Atari told me to buzz off.....

[liveinabin]

Yeah, they can't mess with the Atari community, it was going LONG before they put the money down for the rights to the badge.

It sickens me that the Atari name is still rattling around from company to company.

It's kinda like those plots on the moon you can buy - ever so faintly immoral.

[Mindfield]

Funny this discussion should arise. I just happened to come across a copy of a new print ad from the execs at the "new" Atari. Check it out...

 

 

 

Heil der neu Atari reich!

[Junie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mindfield:

Funny this discussion should arise. I just happened to come across a copy of a new print ad from the execs at the "new" Atari.

---

 

That funny as h*** Mindfield, I'm just not sure how well that will go over

 

Seriously though, if this is how Atari is now being run, what is the fate of homebrewed games? Or for that matter how about new published games of old originals (So players can get to play those rare and proto games)?

 

Hopefully Infogames will pass the Atari name on, and everything can resume as normal.

[Mindfield]

As long as it's understood that I did that little mockup in the spirit of the "New" Atari brass, and that it in no way reflects the Atari we all knew and loved.

 

I'm hoping that this attitute of Atarigrames is just new-acquisition zeal -- y'know, Infogrames wanting to protect their investment and their newly borne mantle. As long as they and their pack of legal wolves settle down and go a little easier with the very followers they've adopted. After all, if they want to protect their goods and shine up the Atari name, it just wouldn't do to alienate their biggest fans.

[Junie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mindfield:

As long as it's understood that I did that little mockup in the spirit of the "New" Atari brass, and that it in no way reflects the Atari we all knew and loved.

 

I'm hoping that this attitute of Atarigrames is just new-acquisition zeal -- y'know, Infogrames wanting to protect their investment and their newly borne mantle. As long as they and their pack of legal wolves settle down and go a little easier with the very followers they've adopted. After all, if they want to protect their goods and shine up the Atari name, it just wouldn't do to alienate their biggest fans.

---

 

I understand, and I would have to agree.

 

To bad I don't have the kind of money to purchase Atari from Infogames, I'd take all the intellectual proprieties and make them available to the entire Atarian Community. I would also make it so any Atarian could use the name and logo freely as long as they didn't claim to be Atari

 

Anyone have the millions to do it? I imagine this would the greatest gift anyone could give to the Atarian Community.

[Junie]

Perhaps someone should start a donation drive to purchase Atari from whichever company owns it at the time, currently Infogames?

 

Everyone can donate as much as they want and once enough money is collected Atari is purchased and given to the entire Atarian Community.

 

I think it's a good idea, but wonder how many countless years it would take to do it.

 

[ 02-09-2002: Message edited by: Junie ]

[liveinabin]

Thats put forward an interesting thought, can the owner of a copyrightable property (such as Atari) decide to put it permanently in the public domain? Or does it have to stay copyrighted?

I don't see Infogrames holding on to it for that long, they'll see it doesn't increase their sales and move on, I'm sure

[Snider-man]

quote

Thats put forward an interesting thought, can the owner of a copyrightable property (such as Atari) decide to put it permanently in the public domain?

 

Sure, that's what happened to the Vectrex video game community everything's pretty much in the public domain and was released by the original copyright holders. I'm fuzzy on the actual details, but it HAS hppened.

[Lemmi]

They just want everyone to stop messing around with the old atari stuff and buy there new atari stuff

[Cassidy Nolen]

It probably would be best to just let it lie. The more I have thought about it, it would probably have been better to just do it instead. As for making the game, I thought (or it was my understanding from the Garfield ROM) these were for hobbyist and collectors to enjoy. All I have done is make it possible to play this on a real system rather than on emulation.

 

Anyway, I have been working to get a picture of one on the web, but the dang server keeps shutting my site down, too much traffic. Oh well. Let me try again this weekend.

I do really appreciate the support. Makes me feel good. And, no, I have no master plan. Unless you count having a bologna sandwich for lunch a master plan.....

 

Cassidy

[cx2k]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cassidy:

It probably would be best to just let it lie. The more I have thought about it, it would probably have been better to just do it instead. As for making the game, I thought (or it was my understanding from the Garfield ROM) these were for hobbyist and collectors to enjoy. All I have done is make it possible to play this on a real system rather than on emulation.

---

 

Hi Cassidy,

 

I'm not really sure I understand your reference to Garfield here. How does that pertain to what you have done?

 

John

[Skatepunk60]

I say F#@$ Infogrames they can go blow a friggin goat.

 

Your Polo Idea sounds awesome and im interested

[Agent X]

Cassidy, were you planning on using the actual Atari logo, or just the Atari name on the cartridge?

 

If you were planning on using the logo (meaning the ever-recognizeable Atari Fuji symbol and/or the "Atari" name in their font), then I could see why they might be bothered. It might give other people the impression that it is an "official" Atari product, which it is not.

 

However, if you just wanted to put a little text on the label in a generic font, something like "For use with the Atari 2600 VCS" then I don't see what the problem is. Companies do this all the time. They did it all the time in the early 1980's with the 2600, and Atari couldn't lift a finger to stop them. They still do it to this day with unlicensed controllers and accessories for current systems.

 

The Atari 2600 is a format for a video game system. Anyone who produces a piece of software for a video game system or computer would need some way of labeling that your software is compatible with that particular format. As long as you don't use the official logos or try to package it in a similar style to official first-party accessories, it should be fine.

[Albert]

I agree with Agent X. As long as you don't use the Atari name and logo, I don't think Infogrames would give two cents about it. Certainly if you were to create new software for the 2600, there's nothing at all they can do to stop you. In this case, since you want to make a cart of a title developed by Atari, they could try to stop you from selling it but I think the odds of that are pretty low given their lack of action with regards to previous unauthorized releases. However, since you have drawn their attention by asking permission, they might take an interest in your Polo carts if you sell them.

 

Have you tried contacting Carol Shaw and asking for her permission? While the rights to Polo almost certainly don't belong to her, it still would be nice to have her blessing.

 

..Al

[Mindfield]

Atari's whole purpose for trying to extinquish the use of the Atari Name and Logo because it consistutes "dilution of a brand name" -- which they don't want. Essentially that means that anything that appears to pass itself off as a product of Atari's by the use of the Atari name and/or logo by itself without any qualifying justification (i.e. using the "Atari" name to state that it is for use on an Atari 2600 VCS) would fall under the dilution clause. If you were simply to use the name for descriptive or instructional purposes then it would fall under fair use, and could therefore be used legally.