has some truth to it!)   

(Maybe I just feel this way because I'm an old Atari fan.)  

 

State Farm didn't need to throw a 'dig' at Atari to promote themselves.  

All State Farm had to do was to create some generic artwork for the sides of the arcade cabinet.

Then nobody would have been offended.  And there would be no lawsuit.  

Edited March 27 by Living Room Arcade

[PowerDubs]

9 hours ago, JPF997 said:

This whole thing has been a PR disaster, I really hope they backtrack on this whole lawsuit nonsense, three years of hard work by Wade and the team at Atari SA to  restore the company's reputation with the gaming community and the general public is about to go up in flames all because of a stupid stunt.

 

What are you babbling about?  This isn't anything at all to do with PR...it's not a stunt...it's not a money grab.

 

Literally the way the law works- you HAVE TO defend your IP protection or you LOSE that protection.

 

Atari doesn't sue anyone for fun... they quite literally are required to do so...as is any other company and these lawsuits are extremely common if you go look.

 

In fact- tinyBuild just filed a case for infringement 2 days ago.

 

Soo many people here have no idea how business and laws work... saying things like google images...  well duh, a picture of a house taken from a public area is legal...nothing whatsoever like using someone else's video game IP in commercial advertising targeted to video gamers.

[+jeremiahjt]

4 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

The Crystal Castles arcade machine in the photo appears to have been converted into a newer and more popular arcade game. 

I do not believe that is an actual arcade game. They just put that generic name there to try to avoid any legal faux pas for using something trademarked or copyrighted. We will see if it worked.

[+x=usr(1536)]

8 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

The Crystal Castles arcade machine in the photo appears to have been converted into a newer and more popular arcade game.

How on earth did you manage to jump to that conclusion when the explanation of exactly what was done is right here in this thread?

8 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

The message is, "Crystal Castles is outdated and nobody wants to play it anymore."  

No.  No, it isn't.  Again, where you got this idea from is utterly baffling.

8 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

State Farm didn't need to throw a 'dig' at Atari to promote themselves.

State Farm didn't throw a "dig" at Atari, as you put it.  They just happened to show some of the sideart.  Big deal.

8 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

All State Farm had to do was to create some generic artwork for the sides of the arcade cabinet.

Or not.

8 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

Then nobody would have been offended.  And there would be no lawsuit.

You do realise that nobody has to be offended in order to file a lawsuit, yes?  Lawyers smelling possible money on the hoof is enough to make it happen.

 

In any event, I'm willing to bet that this thread is the most attention this total non-event has garnered from any outlet, anywhere.  Yay!  WE'RE #1!  WE'RE #1!  I mean, it's being the #1 of inconsequential crap, but it's still an achievement!

[+x=usr(1536)]

4 hours ago, PowerDubs said:

Soo many people here have no idea how business and laws work...

[+Living Room Arcade]

 

1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

How on earth did you manage to jump to that conclusion when the explanation of exactly what was done is right here in this thread?

No.  No, it isn't.  Again, where you got this idea from is utterly baffling.

State Farm didn't throw a "dig" at Atari, as you put it.  They just happened to show some of the sideart.  Big deal.

Or not.

You do realise that nobody has to be offended in order to file a lawsuit, yes?  Lawyers smelling possible money on the hoof is enough to make it happen.

 

In any event, I'm willing to bet that this thread is the most attention this total non-event has garnered from any outlet, anywhere.  Yay!  WE'RE #1!  WE'RE #1!  I mean, it's being the #1 of inconsequential crap, but it's still an achievement!

 

I think it doesn't matter that Crystal Castles was converted into a fictitious video game in the State Farm ad.  It's still like a put down to Atari IMO.  Did that respond to your comment well enough?  

Edited March 28 by Living Room Arcade

[+Living Room Arcade]

Guys, I just had an idea.  Is anybody here good at AI?

 

Who can ask AI to make a new 30 sec. State Farm commercial that would avoid the lawsuit?  

 

Ex.  Jake shows everybody in the arcade that he's cool by playing Atari!  

 

That sort of thing.  Anybody?  

Edited March 28 by Living Room Arcade

[+x=usr(1536)]

46 minutes ago, Living Room Arcade said:

I think it doesn't matter that Crystal Castles was converted into a fictitious video game in the State Farm ad.  It's still like a put down to Atari IMO.

Your clarification is appreciated.  Have a happy face for your efforts.

 

 

46 minutes ago, Living Room Arcade said:

Did that respond to your comment well enough?

It was suitably adequate and has been noted as such on your permanent record.

[+Living Room Arcade]

26 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Your clarification is appreciated.  Have a happy face for your efforts.

 

 

It was suitably adequate and has been noted as such on your permanent record.

Thank you, teacher!  😁

[MrBeefy]

11 hours ago, zzip said:

That isn't the point.   If they are targeting a young gamer demographic

 

Imagine when we GenXer's were entering adulthood in the 90s,   some insurance company (or any company really) marketing execs asked "what's popular with young people today?"  "dancing!"  great!   So they put out commercials featuring young people at sock hops or greaser dances or doing "The Twist".    Sure we knew what those things were, but such a commercial would not speak to us,  we might even laugh at how hokey it was!   Yes dancing was popular, but in the 90s it was about raves,  moshing,  "The Macarana".  

 

So a commercial today targeting young "gamers" but showing 40-year old arcade cabinets seems equally out of touch.

Have you not seen many of their commercials? They are totally hokey and part of their charm. I loved the KC Chiefs ones. 

 

https://www.eventmarketer.com/article/state-farm-insights-on-engaging-gen-z/#:~:text=A longtime sponsor of the,fans watching the stream online.

 

They are also targeting them on Tiktok and Twitch. Spots where the GenXers and older are probably hanging around less than those younger.

 

Either way zoomers still know what an arcade is. I think part of why it seems like Zoomers don't care about arcades is that they have games at home. I'm not big into redemption games but those types of games offer something they can't get at home.

 

I mean how many different ways has Atari repackaged their games over the years? When it is available literally at your fingertips on multiple devices, Pong just isn't that exciting to see in the arcade.

 

Seeing Godzilla pinball on the other hand is quite exciting.

[+Living Room Arcade]

Guys, I took a crack at it.  I asked AI to make a 30 sec. commercial using the following prompt: "Jake shows everybody in the arcade that he's cool by playing Atari."  And here is what I got.

 

"So I walk into the arcade, right?

And there's Jake from State Farm, trying to be all cool, playing Atari.

I'm like, dude, you're an insurance guy, not a gamer.

But then, he starts nailing those old school games like a pro.

Suddenly, everyone's cheering him on, and I'm just standing there like,

okay, Jake, you've got some serious skills.  

Who knew State Farm had a secret arcade champ?"

 

Open the spoiler, below, to watch the 30 sec. commercial!  

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you guys think?  😁

 

NOTE: Sorry, having trouble resizing the video to be small.  So I hide it in the spoiler window.  On my PC, it seems to work best if I open the spoiler and then play the video full screen.  I hope you find a good way to watch it on your device!  

Edited March 28 by Living Room Arcade

[MrBeefy]

6 minutes ago, Living Room Arcade said:

Guys, I took a crack at it.  I asked AI to make a 30 sec. commercial using the following prompt: "Jake shows everybody in the arcade that he's cool by playing Atari."  And here is what I got.

 

 

That should be sued into oblivion. No particular reason other than just because. 

Edited March 28 by MrBeefy

[r_chase]

I think the current copyright law allows for too much cutthroat bullshit like this. On the other hand, unlike PowerDubs' blind faith in penny stocks, I still think we should hold Atari themselves accountable. I'm still gonna call out Atari for trying to reach into deep pockets in a provocative way by threatening a decent-sized insurance company known for good service or whatever they say to promote themselves as "good neighbors". I mean...it's just a mediocre ad campaign for insurance ffs...and Atari is a medium-sized independent video game corporation. We're not gonna go back to the days of selling cart case molds for dental cameras and other questionable decisions. We need to remember that Atari is nothing but a corporation managed by humans. Not demigods. Humans. Just fucking humans.