Main > Main Forum

Legalities of reproducing arcade art?

<< < (2/7) > >>

jimmy2x2x:
99% of the time, he would!

However, he gave his blessing to this not-for-profit masterpiece:




Radford119:
I understand that the likelihood of someone getting busted for selling a few reproduced graphics a year is slim. But what about sites like gameongrafix.com, did they have to obtain the rights to reprint? I would really like to make some repro graphics for sale but I am just a little confused about where to draw the line.

Eddie_Brock:
I'm not sure on the reason for your asking, but I can admit I was a bit worried when I first went into my local print shop and asked them to reproduce an image I had on a usb drive.
In the end, I was just straight forward with them and told them that I was using it for an arcade machine for my basement. They had no issues whatsoever and I would definitely do it again if I built another.

I hope this helps

CheffoJeffo:

--- Quote from: Radford119 on August 20, 2010, 11:53:14 am ---I understand that the likelihood of someone getting busted for selling a few reproduced graphics a year is slim. But what about sites like gameongrafix.com, did they have to obtain the rights to reprint? I would really like to make some repro graphics for sale but I am just a little confused about where to draw the line.

--- End quote ---

With a very few exceptions, most of the reproductions that you see are not legal.

There are, however, few folks actively enforcing copyright on repro graphics.

Twobits comes to mind as one that does (a right for which they paid handsomely, despite the lesser quality of their product), which is presumably why GoG doesn't seem to list PacMan or Galaga.

In terms of trying to do it as a business opportunity, I would be somewhat hesitant. In terms of repros for the collector, you would have to surpass the quality of shops like PhoenixArcade and ThisOldGame, which would be challenging at best for a neophyte. The last guy to try failed miserably and forever tarnished his reputation. You would also need access to artwork (GoG bought the old ClassicArcadeGrafix scans).

opt2not:
Could the same question be applied to repro-cabinets?  Say you build a nintendo cabinet from scratch, then later sell it...

Yeah, it's against copyright infringement, but I highly doubt anyone cares about a highly niche group of arcade enthusiasts (unless you're namco re: pacman stencils) making a tiny profit off something out of date.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

Go to full version