A question for the devs

[Ants]

Dear devs:
If some company got their panties in a knot over copyright infringement, what would you do? There are some things in the game that might cause Nintendo, Disney or Kellogg to take notice.
http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/vie ... le#p833333
Presumably the offending material would have to be taken out of the game. If you had to remove a hat, would the players who own them be reimbursed? Or would the hat be replaced by a different hat?

[Rexz]

Another potential alternative is giving them a choice to pick any hat of their choosing except for maybe the subscriber hats.

This may trigger the oldies that have all the rare hats from back in the day, but I think it's pretty fair.

[Ants]

Another potential alternative is giving them a choice to pick any hat of their choosing except for maybe the subscriber hats.

This may trigger the oldies that have all the rare hats from back in the day, but I think it's pretty fair.

They could just give them a recolored version of an existing hat, I guess. That wouldn't trigger the oldies and shouldn't take much work to code.

[Rexz]

Another potential alternative is giving them a choice to pick any hat of their choosing except for maybe the subscriber hats.

This may trigger the oldies that have all the rare hats from back in the day, but I think it's pretty fair.

They could just give them a recolored version of an existing hat, I guess. That wouldn't trigger the oldies and shouldn't take much work to code.

Yea, there are multiple ways to reimburse players for situations like this. However the liklihood of a copy right strike is low since Haven is such a small game, and big corporations usually only go after companies that have a bigger impact on their profit margins/brand.

I could argue that due to the nature of this game, and the small playerbase, that it does more for their brand imagine (without even a slight bump to their margins) than it does hurting it, to have their brand image spoofed by a small indie game. This has been a case for a couple of indie games in the past.

[loftar]

If some company got their panties in a knot over copyright infringement, what would you do?

I'd say we'll deal with that when it happens, and can take all the relevant details into account. I don't think it is something where we would have anything to gain from drawing up contingency plans in advance.

[jordancoles]

If some company got their panties in a knot over copyright infringement, what would you do?

I'd say we'll deal with that when it happens, and can take all the relevant details into account. I don't think it is something where we would have anything to gain from drawing up contingency plans in advance.

I feel like drawing contingency plans in advance shows that you know what you're doing is wrong, and so does this post actually lol

Better off playing stupid and removing it if it comes up imo, but I'm not a lawyerman

[shubla]

If some company got their panties in a knot over copyright infringement, what would you do?

I'd say we'll deal with that when it happens, and can take all the relevant details into account. I don't think it is something where we would have anything to gain from drawing up contingency plans in advance.

I feel like drawing contingency plans in advance shows that you know what you're doing is wrong, and so does this post actually lol

Better off playing stupid and removing it if it comes up imo, but I'm not a lawyerman

Good thing that law does not apply to everyone, like small games!

[MagicManICT]

If some company got their panties in a knot over copyright infringement, what would you do?

I'd say we'll deal with that when it happens, and can take all the relevant details into account. I don't think it is something where we would have anything to gain from drawing up contingency plans in advance.

I feel like drawing contingency plans in advance shows that you know what you're doing is wrong, and so does this post actually lol

Better off playing stupid and removing it if it comes up imo, but I'm not a lawyerman

That's why such plans are kept internal under lock and key. Best response is "copyright/trademark is being used in a means allowed by international copyright law." There's more to worry about in music and other forms of art that patent and copyright trolls have muscled into than in the video game industry. (Though there's a fair share of them here, too, when it comes to actual code and programming algorithms.)

Given the amount of much more infringing art assets have been allowed in other formats for profit edges out the potential of a case (say Link/Zelda themed art). A copyright/trademark/patent is only as strong as the will to enforce the law, and a lot of companies would rather see the fan art than crack down too hard. How that fairs when giant corporations that don't care about the fans get bothered is another story.

[SumFaggotPlayTester]

Can't see the mouse and 2 nukies island company doing much about a fantasy basket quality weaving game. Would be surprised if it even got on their radar. Then again one of those companies seems mentally deficient enough to go after users of an image board for a shit-tier hobbo-ball catcher game. Even then they'd have to make a case in Sweden wouldn't they? Lots of money for something so small.

[Granger]

But getting that onto the front pages of the relevant gaming magazines (from being sued for the hommage) would be excellent advertising... could be worth it.