6 ms·

I'd say it belongs to hmh. encore is not relevant, riverdeep would have granted a one off license to create a game, not transferred ownership of the IP.

maccard 6y ago
You can't say that and be sure. You don't know what the terms of those licenses are, nor do you know what the deal with ubi/riverdeep is. For all we know the ownership of the rights mightn't belong to any of the companies listed, and might belong to one of the people involved!
- user5994461 6y ago
  Of course we can't be sure who owns the IP. Doesn't mean we can't make an educated guess. The OP is only trying to figure out whom to contact first about the IP. The worst that can happen is that a company replies it's not with them. A merging/acquisition will transfer all IP to the (new) parent company. A contracting company will grant a license to make one game, not reassign all its IP to the game studio.
  - mysterydip 6y ago
    Actually, the worst has been no response. As companies get larger, getting to the people who might know gets more difficult.
  - maccard 6y ago
    > Doesn't mean we can't make an educated guess. I don't think OPs guess is in any way educated. The whole point of this thread is that the rights for these games are complicated, and assuming that the most straightforward explanation is true is just wrong. > A merging/acquisition will transfer all IP to the (new) parent company. That's a bold statement that is definitely not always true. There are many reasons why it wouldn't happen, either the acquisition wasn't done properly, or maybe the IP might be kept to ensure any liability would fall on the acquired company. >. A contracting company will grant a license to make one game, not reassign all its IP to the game studio. Again, that's the most _likely_ explanation, but there are other very possible ones such as - the company who granted the rights to a contractor didn't have the rights to grant them in the first place, or they granted all rights to games of an IP (see EA and star wars), or some sort of right of first refusal.
- mysterydip 6y ago
  If those people are still alive! Unfortunately, I found an obituary when looking up one bankruptcy asset owner: never married, only child, whose parents had died prior. No idea what next of kin looks like for that.
  - maccard 6y ago
    Yep, and even if you have a known next of kin, that ownership can be disputed!
    - o-__-o 6y ago
      Maybe a bastard kid running around somewhere.
      - maccard 6y ago
        Mmhmm. Or multiples...

maccard 6y ago

You can't say that and be sure. You don't know what the terms of those licenses are, nor do you know what the deal with ubi/riverdeep is. For all we know the ownership of the rights mightn't belong to any of the companies listed, and might belong to one of the people involved!

user5994461 6y ago
Of course we can't be sure who owns the IP. Doesn't mean we can't make an educated guess. The OP is only trying to figure out whom to contact first about the IP. The worst that can happen is that a company replies it's not with them. A merging/acquisition will transfer all IP to the (new) parent company. A contracting company will grant a license to make one game, not reassign all its IP to the game studio.
- mysterydip 6y ago
  Actually, the worst has been no response. As companies get larger, getting to the people who might know gets more difficult.
- maccard 6y ago
  > Doesn't mean we can't make an educated guess. I don't think OPs guess is in any way educated. The whole point of this thread is that the rights for these games are complicated, and assuming that the most straightforward explanation is true is just wrong. > A merging/acquisition will transfer all IP to the (new) parent company. That's a bold statement that is definitely not always true. There are many reasons why it wouldn't happen, either the acquisition wasn't done properly, or maybe the IP might be kept to ensure any liability would fall on the acquired company. >. A contracting company will grant a license to make one game, not reassign all its IP to the game studio. Again, that's the most _likely_ explanation, but there are other very possible ones such as - the company who granted the rights to a contractor didn't have the rights to grant them in the first place, or they granted all rights to games of an IP (see EA and star wars), or some sort of right of first refusal.
mysterydip 6y ago
If those people are still alive! Unfortunately, I found an obituary when looking up one bankruptcy asset owner: never married, only child, whose parents had died prior. No idea what next of kin looks like for that.
- maccard 6y ago
  Yep, and even if you have a known next of kin, that ownership can be disputed!
  - o-__-o 6y ago
    Maybe a bastard kid running around somewhere.
    - maccard 6y ago
      Mmhmm. Or multiples...