Prequel era asteroids beta!

[GothiX]

Ironically, LucasArts does assume that the original creator has his work copyrighted automatically - which actually is true. Long live intellectual copyright. Also; if you don't take my word for it:

 

"(7) By distributing or permitting the distribution of any New Levels, all creators or owners of any trademark, copyright, or other right, title or interest therein grant to LucasArts an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, sublicensable right to distribute or exploit the New Level by any means or media (whether now known or hereafter invented), and to create and distribute by any means or media (whether now known or hereafter invented) derivative works thereof, and to charge for the distribution of such New Level or such derivative work, with no obligation to account to any creators or owners of the New Level in any manner."

[acdcfanbill]

die open source, long live closed source M$

[Kurgan]

We're really talking about several issues here, all dealing with

 

Copyright infringement:

 

Piracy (stealing somebody's product through illegal copying without payment or permission). This would be like downloading the full version of JA or buying a CDR copy off ebay.

 

Bootlegging (selling somebody's product illegally, perhaps with modification to remove security features to allow indiscriminate copying). This is more akin to illegal distribution (without permission) than anything. Like giving out or selling the JA beta.

 

Plagiarism (presenting somebody's else's work as your own, perhaps with extremely minimal changes to make it slightly less obvious). This would imply you didn't cite your sources and obtain permission first.

 

 

Plagiarism isn't about stealing products (unless you're selling it), but rather about stealing IDEAS, constituting a kind of fraud, by trying to fool the consumer into thinking the ideas are your's when in fact they are somebody elses, who is robbed of the proper credit for the work.

 

Piracy is the illegal copy of products for distribution, which robs the creator or owner of profit for the work.

 

Bootlegging is somewhat different than piracy, though it may provide a version of the product not available normally. It allows the seller to make money off of something they don't have a liscense to distribute.

 

 

I'm no lawyer, but that's how I understand it.

 

Anyway, to copy somebody's mod and distribute it as your own or to use it without permission in some way is a violation of the trust within the community.

 

If a mod maker says in his mod "PLEASE DONT MODIFY THIS AND DISTRIBUTE IT" then please honor his or her wishes.

[Eldritch]

Congratulations to both Kurgan and Amidala from Chop Shop, the first time recipients of Eldritch's Person(s) of the Month Award.

 

*presents trophy*