Fighting is Magic gets ordered to Cease and Desist from Hasbro
- Thread starter Darren716
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I can't say I'm a huge fan of fighting games, and especially not of fighting games starring lovable cartoon ponies. At the same time, this is a dick move above and beyond the traditional quality of dick moves.Dangit2019 said:
They made a game based around something they knowingly don't own. I'd be more upset if I didn't have to contemplate the legality of selling a game that used a student license of 3DSMax for its assets. Legality is a big mes and this was always a giant leap into the realm of they can shut you down at any time. The good thing is that they can reskin the thing and release it as normal with new assets.
correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't copyright law specifically state if an IP holder fails to protect their IP, they lose the rights to it?
if so then notices like this really aren't all that surprising. Still sucks though.
if so then notices like this really aren't all that surprising. Still sucks though.
Unfortunately, the way copyright works is that you need to defend it in all relevant cases or you lose the protection. You can't pick and choose. If they ignored one unlicensed MLP video game, then potentially any video game company could release a MLP video game and cite Fighting is Magic in court.Newtonyd said:
The only other option Hasbro had was to offer the Fighting is Magic guys a license at a very low price (e.g. $1). But then they'd need to worry about any future developments of the game (which would now be a fully licensed product) "damaging the brand". For example, the developers could suddenly make it 18-rated - full of blood and sex - and there wouldn't be much Hasbro could do about it. They could protect themselves against this by offering the license on particular terms (no blood, no adult themes, etc.) but it's easier just to C&D.
What can I say, some companies just don't know what's good for them. I think once a certain amount of effort and creativity has gone in, as long as the content creators are acknowledged, and especially if no profit is made off it, the product should be exempt from this sort of crap. And I think 2 years of solid work in all areas - and the amount of work has apparently been massive - surpasses that point well and truly. Reminds me of Nintendo shutting down the Pokemon MMO. It really isn't enough to produce high quality free advertising for companies and expect them to realise the massive benefits of what you're doing, you need some kind of legal protection.
That said...I think this game's going to be made. There's no way they're just going to go "Oh, well fuck, guess we have to never speak of it again". This is the internet.
That said...I think this game's going to be made. There's no way they're just going to go "Oh, well fuck, guess we have to never speak of it again". This is the internet.
That's the way it works though. If they throw the C&D at them too early, the developers can quickly make changes or cover their asses by saying that the game isn't finished, and what is there is not indicative of the final product. The lawyers wait until there is enough proof and work completed before dropping the hammer, because that is when the devs are so far into their work that they can't deny what they are doing.Raddra said:
Wait, dick move by hasbro for waiting so long? I suspect it just took them this long to realise this existed and that these guys really did have the sheer audacity to seriously be going through with it XD I mean, those are some very obvious legal boundaries they were trampling over, it's kinda stunning they thought it would fly.
And then the community could create an MLP mod for the game!Radoh said:
I'm not really a fan of fighting games (except the Super Smash Bros. titles), but I can sympathize with the developers and fans that have been working and waiting so long.
It would be interesting to know Hasbro's reasoning behind this. Were they truly worried about this fan game, or is this another example of asinine U.S. copyright laws that force companies to do stuff like this just so they can retain ownership of their intellectual property?
Recolor them horses, remove those ass markings or whatever, change 1 letter in the character select name, have one alternative color scheme conveniently look similar to the original (coincidence???!!?) and tell hasbro to go fuck themselves for waiting until right before release of this non-profit fangame that competes with none of their products.
I'm sure it probably has been posted already but you do know that if a company doesn't protect their IP and another company makes a game based around said IP they lose it? So Hasbro could effectively lose the rights to my little pony.
All in all it's usually not the artists but the law part of corporate that makes these decisions. Stop saying "Wow hasbro what a dick move" as if it was a single organism or something. Hell, many of the artists might've been psyched to play the game, whatever.
All in all it's usually not the artists but the law part of corporate that makes these decisions. Stop saying "Wow hasbro what a dick move" as if it was a single organism or something. Hell, many of the artists might've been psyched to play the game, whatever.
Indeed, you are right, but just now I read a message from her:Soviet Heavy said:
"Not MLP OCs, something totally new."
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...............
I don't think the game will stay the same to the spirit of MLP if something like that happen...
Umm... and what about all the other staff members? Because this sentence seems to heavily imply that everyone else is still on the project that was just closed.
If I were a brony, I would be looking closely around popular torrent sites a few months from now.
