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DKIII?


Tron Unit

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Would love to see one of the homebrewers do Donkey Kong 3 for the CV.  I really enjoyed the 8-bit NES version.  Even if it was a port for the SGM I feel like the CV was the home of DK before Nintendo put out their system.  

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1 hour ago, Q*bertkid said:

You could probably get away with calling it DK3!

Then roll the dice, pay Kiwi the going rate to program the game and then distribute the game yourself.

 

I do not mean to sound so harsh, but it's easy to sit on the sidelines and make statements like you have without any financial recourse like those that would be faced by any of the current Homebrewers. Why do you think Opcode backed down re. DK? It's just not worth it and all the Big N's lawyers had to do was send a C&D letter.

 

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7 hours ago, NIAD said:

Then roll the dice, pay Kiwi the going rate to program the game and then distribute the game yourself.

 

It's cool.  I don't want to get slayed by the big N.  I give them a lot of money as it is. I buy stuff of their switch eshop store. 

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3 hours ago, Tony Cruise said:

I agree DKIII would be a great one to do, but not worth the danger of using any of the Big N's properties, same as doing anything with Konami's name on it.

Now a game inspired by DKIII that would be cool :)

What about Konami Track and Field?  Has their name right on it.

 

http://teampixelboy.com/track_and_field.php

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

Also permanently sold out.  :)

 

Might want to take it off your website, just saying.

 

On 2/8/2020 at 7:37 PM, NIAD said:

Then roll the dice, pay Kiwi the going rate to program the game and then distribute the game yourself.

 

I do not mean to sound so harsh, but it's easy to sit on the sidelines and make statements like you have without any financial recourse like those that would be faced by any of the current Homebrewers. Why do you think Opcode backed down re. DK? It's just not worth it and all the Big N's lawyers had to do was send a C&D letter.

 

C&D’s are lawyers’ favorite weapon in their bag of legal intimidation weapons.  They don’t want to put up the legal expense and hassel of a lawsuit and are banking that a simple C&D is sufficient to get the other party to simply surrender.  Seems Big N and that douchebag Cardillo have got all the homebrewers dug in deep underground yet we all know under-the-table dealings do go on.  Because let’s face it, that’s what keeps this whole gig going.

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20 hours ago, Tron Unit said:

C&D’s are lawyers’ favorite weapon in their bag of legal intimidation weapons.  They don’t want to put up the legal expense and hassel of a lawsuit and are banking that a simple C&D is sufficient to get the other party to simply surrender.  Seems Big N and that douchebag Cardillo have got all the homebrewers dug in deep underground yet we all know under-the-table dealings do go on.  Because let’s face it, that’s what keeps this whole gig going.

I completely understand why lawyers use C&D letters and more importantly I understand why hobbyist home brewers would rather not be bothered with stuff like this if at all possible.

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On 2/9/2020 at 11:56 PM, Tron Unit said:

Might want to take it off your website, just saying.

 

C&D’s are lawyers’ favorite weapon in their bag of legal intimidation weapons.  They don’t want to put up the legal expense and hassel of a lawsuit and are banking that a simple C&D is sufficient to get the other party to simply surrender.  Seems Big N and that douchebag Cardillo have got all the homebrewers dug in deep underground yet we all know under-the-table dealings do go on.  Because let’s face it, that’s what keeps this whole gig going.

 

On 2/9/2020 at 11:21 PM, Tron Unit said:

Um ok.  Guess I got lucky getting them from you then.  

 

I have many things to respond, initially my comments were "not so nice" considering the tone of your post, but instead I'm going to try to educate you as much as possible with the disclaimer that A. I am not a lawyer, but B. I did happen to have my office right next door to one of our IP lawyers at one of the video game publishers I worked at, so I did learn quite a bit about this over the years...

 

First of all, please do not go telling the homebrew publishers how they should be operating or what they should or shouldn't have on their website.  Instead you should be THANKING THEM for keeping a console alive today that hasn't seen a retail shelf in 35 years and arguably should be dead and forgotten about, but thanks to these people and this community, we still have new games coming out for a 1982 console today.

 

Secondly. a homebrew publisher can make whatever game they feel like it, and publish it however they want to.  That includes using original company logos on a box without permission or using an IP without obtaining the rights to it. And sure, they all run the potential risk of having the IP owner send them a legal document telling them they can't do that, and of course they would have to stop doing that, the reality of the situation is this...

 

There are many companies out there that actually do see the VALUE in "un-official" products because it keeps their brands alive in ways they aren't interested in spending money to promote their company or that brand.  And usually the reason why they aren't interested is because whatever platform or situation that un-official product is being released in, probably wouldn't generate them enough revenue to be concerned with.

 

Example: Let's take Disney for a moment. Just take a second and go search "Minnie Ears" on Etsy.  You will find TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY pages of people selling un-official Disney Minnie ears many of them using actual logos and Disney characters without permission.  And it is very rare that Disney has ever gone after any of these Etsy shops for copyright infringement.  Why is that?  Because while Disney is not profiting off of all these Minnie ears directly, they are absolutely gaining indirectly from them.  Social media posts from people wearing them to Disney theme parks.  Often times someone who buys un-official ears are also going to go looking for the official ears.  Disney doesn't have the capacity to produce the volume of these items that everyone else is doing, and they know that it is an extension of their own brand IN A POSITIVE WAY, so they allow it.

 

And yes, Disney could go after every single one of those Etsy shops, but the reality is that it would probably cost them more money in lawyer fees than it would generate them money by stopping the production of these un-official products. 

 

Now back to games because a similar situation applies here.

 

I don't know why Nintendo doesn't allow more "unofficial" homebrew games to be published. Hell, they even cracked down on the Super Mario Bros Commodore 64 port which wasn't even being sold!  But the one thing I can say about Nintendo is that they have always been protective of their IP and they have every right to be. I do not believe any one is getting rich from doing homebrew games or reproductions of rom hacks.  Last I checked there were not a lot of "millionaires" in this community who also double as homebrew publishers, and trust me, as someone who has worked for some of the biggest game publishers in the world, I know the difference between "making games for a profit" and "making games out of passion."  And there is just not enough profit in homebrews for those big name publishers to worry about those unofficial games.

 

Sure, Konami, Namco, or any of the other publishers could go after homebrew developers if they wanted to.  I see plenty of Pac-Man and Castlevania hacks or homebrews being created and sold all the time.  But like the lawyer that used to have his office next to me, it would cost the company way more money to have him go after these smaller projects, it would generate much more paperwork and headaches for these these companies, than if they had that same lawyer doing something more productive like negotiating deals with new IP parters for the publisher to develop games on current generation console.

 

Every single homebrewer, Etsy shop owner, eBay store front, etc, that develops and sells unofficial games runs that same risk.  But I feel like in many ways there is an unwritten "handshake" that some publishers have made with the homebrew and hack communities that they have allowed these games to be made and published.  


To be fair, Nintendo doesn't go after everyone.  There are tons of Zelda and Super Mario hacks out there being sold every day on cartridges complete in box from many reproduction homebrewers out there.  And yes, they run the same risk.  And while some may disagree, I don't see this being any bigger of an infraction than doing 60 in a 50MPH zone.  


And that's just my two cents based on my 22 years of working in the video games business, and another nearly 10 years of being involved in the retro gaming communities.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, TPR said:

[A] homebrew publisher can make whatever game they feel like it, and publish it however they want to.  That includes using original company logos on a box without permission or using an IP without obtaining the rights to it. And sure, they all run the potential risk of having the IP owner send them a legal document telling them they can't do that [...] I don't know why Nintendo doesn't allow more "unofficial" homebrew games to be published.

 

Because (at least within the United States) there is a legal obligation to police and enforce trademarks registered with the USPTO. It's that simple. That is the "why" insofar as trademarked properties are concerned.

 

You are correct that someone can choose to do as they please and ignore the rights of others, framing it as David v. Goliath, hombrewer v. corporation, community v. money, etc. Such behavior does not negate those rights, nor the responsibilities to defend them as required.

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1 hour ago, mumbai said:

You are correct that someone can choose to do as they please and ignore the rights of others, framing it as David v. Goliath, hombrewer v. corporation, community v. money, etc. Such behavior does not negate those rights, nor the responsibilities to defend them as required.

 

That's exactly what I just said. I wasn't really suggesting if it was right or wrong, I was just saying that, as a fact, some companies choose to ignore some unofficial projects because they know it helps extend their brand. Don't think for a second that these companies aren't aware of all these homebrew, hacks, or any other products that use their IP. They 100% are fully aware.

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30 minutes ago, TPR said:

I wasn't really suggesting if it was right or wrong, I was just saying that, as a fact, some companies choose to ignore some unofficial projects because they know it helps extend their brand. Don't think for a second that these companies aren't aware of all these homebrew, hacks, or any other products that use their IP. They 100% are fully aware.

I believe that the stress you place on "the reality of the situation" boiling down to "an unwritten 'handshake'" (a sentiment expressed in several different ways above) belies a claim to lack of bias in presentation. My opinion, nothing more.

 

And I don't think much beyond a second one way or the other about the knowledge possessed by, inner workings of, or decisions from companies with an intellectual or financial stake in these matters. To suggest otherwise would be folly for anyone who isn't a fly-on-the-wall.

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Specifically talking about the ColecoVision trademarks that are currently active, they are listed below. They're held by Colecovision Holdings LLC, a holding company that owns these marks, and may or may not own any Coleco IP. If they claim to hold any Coleco IP, they have to prove chain of ownership at every step.

Here is the trademark on the ColecoVision logo in color:

 

Word Mark  COLECOVISION
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: video game cartridges and cassettes; downloadable video game software; computer game software for use with personal computers, home video game consoles used with televisions and arcade-based video game consoles. FIRST USE: 20131001. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20131001

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Computer game consoles for use with an external display screen or monitor; Computer game joysticks; Game controllers for computer games; Hand held joy stick units for playing video games; Hand held units for playing electronic games; Hand held units for playing electronic games other than those adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor; Hand held units for playing video games other than those adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor; Hand-held games with liquid crystal displays; Hand-held units for playing electronic games for use with external display screen or monitor; Toy, namely, battery-powered computer game with LCD screen which features animation and sound effects; Video game consoles for use with an external display screen or monitor; Video game interactive hand held remote controls for playing electronic games; Video game machines for use with external display screen or monitor; Video game machines for use with televisions; Video output game machines for use with external display screen or monitor; Video output game machines for use with televisions. FIRST USE: 20131001. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20131001
ImageAgentProxy.thumb.jpeg.e3ffbc7180ef6a40adee8df366517c34.jpeg

This is strictly a work mark in stylized form. The same logo without color is NOT covered.

Description of Mark The colors black, red, orange, yellow, green and blue are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of the wording "COLECOVISION" in stylized letters with black outlines and with the colors red, orange, yellow, green and blue appearing in the letters as gradients.



Separately, there is a mark for "ColecoVision Flashback":

 

Word Mark  COLECOVISION FLASHBACK
Goods and Services

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Computer game consoles for use with an external display screen or monitor; Computer game joysticks; Game controllers for computer games; Hand held joy stick units for playing video games; Hand held units for playing electronic games; Hand held units for playing electronic games other than those adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor; Hand held units for playing video games other than those adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor; Hand-held games with liquid crystal displays; Hand-held units for playing electronic games for use with external display screen or monitor; Toy, namely, battery-powered computer game with LCD screen which features animation and sound effects; Video game consoles for use with an external display screen or monitor; Video game interactive hand held remote controls for playing electronic games; Video game machines for use with external display screen or monitor; Video game machines for use with televisions; Video output game machines for use with external display screen or monitor; Video output game machines for use with televisions. FIRST USE: 20140920. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20140920

 

 

 

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