I don’t understand how these guys did not support Stop Killing Games. I seemed right up their alley and they didn’t say a word about it.
That reminds me of that old first person shooter, The Operative: No One Lives Forever.
This is a game that had a following and people have asked for a remaster or even just a GOG release.
The problem is, no one actually knows who owns it today. It’s a bit of a legal mess.
That’s a good question though. What happens if a right’s holder dies and doesn’t transfer the rights to others? Are the rights then public domain or what?
After a set period of time, they expire. Life +50 to Life +90 or so, depending on country.
unless you own mickey mouse, of course
In particular including the mouse. The reason why the age is so long is because Disney keeps lobbying to get it extended. It used to be a much shorter period of time.
It may depend on the country and state, but with a lack of heirs, it likely goes to the state like all other possessions. I’m no expert on this, though.
Marcin Paczynski told The Game Business he could “write a book”
Please do
He didn’t even know that he owned the rights because this was just a package with his inheritance … we have a lot of stories like that.
Wow, no wonder the dude wasn’t aware. “Oh, just a box with papers. Meh”
stories like developers whose physical documentation of IP ownership was torched in a fire
It’s always interesting to know which games’ rights might seem “completely lost”, just so we can 🏴☠️ in peace. Say, wasn’t this strategy something GOG did originally? Just sell and see if the current rights-holder shows up?
I’m against the concept of intellectual property. Information should belong to the entirety of humanity.
Just don’t bother asking someone who obviously doesn’t care anymore.
If you make a good effort to identify, locate, and contact copyright holders, but the path runs cold, can you disregard copyright? Maybe by claiming fair use or lack of traceable copyright?
Trademark requires active use. I don’t believe there’s such a thing for copyright. Are there limits other than regular fair use and documented year expiration?
No. You don’t get to just decide you have the right to use someone else’s work just because you coudn’t find them to ask, any more than you get to decide that you can use their car. Them not actively selling their works isn’t the equivalent of leaving the car derilict on public property.
It should be, and they should only get 14 years before it expires.
