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I quite like the licensing trick Nintendo used on the gameboy as an example of this. [0] Essentially, the gameboy expected a bitmap of the Nintendo logo to be
by graypegg 3y ago
I quite like the licensing trick Nintendo used on the gameboy as an example of this. [0]
Essentially, the gameboy expected a bitmap of the Nintendo logo to be present on the cartridge rom, and was shown on screen at boot. It had to match a version stored on the gameboy itself or else the game wouldn’t start.
The thinking (that I’m not sure was ever tested) was that someone producing a game that tried to trick consumers into thinking it was an official Nintendo product, would be liable for damages in a trademark lawsuit. Since the game would never start without an official Nintendo logo, the hope was to make the legal system enforce Nintendo’s licensing scheme.
[0] https://catskull.net/gameboy-boot-screen-logo.html https://catskull.net/gameboy-boot-screen-logo.html
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- bentley 3y agoThe thinking was tested (in U.S. jurisdiction) in Sega v. Accolade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade The court sensibly ruled that using technical means to force competitors to display your trademark against their will doesn’t mean you can then claim they’re infringing that trademark.
- pcwalton 3y agoApple tried this too with Dont Steal Mac OS X.kext, which uses a haiku with a copyright message as the key to decrypt certain executables like the Finder. I don't think it had any real-world impact.
- kevin_thibedeau 3y agoPretty rich considering their history with sosumi.
- radarsat1 3y agoAlso reminds me of MODULE_LICENSE and EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL in the Linux kernel. https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/license-rules.html https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/license-rules...