this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2024
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Unless they were trying to charge people for it, I'm pretty sure there would have been nothing stopping a release
Pretty sure that's not how copyright, and trademark works. I mean if he remade it with original characters etc... then he'd have a snowballs chance in hell, but far from a done deal (still would take enough money to have lawyers).
Why would it be a problem unless he was making money? People are allowed to write fanfic and make fan movies and whatnot. The line isn't crossed until money changes hands. Seems like a fan game would fall under that same kind of category
Agreed. Especially since he built the engine from scratch if I remember correctly. I would think it'd be legal under fair use? But I've heard of so many fan games going under from cease and desists. Maybe they just don't want to pay the legal fees to fight it? Especially if they're not making a profit from it.
Fair use is a much more specific and narrow thing than most people think, and there's absolutely zero way this would be fair use. Not making money with it would definitely strengthen a fair use claim, but that's not the only factor. The other big one is whether it's transformative, and I can't see how remaking anything can be considered transformative.
For sure they might try to send a c&d, but it wouldn't have any legal standing. Whether you have the funds to fight frivolous bullshit like that is one thing, but you can't get a c&d in the first place if you never put your art out. Even then, all you'd have to do is stop distributing it yourself, but at least it'd be out there
Not a legal expert but from what I've read, the IP holders have the right to stop you in the event that you are "distributing". Simply put, the second it runs on PCs other than the creators, that is when it becomes a legal problem.
Again we are talking legal not moral or correct. The point is the second someone makes it available for download, the IP holders have the right to sue, and have a very high chance of winning. Really the only variable is whether the IP holders notice the distsribution, and whether they choose to pursue legal action.
That's why I think the creator might be hoping to get paid for his work if he can get the publisher to re release it.
He can't release it without being sued. But if it was leaked, he wouldn't be responsible. They can only sue the torrents' hosts and downloaders.