atari sues target for foot pong game

[0078265317]

https://theblast.com/atari-target-pong-lawsuit/

 

Have not seen it yet. Has anyone played the foot pong game? And do you think Atari has a right to sue? Is it infringement?

Edited December 29, 2018 by 0078265317

[youxia]

I knew that IGG moolah wouldn't last long....

[0078265317]

IGG?

[youxia]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/atari-vcs-game-stream-connect-like-never-before

[MrMaddog]

$10 says Target will pull all Atari plug & play stuff off the shelves now...

[pacman000]

Wait, if you can trademark the "look & feel" of PONG, does that mean Atari infringed on Magnavox's trademark on Odyssey Tennis? Does that mean General instruments and MOS technology infringed on Atari trademarks when they made paddle ball chip games? What about EPOCH?

 

(Shaking head.) I'm fairly sure PONG's look & feel was generic by the mid-70's.

[mr_me]

In the early days Atari and other video game manufacturers paid Magnavox license fees because of their videogame patent. I don't know if there can be a valid claim on pong copyright. Copyright laws were different in the early 1970s. Atari Interactive could have a valid claim on a pong trademark, but that's just the name and has nothing to do with the look and feel of the game.

Edited December 29, 2018 by mr_me

[godslabrat]

"Hey, this store makes us money by selling our stuff. Let's piss them off."

[mbd30]

Wait, if you can trademark the "look & feel" of PONG, does that mean Atari infringed on Magnavox's trademark on Odyssey Tennis? Does that mean General instruments and MOS technology infringed on Atari trademarks when they made paddle ball chip games? What about EPOCH?

 

(Shaking head.) I'm fairly sure PONG's look & feel was generic by the mid-70's.

 

Yeah, the market was flooded with different pong consoles in the 70s. Atari only has the rights to the name, not electronic ball and paddle games in general.

[Flojomojo]

Atari SA recently got listed on the US stock market with the symbol PONGF (the F is for France). I guess they're into protecting their feeble branding -- that's about the only asset they have going for them.

 

I can't think of any other old video game concept that is quite as primitive, bland, or generic as PONG. It's strange how they seem to think it's worth something.

[godslabrat]

I've literally only ever seen one reaction to Pong, having discussed the topic with lots of people, ranging from rabid fans of gaming and game history, to those who have literally never held a controller. The response is exactly the same:

 

"Ha! Pong! That stuff was so primitive, but it was first and it was all we had!"

 

There isn't a single person I've ever spoken to who thought of Pong and even had an urge to play it again, much less embrace it as a brand or fashion. Even among game fans, it's little more than a joke and appreciated only because it was "first" (and even that can only be said with certain qualifiers).

 

To suggest that Pong is an asset that needs defending is just plain insulting. Pong, and those who own it, should just be glad to be remembered at all.

[mbd30]

Atari SA recently got listed on the US stock market with the symbol PONGF (the F is for France). I guess they're into protecting their feeble branding -- that's about the only asset they have going for them.

 

I can't think of any other old video game concept that is quite as primitive, bland, or generic as PONG. It's strange how they seem to think it's worth something.

 

Pong is iconic of the 1970s and classic video games, much like Space Invaders. There's still some value to the famous name and iconic ball and paddles. Not sure how much. You can buy Pong t-shirts.

Edited December 29, 2018 by mbd30

[DragonGrafx-16]

Some of the variations of Pong on the Video Olympics cart are pretty cool like Quadrapong. But this lawsuit is kinda ridiculous.

[Flojomojo]

Pong is iconic of the 1970s and classic video games, much like Space Invaders. There's still some value to the famous name and iconic ball and paddles. Not sure how much. You can buy Pong t-shirts.

I agree that it's somewhat iconic, like 8-tracks and bell bottoms. I disagree that it's worth defending.

 

Space Invaders and Pac-Man have personality. Pong is a joke.

 

The only reason you can buy Pong t-shirts is because of Atari's continuing attempts to monetize it. Have YOU or anyone you know or care about bought any Pong merch recently?

 

Disclaimer: I recently bought a heavily discounted Asteroids T-shirt from an FYE store that is closing.

[HoshiChiri]

Let's see:

Atari Pong has sharp-edged paddles, a square 'ball', score at the top, electronic beeps for sound effects, a black background, and a vertically oriented playfield.

 

Foot Pong has rounded-edged paddles, a round ball, score along the sides, reproduced 'ball hitting table' sound effects, a woodgrain background, and a horizontal playfield. Not to mention the very different play mechanic.

 

This is not a Pong copy, it's a knockoff- and there's a few decades worth of those to show Atari doesn't have a monopoly on the 'digital table tennis' concept. As long as they aren't actively referring to it by the name Pong, Atari's got no case here. So at best, Atari wastes what little money they have to get Target to run 'floor tennis' or 'store hockey' instead of 'foot pong'.

[Flojomojo]

So at best, Atari wastes what little money they have to get Target to run 'floor tennis' or 'store hockey' instead of 'foot pong'.

And reinforcement of their reputation for having terrible judgment, priorities, and taste. Perfectly fits the mold of the company that would burn down its legacy via casino brandwhoring, crowdfunded vaporware Unix boxes and faddish blockchain schemes.

 

Atari. So much more than video games.

[TheCoolDave]

Still want to know who actually owns the Atari name now... It's changed hands so many times, Someone has the name, someone else had rights to the IPs...

[mr_me]

The original IP was sold to Tramiel in 1984. Hasbro aquired it in 1998 and finally Infogrames in 2001. Infogrames renamed thenselves to Atari shortly after. The only thing from the original IP that was sold off, that I know of, is Battlezone.

Edited December 30, 2018 by mr_me

[Flojomojo]

There's a big PDF on Atari.com that lists everything that the French company owns. It's the pre-1984 arcade stuff (Asteroids, Centipede, Tempest) and all the original (non-licensed) console and computer software.

 

The post-1984 arcade portfolio (Paperboy, Marble Madness, Gauntlet) went to Atari Games, later Midway Games, which is owned by Warner.

 

All this is online, it's not that tough to find lists on Wikipedia.

 

I wish I could love the current Atari more, but they keep making terrible decisions. The world would be a better place if they'd die and bequeath their classics to the public domain.

[mbd30]

Maybe Atari is planning on releasing a Pong Classic mini.

[Tanooki]

Perhaps next one of those Archery associations in the US will sue Target for dropping their name and just using a bullseye because archery has been around longer and could cause confusion. That frog running Atari these days is a greedy rude pilfering ass. I'm glad Target is standing their ground on this one.

[x=usr(1536)]

Perhaps next one of those Archery associations in the US will sue Target for dropping their name and just using a bullseye because archery has been around longer and could cause confusion. That frog running Atari these days is a greedy rude pilfering ass. I'm glad Target is standing their ground on this one.

 

Realistically, Target has access to more resources than Atari SA - and two of those key resources are money and lawyers. They can keep Atari SA tied up with expending their meagre resources on fighting this pretty much ad inifinitum.

 

If this is the hill Atari SA picked to die on, they really chose one they're not prepared to climb.

[+frankodragon]

Any company that foolishly spends $50K on a corporate "song" instead of putting that money into good use is...well you know...foolish.

[Eltigro]

Pong can be pretty fun with two players... but yeah, I prefer Air Hockey.

 

While I think Atari might have something, I think it's stupid to pursue it.

[+frankodragon]

Here's the actual court docket: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2018cv10735/732621