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Forums - Nintendo - Starmen.net: No EarthBound VC. Ever!

Mr.Y on 16 February 2009
Mr Khan said:
Omega_Phazon_Pirate. said:
Ya imo that's bs. It wasn't a problem in 1995, and it shouldn't be a problem now.
Key word, "shouldn't." It seems now a-days people/companies just go sue-happy to make a quick buck.

 

Having the rights to do something doesn't necessarily mean you retain those rights forever. A good instance is "A Muppet Family Christmas," (special of theirs from the late 80's) which contained the muppets singing a lot of christmas songs. However, for some of the songs, the rights were only for the initial TV broadcasts, and when the special was released on DVD, they had to cut those songs out. Equally, these rights are not universal for all nations, to again cite this specific case, the UK and German DVD releases of "A Muppet Family Christmas" retained those songs

 

Kinda an obscure reference, but it illustrates my point. There may be actual legal grounds here, or it could just be NoA being jittery.

 

That doesn't make any sense at all. They probably didn't have any rights to begin with so why would they need them now? There is a difference between copying and making references, isn't there? Why didn't they get sued back in the day?

Also: Swat Kats is the bomb.



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Kasz216 on 16 February 2009
Mr.Y said:
Mr Khan said:
Omega_Phazon_Pirate. said:
Ya imo that's bs. It wasn't a problem in 1995, and it shouldn't be a problem now.
Key word, "shouldn't." It seems now a-days people/companies just go sue-happy to make a quick buck.

 

Having the rights to do something doesn't necessarily mean you retain those rights forever. A good instance is "A Muppet Family Christmas," (special of theirs from the late 80's) which contained the muppets singing a lot of christmas songs. However, for some of the songs, the rights were only for the initial TV broadcasts, and when the special was released on DVD, they had to cut those songs out. Equally, these rights are not universal for all nations, to again cite this specific case, the UK and German DVD releases of "A Muppet Family Christmas" retained those songs

 

Kinda an obscure reference, but it illustrates my point. There may be actual legal grounds here, or it could just be NoA being jittery.

 

That doesn't make any sense at all. They probably didn't have any rights to begin with so why would they need them now? There is a difference between copying and making references, isn't there? Why didn't they get sued back in the day?

Also: Swat Kats is the bomb.

Nobody bought Earthbound back in the day and it was relativly unknown until it became a cult hit later on in life?

 



Mr.Y on 16 February 2009

Well how many people read Air Pirates?

I remember playing Earthbound back then and I don't remember any of the pop references it made. Maybe I didn't play it enough or I didn't get them.



Pretendo on 16 February 2009

Darn...
(>'.')>



chenguo4 on 16 February 2009

Hooray for a fucked up legal system.

IMO it's perfectly fine. Everyone'll just keep playing it on emulators, like they have been. If Nintendo doesn't wanna fight for it, it's their money they're losing.

And in all honesty, EB probably wouldn't end up being worth the lawyer fees to Nintendo. It's a damn shame, but it's probably true.




PSN: chenguo4
Current playing: No More Heroes

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patjuan32 on 16 February 2009
Kasz216 said:
Mr.Y said:
Mr Khan said:
Omega_Phazon_Pirate. said:
Ya imo that's bs. It wasn't a problem in 1995, and it shouldn't be a problem now.
Key word, "shouldn't." It seems now a-days people/companies just go sue-happy to make a quick buck.

 

Having the rights to do something doesn't necessarily mean you retain those rights forever. A good instance is "A Muppet Family Christmas," (special of theirs from the late 80's) which contained the muppets singing a lot of christmas songs. However, for some of the songs, the rights were only for the initial TV broadcasts, and when the special was released on DVD, they had to cut those songs out. Equally, these rights are not universal for all nations, to again cite this specific case, the UK and German DVD releases of "A Muppet Family Christmas" retained those songs

 

Kinda an obscure reference, but it illustrates my point. There may be actual legal grounds here, or it could just be NoA being jittery.

 

That doesn't make any sense at all. They probably didn't have any rights to begin with so why would they need them now? There is a difference between copying and making references, isn't there? Why didn't they get sued back in the day?

Also: Swat Kats is the bomb.

Nobody bought Earthbound back in the day and it was relativly unknown until it became a cult hit later on in life?

 

Exactly, It became a cult hit and with all the roms available on the internet of the game. Some lawyer would have filed a lawsuit. But the problem is about parodies not a licensing issue.

What the acticle alleges is that some of the songs in Earthbound sound similar to real world songs. There is a law in the US that protects parodies. Any way, Well just have to wait and see what Nintendo does.

 



If Nintendo is successful at the moment, it’s because they are good, and I cannot blame them for that. What we should do is try to be just as good.----Laurent Benadiba

 

Riachu on 16 February 2009
patjuan32 said:
Kasz216 said:
Mr.Y said:
Mr Khan said:
Omega_Phazon_Pirate. said:
Ya imo that's bs. It wasn't a problem in 1995, and it shouldn't be a problem now.
Key word, "shouldn't." It seems now a-days people/companies just go sue-happy to make a quick buck.

 

Having the rights to do something doesn't necessarily mean you retain those rights forever. A good instance is "A Muppet Family Christmas," (special of theirs from the late 80's) which contained the muppets singing a lot of christmas songs. However, for some of the songs, the rights were only for the initial TV broadcasts, and when the special was released on DVD, they had to cut those songs out. Equally, these rights are not universal for all nations, to again cite this specific case, the UK and German DVD releases of "A Muppet Family Christmas" retained those songs

 

Kinda an obscure reference, but it illustrates my point. There may be actual legal grounds here, or it could just be NoA being jittery.

 

That doesn't make any sense at all. They probably didn't have any rights to begin with so why would they need them now? There is a difference between copying and making references, isn't there? Why didn't they get sued back in the day?

Also: Swat Kats is the bomb.

Nobody bought Earthbound back in the day and it was relativly unknown until it became a cult hit later on in life?

 

Exactly, It became a cult hit and with all the roms available on the internet of the game. Some lawyer would have filed a lawsuit. But the problem is about parodies not a licensing issue.

What the acticle alleges is that some of the songs in Earthbound sound similar to real world songs. There is a law in the US that protects parodies. Any way, Well just have to wait and see what Nintendo does.

 

Parodies shouldn't have a problem with licensing issues.  Earthbound can basically described as a bunch of parodies that became a great game due to forces beyond our control.

 



 

http://www.youtube.com/user/InvaderZimGuy1?feature=mhum

mike_intellivision on 19 February 2009

If you have ever tangled with some of the groups that oversee music in the US, you can understand NOA's hesitancy.

And knowing this is a cult hit and it would take a lot of money to redo this -- and probably not make it back -- you can understand Nintendo HQ's hesitancy.

What happened that changed -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 which spells out a lot of things, often in very different terms than before.

That has empowered the RIAA and the trade groups on musical performances (ASCAP/BMI/SESAC) to go after anyone who does not pay them when they use music.

And yes, it does apply retroactively. For example, try watching a WKRP episode in syndication (WGN America has run it on Sunday evenings recently). Some songs have been retained, others have been replaced (when I saw this when it was on Nickelodeon, I wrote and asked -- and received a very nice and detailed explanation from Viacom). The episode "The Americanization of Ivan" is completely unwatchable as some key dialog revolved around the Elton John song "Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer." But references to the song -- the music and even its title when spoken -- have been excised.

Now you know Nintendo's quandary.

Mike from Morgantown



      


I am Mario.


I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble.

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Riachu on 19 February 2009
mike_intellivision said:
If you have ever tangled with some of the groups that oversee music in the US, you can understand NOA's hesitancy.

And knowing this is a cult hit and it would take a lot of money to redo this -- and probably not make it back -- you can understand Nintendo HQ's hesitancy.

What happened that changed -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 which spells out a lot of things, often in very different terms than before.

That has empowered the RIAA and the trade groups on musical performances (ASCAP/BMI/SESAC) to go after anyone who does not pay them when they use music.

And yes, it does apply retroactively. For example, try watching a WKRP episode in syndication (WGN America has run it on Sunday evenings recently). Some songs have been retained, others have been replaced (when I saw this when it was on Nickelodeon, I wrote and asked -- and received a very nice and detailed explanation from Viacom). The episode "The Americanization of Ivan" is completely unwatchable as some key dialog revolved around the Elton John song "Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer." But references to the song -- the music and even its title when spoken -- have been excised.

Now you know Nintendo's quandary.

Mike from Morgantown

Nintendo are a rich company.  They shouldn't have a problem with paying for the song usage.

 



 

http://www.youtube.com/user/InvaderZimGuy1?feature=mhum

BrainBoxLtd on 19 February 2009
Mr Khan said:
Omega_Phazon_Pirate. said:
Ya imo that's bs. It wasn't a problem in 1995, and it shouldn't be a problem now.
Key word, "shouldn't." It seems now a-days people/companies just go sue-happy to make a quick buck.

 

Having the rights to do something doesn't necessarily mean you retain those rights forever. A good instance is "A Muppet Family Christmas," (special of theirs from the late 80's) which contained the muppets singing a lot of christmas songs. However, for some of the songs, the rights were only for the initial TV broadcasts, and when the special was released on DVD, they had to cut those songs out. Equally, these rights are not universal for all nations, to again cite this specific case, the UK and German DVD releases of "A Muppet Family Christmas" retained those songs

 

Kinda an obscure reference, but it illustrates my point. There may be actual legal grounds here, or it could just be NoA being jittery.

 

 Mystery Science Theater 3000 had similar problems since they show was about making fun of really lousy old movies. They producers had to pay for a liscense to each movie for each episode, and once the liscense expired in I think five years time, they couldn't re-air the episode without paying for the liscense again. Some people like Sandy Franks wouldn't even re-sell them a liscense because of insulted he felt over MST3K ripping on his awful bastardizations of Gamera.

It's probably the same reason the DVD releases are so random. The people putting out the DVD's probably go with whatever 
movies they can get the rights to for a DVD release.