3 ms·
Mac and Cheese Maze Mystery Resolved
- Someone1234 12y agoThey're surprisingly forgiving. If someone stole my IP and then utilised it in a commercial product I might not be so forgiving. That being said, it is a very happy outcome, $4K to food banks and the author seems happy. Plus I'm sure Kraft's design company can write off the charitable donation anyway.
- ars 12y agoIt's far from clear that the maze was subject to copyright in the first place, so it's easy for him to be forgiving.
- pionar 12y agoIf you go to the original post [0], he provides a link to the maze in question [1] which clearly states at the bottom of every page "© 2010 KrazyDad.com". How much clearer can that be? [0] http://krazydad.com/blog/2014/07/13/hmm-this-maze-looks-familiar/ http://krazydad.com/blog/2014/07/13/hmm-this-maze-looks-fami... [1] http://krazydad.com/mazes/sfiles/KD_Mazes_IM_v1.pdf http://krazydad.com/mazes/sfiles/KD_Mazes_IM_v1.pdf
- Genmutant 12y agoJust because he says it's copyrighted doesn't mean it is copyrightable in the first place.
- fancy_pantser 12y agoBut in this case, it is.
- ars 12y agoHow so? The copyright office is clear that mechanically generated works are not copyrightable. Read the original hn post about this if you want to see a ton of debate on this. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8030439 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8030439
- adolph 12y agoIn the author's words: In my mind, [a substantially larger settlement] would not have been just. It would have been a reverse form of theft, taking advantage of one person’s mistake for my personal gain. While it’s tempting to blame the “big corporation” for this kind of thing, ultimately these kinds of mistakes are made by people who are prone to the same kinds of errors that you and I make every day.
- M2Ys4U 12y ago>If someone stole my IP They didn't steal anything. They only infringed on the exclusive right granted under copyright law. Actually stealing IP is near impossible to do.
- chrismcb 12y agoBut, was there an exclusive right granted? Copyright comes from creating something, and not just the output of some computer program.
- stellar678 12y agoI wonder how enforceable that indemnity is. It seems to me that Kraft wouldn't be able to protect their big pockets by passing off liability to a company with relatively little in the way of assets.
- pionar 12y agoIt's probably in a contract they have with the design company. I would think it's very common, kind of like a software vendor indmnifying purchasers of their software against patent lawsuits.
- otterley 12y agoIndemnification clauses have been enforceable in contract law for a very long time. (And contract law never takes one's assets into account when determining whether a clause is enforceable, unless the agreement is deemed unconscionable or contrary to public policy, which to my knowledge an indemnification clause never has been.) The clause in the contract doesn't mean that Kraft is immune to suit. But it does give Kraft the ability to file a cross-claim against the design firm if it is sued so that damages can be assigned to the design firm if necessary. See Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 13(g).
- teilo 12y agoGood form, sir!