Commercial use???

[quintinbiker]

I've just red another topic on the boards somewhere and the following occured to me.

They say that games like pacman is copyrighted right?
Where in the world can you still buy a brand spanking new pacman board, if someone knows please tell me, and I'll buy a ship container full and become ritch over night, because i've never seen a brand new pacman board (Origonal board) up for sale.
So yes, the game might have a trademark to it and the trademark is copyrighted.

Another thing is, the only way you'll get pacman or almost any other arcade game here in south africa for commercial use is if you buy xxx in 1 or any of the mame based boards, you don't really have much of a choice here though because the arcade suppliers here only sell those boards.

Now, mame is illigal to use commercially, i know that, but the xxx jamma boards is modified computer mother boards or other boards, but they all are still running mame, so many people that runs their own rent arcade machine, or that has arcade machines on site has got a xxx in 1 board in their machines.

I personally have a mame cabinet, that's at my house, only me and sometimes a few kids that come with theyr perants plays on it.

I also have to commercially used machines on a site, happy fish 1 and a cadalacs and dinosours cabinet.

Not that I'm thinking of it, but if the arcade suppliers give the go ahead to use their xxx boards, then what's the difference between that and a self built mame machine, because, after all the xxx boards is just mame.

I know i just said a mouth full, and i know a few of thease topics was already covered previously somewhere, and i know that mame isn't legal to use for commercial use.

Then again i can also say, if it wasn't for thease ---smurfy--- xxx boards classic and some other arcade games would've been long time forgotten, and the word ARCADE MACHINE OR ARCADE CABINET would've been unknown to todays kids.

So my personal oppinion is, i don't really know why pacman etc is still copyrighted etc if they don't make the boards new anymore.
And my other point
Only boards tha you can easly get here is SA is xxx in 2 boards happy fish etc, so you are almost forced to use them commercially.
And
If they're using mame on thease boards, then won't it be better to use a mame cab? Not that i would, because i prefer arcade hardware.

I know some people might end up hating me for this topic, but i don't meen to disrespect of offend anyone, sorry if I am.

[yotsuya]

They are still, to this day, making new Pac-Man products.

I get what you are saying and how you are trying to justify it, but a) Mame's license specifically says you cannot use it for commercial purposes and B) the ROMS that these boardmakers are using are all unlicensed. Even that's the only thing you can find nowadays, that doesn't change the fact that A) and B) are the reason why those boards are considered "illegal". Sure, it seems like you can buy them anywhere, but ultimately the boardmakers don't have the proper permissions to be making those boards, and the sellers could probably be hit with the same rules that govern selling other counterfeit items if anyone ever pushed them on it, I would imagine.

[quintinbiker]

Yes sure, i understand that, i know that they still make pacman products, arcade wise the new 4 player board, the pacman for iphone etc.

I do use one of the multi boards in one of my machines, i don't like the boards but got no choice.

I think the only way the game companys can stop this problem is if they make jamma type boards that works with the origonal hardware, make it a bit cheaper and distrobute it more, that's the only way that the origonal authors of nintendo namco or who ever will be able to fight back against the other companies that makes the rips of theyr games, because i don't see how the cops will rade every single pub / site where arcade machines are and check every single machine to see weather it's running origonal hardware or not, and would the avarage cop even know the difference lol

But all seriesly now, i think that's the only way, because if it was that way i would've had all origonal boards, and unfortuanately i don't.

[ChadTower]

It's simple.  The fact that they are no longer producing new hardware does not give you a commercial license to use the software within. 

[CheffoJeffo]

Nobody is going to hate you for the topic, although it has been discussed to death and nothing has really changed.

[ChadTower]

There is going to be a MAME frenzy when Pac Man Battle Royale hits MAME. 

[quintinbiker]

If it was me i would've allowed people to use the old roms with emulators because they don't make the hardware anymore, if it was still in production it would've been a different story, because if you use that old rom, or if you buy a second hand pacman board from someone nintendo isn't getting money from that? Then they might aswell say it's illigel to sell 2nd hand boards, same thing in my opinion.

[CheffoJeffo]

if you buy a second hand pacman board from someone nintendo isn't getting money from that?

I would expect not, especially since Nintendo didn't make PacMan.

 

[quintinbiker]

my bad Midway or Namco, i don't always pay attention to who the authors are.

[ChadTower]

What's the over/under here on number of posts before he says his idea is to put MAME cabs on location?

[shmokes]

They say that games like pacman is copyrighted right?
Where in the world can you still buy a brand spanking new pacman board, if someone knows please tell me, and I'll buy a ship container full and become ritch over night, because i've never seen a brand new pacman board (Origonal board) up for sale.
So yes, the game might have a trademark to it and the trademark is copyrighted.

You're conflating multiple types of intellectual property here.

Trademarks aren't copyrighted. They're . . . trademarked. A trademark is just a logo or a slogan or the like that identifies the source of a product. Disuse can invalidate a trademark, but they don't expire. Imagine if after a certain period of time anybody could release products under the name Coke or Ferrari. As long as you're using them, trademarks last forever.

Copyrights protect authorship. Copyrights do expire, but it takes a long time. They last for something like the life of the author, plus seventy years (IP laws vary by country, of course). It's useful to think a little bit further about all the rights that are protected by copyright, beyond prohibiting outright copying. Say you write a book that has some reasonable success, but not enough to justify a second printing. Does the fact that it's no longer on the market give other people the right to copy and distribute your work? Who's to say that five or ten years down the road someone in Hollywood isn't going to adapt your book for a monumentally successful blockbuster film? Wouldn't you want to be paid for your work? Wouldn't you want to have rights over the republication of your book? And what about derivative works. After your book has been out of print for twenty years, would you be okay with some other person writing a sequel to it without getting your permission or paying you royalties?

The same thing applies to Pac Man. The original Pac Man is out of production, but other Pac Man games are still being actively produced by the rights-holders. And even if they weren't actively making new games based on the property, you never know what the future will bring. Who would've thought a 2011 sequel would be made of Yar's Revenge nearly 30 years after the original was released?

[Le Chuck]

Q - I don't really get the purpose of your post. Are you announcing that you're planning on doing something, asking permission, seeking justification, or what?

If you want to put a MAME machine on location nobody is going to stop you.  Doesn't make it right and it is something you have to balance against a personal code of ethics.  I wouldn't advertize it on this forum tho since it doesn't jive against the collective (disenting opinion to the contrary not withstanding).

Hell, I'd wager in SA you could start producing your own boards to sell and nobody would/could stop you, still, doesn't make it right.  Reselling an original product if fundamentally different than reproducing some one elses original product for resale.  Where are you going with this then?

[yotsuya]

Q - I don't really get the purpose of your post. Are you announcing that you're planning on doing something, asking permission, seeking justification, or what?

If you want to put a MAME machine on location nobody is going to stop you.  Doesn't make it right and it is something you have to balance against a personal code of ethics.  I wouldn't advertize it on this forum tho since it doesn't jive against the collective (disenting opinion to the contrary not withstanding).

Hell, I'd wager in SA you could start producing your own boards to sell and nobody would/could stop you, still, doesn't make it right.  Reselling an original product if fundamentally different than reproducing some one elses original product for resale.  Where are you going with this then?

Chic Le Freak? Did I miss something?

[HaRuMaN]

Chic Le Freak? Did I miss something?

 

[Le Chuck]

Chic Le Freak? Did I miss something?

 

Quiet you.

I am no longer in control of my own BYOAC destiny.

[yotsuya]

I though it was your Pop-N'-Locking Competition name... 

[Le Chuck]

I though it was your Pop-N'-Locking Competition name... 

You let one mildly embarrassing personal detail loose on the innernets and you ain't evar getting that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- back I tell you. 

[Vigo]

I hear you keep a flattened cardboard box handy in case you need to serve a diss to a playa hater by using your mad b-boying skillahz.

[yotsuya]

I though it was your Pop-N'-Locking Competition name... 

You let one mildly embarrassing personal detail loose on the innernets and you ain't evar getting that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- back I tell you. 

Bro, you were a CHAMPION! You think Michael Jordan hides his six rings in a shoebox? Sport that title proudly, homes.

[yotsuya]

I hear you keep a flattened cardboard box handy in case you need to serve a diss to a playa hater by using your mad b-boying skillahz.

Since we're off-topic, anyone here remember this on-topic commercial?



The foldout breakdancing board was genius!

[Vigo]

I don't remember tha....uh...Holy crap!! is that Carlton from fresh Prince?   

[yotsuya]

I don't remember tha....uh...Holy crap!! is that Carlton from fresh Prince?   

It is! I remember seeing the commercial on TV from time to time. If they would have thrown in a sleeveless T-shirt as well, I might have begged my folks to buy it for me.

[Le Chuck]

I had this dream of being all gangstar in the Paris banlieues.  We danced to survive man.  It was brutal



Now even when I deploy to shitholes like Iraq or Afghanistan I always have my fold out throw down dance mat handy incase I get into a real life or death battle... a break battle

[yotsuya]

Now even when I deploy to shitholes like Iraq or Afghanistan I always have my fold out throw down dance mat handy incase I get into a real life or death battle... a break battle

I can't wait to see your servo-driven, rare-Earth magnetic custom mini Breaking Board.