Starpath / Bridgestone Multimedia Group IP Rights

[Butt_Rogers]

Hello,

I was wondering. When was the last time someone tried to secure the rights to any of the Starpath games?

Bridgestone Multimedia Group, the current rights holder, has a mailing address and I was considering writing them a letter. My goal would be for them to freely release Dragonstomper under a GNU General Public License. You have to start somewhere. I figure getting a single title released might carry a higher chance of success than a full library release. I believe they could get some positive PR from gaming websites if they/we did a little groundwork and I might play this up. As Dragonstomper might be the first console RPG I believe it to be the most important Starpath game, but it is routinely overshadowed by The Official Frogger and Phaser Patrol, titles that Bridgestone is more likely to make money off of in the future via Atari compilations and the like. Having them keep these titles might make a solitary Dragonstomper release more likely.

If this initial goal fails, the goal of my second letter would be for them to name a price to sell the rights, again for the single game.

To the best of my knowledge they haven't made a penny off the Starpath rights the entire time they've owned them, so I feel that getting them to release one game for free as a good will gesture might not be that far fetched, and failing that, that the price for the rights to a single game might not be too steep.

What do you guys think? Is it worth a shot? Are there any lawyers in the audience who could provide any insight as to the best phrasing and terminology for making a pitch like this, or what the rights might cost if the initial pitch fails?

Also, do you think they have the source code for these games or would that more likely be held by the original programmer?

Best wishes and thank you for your time.