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MAMEDev's pull auctions without MAME
monkeybomb:
--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on June 07, 2005, 02:34:27 pm ---
--- Quote ---Do they really think they can win a lawsuit against Cyberpunk or do they just feel they need to file it anyway. Or at least document that they explored the opportunity.
--- End quote ---
MAMEdev is not sueing Cyberpunk.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, It was stated after my post, but I left it for a reason. Let's say that MAMEdev if fine with CP but still needs all CYA documentation. I think that simply asking lawyer if there is a case makes a difference in documenting their intent to enforce trademanrk. Even if they would never do it.
I agree with your point about the "documentation" aspect, but many don't. People get crazy and call burners scumbags and such. They point to the documentation claim and act like we are not supposed to play at all.
VMJ Team:
--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on June 07, 2005, 02:34:27 pm ---No hard feelings, CyberPunk, don't take any of this as hostile.
--- End quote ---
No hostility at all, but a few inacuracies...Yes, I created a stir about copyright infringement (rightfully so, I might add).
Yes, I want to distance myself from this entire ordeal (not if things take an ugly turn...because part of me really wants that to go down...I like my odds)
..at one point in time, it was nice to be a part of something and to offer something back (whether free, or charge for a service or product)...but it's quite apparant, since none of my other products create such drama...that my dealings in the arcade related industry have created more stress than I'd like...for example.
Shape D.:
--- Quote from: CyberPunk on June 07, 2005, 03:04:17 pm ---No hostility at all, but a few inacuracies...Yes, I created a stir about copyright infringement (rightfully so, I might add).
--- End quote ---
I'd be pissed too if something I worked on was given away by someone who didn't have the right to be giving it away.
Just to note I didn't mean a lot of those questions as why are you doing this. I honestly didn't know where your name comes from, and the obvious guess would be that it is from MAME. Good to know where it comes from now though.
Although where did you get the user name CyberPunk from? ;) J/K
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: ShapeD ---I'd be pissed too if something I worked on was given away by someone who didn't have the right to be giving it away.
--- End quote ---
I purposely left out some details to avoid "whacking the hornet's nest", but now I will add some details.
"who didn't have the right to be giving it away" - There's the rub. CP was selling plans. He didn't license the plans to the user (like Microsoft does), he sold them outright. They probably were copyrighted, but that typically precludes someone else from selling duplicates of them, not giving away the originals (unless they specifically said something like "copyright for use only by the original purchaser, no redistribution allowed", but I don't think they did. Now if I buy an OSCAR spinner from OSCAR for full price, and then decide I don't want to play spinner games, I can sell or give away the spinner on the boards and OSCAR can't complain that I am hurting his profits b/c he made the profit initially. (Of course this rarely happens b/c if I give away the spinner I can no longer play spinner games). In the case of cabinet plans, once someone built the cabinet, the original plans were of little use to them, so there wasn't a huge disincentive to giving them away.
--- Quote from: CyberPunk on June 07, 2005, 03:04:17 pm ---No hostility at all, but a few inacuracies...Yes, I created a stir about copyright infringement (rightfully so, I might add).
--- End quote ---
I'm not really arguing your right to be upset at the time, and I think it all was resolved pretty well, but threatening to shut down BYOAC b/c of the actions of a few members was probably not the best way to resolve it, but it's all water under the bridge (to me, at least) now.
--- Quote ---..at one point in time, it was nice to be a part of something and to offer something back (whether free, or charge for a service or product)...but it's quite apparant, since none of my other products create such drama...that my dealings in the arcade related industry have created more stress than I'd like...for example. I don't have to explain myself to anyone...but find myself glued to this thread defending my views for some reason.
--- End quote ---
That's basically your choice. It's an active user base, and the more involved you are, the more support (and customers) you are likely to garner, but nothing prevents you from running your company as you see fit without saying anything to the members here.
--- Quote ---Whether or not I based my business off of a chop shop or not really isn't relavent to anyone...the only relavence here is that at any moments time, I can get 10-20 sworn affidavid's stating the existance of the term mameroom (regardless of spelling) before Mame existed.
--- End quote ---
It may be relevant to MAMEdev's legal team, if it ever comes to that.
--- Quote ---I also never threatened to sue mamedev...only defend myself if it was the other way around.
--- End quote ---
Okay, technically you threatened to countersue if they sued you.
--- Quote ---So hopefully still no hostilities...but on issues as sensitive as this, please pay attention to the details before spouting off conjecture.
--- End quote ---
No hostilities on my end, and I figured you could correct the details if I got them wrong (you still might).
--- Quote ---It was also brought to my attention from the residence guru, that Mame itself promotes copyright infringement and anyone taking this anywhere outside of ebay would be a complete idiot to bring attention to mame. The complete idiot part came from an actual attorney...not me.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, I think that is probably true. In other words, it's probably not wise for an E-bay seller to go to court saying "MAMEdev won't let me use MAME to market my product", although this could well happen and bring the whole legality of MAME (and general emulation) to a decision.
--- Quote ---Bottom line..although we all know not the last word...
--- End quote ---
True!
--- Quote ---If I reverse engineered Windows 3.1 and made it open source for documentation purposes...
Who has the strongest legal standpoint?
--- End quote ---
Good analogy. I would say Microsoft, but it would be up to them to defend their IP and prosecute.
--- Quote ---Mame, in my mind has become a joke. I don't need it to conduct my business...I want to distance myself as far from it...because, it WILL happen...mame will get sued by someone and I don't want to be associated with it!
--- End quote ---
Probably a wise course of action.
RandyT:
--- Quote from: CyberPunk on June 07, 2005, 03:04:17 pm ---Whether or not I based my business off of a chop shop or not really isn't relavent to anyone...the only relavence here is that at any moments time, I can get 10-20 sworn affidavid's stating the existance of the term mameroom (regardless of spelling) before Mame existed.
--- End quote ---
Obligatory IANAL
Not trying to add fuel to the fire, but while those affidavits would probably be useful (and spelling would count in this case, I'd imagine), you are talking about a civil case. In civil cases, it's not "beyond a shadow of a doubt" as with criminal cases, rather "a conclusion based on preponderance of the evidence by a judge or jury."
If the opposition could show that MAME existed before your website/business, and they have copies of the site with their copyrighted logo on it, or that you made specific references to their software in conjunction with your product, I think it would be a tough sell.
In other words, in the case of your website name, if the judge or jury thinks it looks like an infringement and quacks like an infringement.......
But at the moment, I believe there is still a real dilemna for the Mame team. If they don't start receiving some sort of monetary compensation in conjunction with the name MAME for a product as outlined by the trademark application, they may not be able to hold it. Can you guess who will most likely be contesting it at assignment time, with every intention of using it in commerce?
This one's not over yet, not by a long shot.
RandyT
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