4 ms·

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 I

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.