Stingray Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 The short version is that David Foley of Ultracade is attempting to trademark the name MAME and the MAME logo. This person had nothing to do with the development of MAME nor did he design the logo. He's currently harrassing people who sell MAME cabs and artwork for MAME cabs. He's having ebay pull auctions that use the word MAME and he's attempting to extort royalties from people who sell MAME related products. His actions are very sleazy at best and probably illegal, though not being a lawyer I can't say for sure what the legalities are. There's a very lengthy thread running on the BYOAC board where you can read more about this. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/...ic,32339.0.html If you are currently in the market for a Multi-Arcade system, I would like to strongly request that you take your business to someone other than Ultracade. This person is doing his best to destroy the MAME hobby. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 So his goal is to stop MAME cabs which use pirated games so that he can sell his with licensed games. That makes sense. But if a MAME cab is sold without any illegal ROMs then no harm, no foul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Why not just change the name? Who really buys prefabbed MAME cabs? I thought the whole point was to create one yourself. I also find it ironic that someone's trying to trademark the name of something that's always been a grey area in terms of legality to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted February 22, 2005 Author Share Posted February 22, 2005 So his goal is to stop MAME cabs which use pirated games so that he can sell his with licensed games. That makes sense. But if a MAME cab is sold without any illegal ROMs then no harm, no foul. This is what he claims, yet he has emailed several people on the BYOAC board who sell marquees and control panle overlays (not cabs) and demanded that they start paying him royalties. He certainly tries to make himself out to be a noble crusader out to stop piracy, but he's clearly out to make a buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avid Fan Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 F ultracade. I just played one of their shitty machines last week. MS. Pacman on an 8-way stick, no way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 5 Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Make a MAME cab while you still can. Unbelievable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 F ultracade. I just played one of their shitty machines last week. MS. Pacman on an 8-way stick, no way Thats why you should build your own, to your own specs. I plan on making removable joysticks (via LAN cable) so I can swap out between a 4 way and 8 way joystick for my minimame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osbo Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 first: he can't tell people what to do with their computers at home. second: he dosen't own the licenses of all the arcades out there. third: all you have to do is not to mention the word mame in auctions or whatever. There's nothing he can do. They try to do the same with MP3s... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferris Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 okay so explain to me exactly how its illegal for somebody to file for a legal trademark and copyright for something which has not been previously filed for.... yet its legally fine and dandy to download ripped off copies of video games, the intellectual property of dozens of game companies? how exactly does that work from a legal or even logical standpoint? I think you're just pissed that he wont play by your rules. Maybe if you (or anybody else) had thought to do this same thing and get MAME trademarked first, you could have taken ownership and shared everything with the community, maybe even hosted an "official" MAME website of some sort. But instead youre whining and bitching that somebody took initiative on something nobody else thought to do and is now turning a profit. Heaven forbid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 okay so explain to me exactly how its illegal for somebody to file for a legal trademark and copyright for something which has not been previously filed for.... yet its legally fine and dandy to download ripped off copies of video games, the intellectual property of dozens of game companies? how exactly does that work from a legal or even logical standpoint? Ok, what does making Overlays and Marquees for people who want to build their own cabs have to do with piracy and why is he trying to stop them? Why is he getting every mame auction pulled from Ebay, including those where the only roms on the machines were legal? Why is he demanding royalties and sending CAD notices when he doesn't have the TM yet. He only applied for it, it's not approved yet and probably won't be since the MAME people are already taking action against him for theft. This whole thing about being against piracy and trying to protect any copyright holders is just a cover story. This is purely a business venture on his part. His business sucks, so he wants to trademark someone else's work so he can extort money out of everyone and/or kill the mame scene so he'll be the only guy in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xot Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 okay so explain to me exactly how its illegal for somebody to file for a legal trademark and copyright for something which has not been previously filed for.... yet its legally fine and dandy to download ripped off copies of video games, the intellectual property of dozens of game companies? how exactly does that work from a legal or even logical standpoint? I think you're just pissed that he wont play by your rules. Maybe if you (or anybody else) had thought to do this same thing and get MAME trademarked first, you could have taken ownership and shared everything with the community, maybe even hosted an "official" MAME website of some sort. But instead youre whining and bitching that somebody took initiative on something nobody else thought to do and is now turning a profit. Heaven forbid. So you'd be cool with me trademarking the name "Stella," then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 This guy sounds like a Class A jerk, and is seeking to profit from the hard work of the many people who have contributed to MAME over the years. Sounds like he wants it both ways, "Rah Rah Ray, I'm doing this for the benefit of the MAME community" while at the same time harassing anyone who is using the MAME name to make a buck. If he really is getting eBay auctions ended and sending threatening letters to people making products that support MAME cabinets, I hope he quickly goes out of business. It's extremely unlikely he will be granted a trademark on use of the MAME logo, and in the end he's only going to come out of this with a black eye (or two black eyes). You can bet that anyone who actively follows MAME development will not give this guy a red cent from now on, myself included. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari-Jess Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Couldn't have just called this something non-chalant instead? Boycott is such a tired overused word, something classy like... The Ultracade Current Affair or, Ultracade and MAME or, Ultracade, and the MAME trademark That would have been nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Monkey Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Couldn't have just called this something non-chalant instead? Boycott is such a tired overused word, something classy like... The Ultracade Current Affair or, Ultracade and MAME or, Ultracade, and the MAME trademark That would have been nice. BOYCOTT ATARI-JESS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 It's funny because I still have the original 'mamelarge.bmp' logo that the people who created it sent me years ago when they were showing it off. It's pretty sleazy for this guy to try and trademark the name and logo in the name of "preventing copyright theft" (which is already illegal.. I fail to see how him taking control of the mame name will additionally help). It's all smoke and mirrors. The guy is a friggin sleaze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted February 23, 2005 Author Share Posted February 23, 2005 Couldn't have just called this something non-chalant instead? Boycott is such a tired overused word, something classy like... The Ultracade Current Affair or, Ultracade and MAME or, Ultracade, and the MAME trademark That would have been nice. boy·cott To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion. I think it was absolutely the correct word to use in this instance. I heard about this guy's actions and the first thing I thought of was that the classic gaming community needs to be made aware of what he's doing. The more classic gamers who know about him and refuse to deal with him as a result the better. By all means, feel free to start another thread with a less inflammatory* title if you like. I felt like being inflammatory was exactly what this situation called for. *in·flam·ma·to·ry Arousing passion or strong emotion, especially anger, belligerence, or desire. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 By all means, feel free to start another thread with a less inflammatory* title if you like. Well, to be fair there already was one here before you even made this one http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=65154 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted February 23, 2005 Author Share Posted February 23, 2005 Oops, I guess I should have looked in the emulation forum before I posted. Well, in any case the more exposure this issue gets the better IMO. I'm glad to see that one of the MAME devs replied in the other thread. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Well, in any case the more exposure this issue gets the better IMO. I agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dav Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I'm glad to see that one of the MAME devs replied in the other thread. -S And now this thread too. I'm not too worried about it. Steps are being taken and it's being handled by professionals now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted February 23, 2005 Author Share Posted February 23, 2005 It's fantastic to hear that those who are most closely effected by this are now taking appropriate action. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osbo Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I was checking eBay, outta of let seee... 25 -+ ultracade machines, only one is selling and did not reach the reserved price... also it would not suprise me to see pretty soon 'ultracade roms - download here' in the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candiru Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 .... Steps are being taken and it's being handled by professionals now. Sounds kind of ominous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassidy Nolen Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Don't worry guys. From what I have seen, the Ultracades are not selling well anyway. I know quite a few operators, and only one has one out on route. Thats the market he should be worried about penetrating; theres not nearly the same money to be made in the collecting community. It'll pass, I am sure. Gameplay is decent on some games, but not enough to dish out the kind of cash those machines cost. I can build one for a third of that much. Cassidy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgo Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 It would be very, very sad to see one of the best open source projects being raped by yet another money hungry asshole. I'm confident though the mame community will fight this with as much enthousiasm and professionalism as the continuous evolution of their wonderful project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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