3 ms·

I bet their first "Hello" from an NRS representative will be a cease & desist letter due to all the copyright infringement... They could have opted for a brand

I bet their first "Hello" from an NRS representative will be a cease & desist letter due to all the copyright infringement... They could have opted for a brand new logo and a non-trademarked project name in order to make things at least a little easier for them... That said, I hope the project does NOT die. Power to the FGC!

flashgordon 4y ago
The romantic in me hopes not! These are now doing crazy things with MK10 (i am amazed how i find the story line just getting better and better). I hope they can appreciate the hacker in these folks from their own early days!
- sangnoir 4y ago
  Aren't trademarks dependent on enforcement? i.e. if you allow your mark be diluted[1] by projects you like - you will have a harder time down the road defending against use by projects you don't like. So the best strategy is to go ape on everyone, including those you like. IANAL. 1. e.g. Kleenex
  - imwillofficial 4y ago
    There are ways around this, including cutting them a license, or ignoring it.
  - RileyJames 4y ago
    I have heard this. But if that’s the case, and you liked the projects / developers, couldn’t a highly restricted licence be granted to the project? A $1, non-profit, licence that can be modified or removed at anytime. It could even have an NDA attached so it can’t be publicly discussed. Maybe they wouldn’t accept that. But it seems like there should be a way to officially allow a project like this to exist without enabling other groups that are not guided by motivations the licence aligns with.
caslon 4y ago
They're distributing their changes as a patchset to the ROM, which is completely legal. As a result, they aren't distributing binary files; other hosts are.
- greenthrow 4y ago
  They are using the Mortal Kombat name and trademark which they are most definitely not licensed to do.
  - caslon 4y ago
    That's not copyright infringement, that's trademark infringement. They're two entirely separate concepts.
    - bagels 4y ago
      The logos are copyrighted.
  - flashgordon 4y ago
    Doesn't copyright also come with fair use clauses?
    - CiaranMcNulty 4y ago
      Copyright is not the same as trademarks

flashgordon 4y ago

The romantic in me hopes not! These are now doing crazy things with MK10 (i am amazed how i find the story line just getting better and better). I hope they can appreciate the hacker in these folks from their own early days!

sangnoir 4y ago
Aren't trademarks dependent on enforcement? i.e. if you allow your mark be diluted[1] by projects you like - you will have a harder time down the road defending against use by projects you don't like. So the best strategy is to go ape on everyone, including those you like. IANAL. 1. e.g. Kleenex
- imwillofficial 4y ago
  There are ways around this, including cutting them a license, or ignoring it.
- RileyJames 4y ago
  I have heard this. But if that’s the case, and you liked the projects / developers, couldn’t a highly restricted licence be granted to the project? A $1, non-profit, licence that can be modified or removed at anytime. It could even have an NDA attached so it can’t be publicly discussed. Maybe they wouldn’t accept that. But it seems like there should be a way to officially allow a project like this to exist without enabling other groups that are not guided by motivations the licence aligns with.

caslon 4y ago

They're distributing their changes as a patchset to the ROM, which is completely legal. As a result, they aren't distributing binary files; other hosts are.

greenthrow 4y ago
They are using the Mortal Kombat name and trademark which they are most definitely not licensed to do.
- caslon 4y ago
  That's not copyright infringement, that's trademark infringement. They're two entirely separate concepts.
  - bagels 4y ago
    The logos are copyrighted.
- flashgordon 4y ago
  Doesn't copyright also come with fair use clauses?
  - CiaranMcNulty 4y ago
    Copyright is not the same as trademarks