I don't understand how these guys did not support Stop Killing Games. I seemed right up their alley and they didn't say a word about it.
Just in case you thought reviving dead games seemed easy enough, GOG had to hire a private investigator to find an IP holder living off the grid for its preservation program
Submitted 5 weeks ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to gaming@beehaw.org
Comments
atro_city@fedia.io 5 weeks ago
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 5 weeks ago
Not only that. They were actually working up to support it, together with their preservation program but then just dropped it for unknown reasons.
Dave@lemmy.nz 5 weeks ago
Is it possible they got an ultimatum by an important company they work with?
E.g. imagine the damage Bethesda could do to GOG by refusing to allow their games on GOG any more.
UKFilmNerd@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
That reminds me of that old first person shooter, The Operative: No One Lives Forever.
This is a game that had a following and people have asked for a remaster or even just a GOG release.
The problem is, no one actually knows who owns it today. It’s a bit of a legal mess.
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 5 weeks ago
The upshot is that since nobody knows whether they own it or not there is nobody bothering to actively enforce copyright, so you can just download the games for free if you want on NOLFrevival.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 5 weeks ago
Such a fun game too.
There also was a free add-on/extension (something) called Jack that was a short game.
UKFilmNerd@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
I had no idea about this, thank you.
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Worst case scenario, we quickly find out who owns it when someone pops up trying to claim their money.
SweetCitrusBuzz@beehaw.org 5 weeks ago
That’s a good question though. What happens if a right’s holder dies and doesn’t transfer the rights to others? Are the rights then public domain or what?
miguel@fedia.io 5 weeks ago
After a set period of time, they expire. Life +50 to Life +90 or so, depending on country.
vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de 5 weeks ago
unless you own mickey mouse, of course
meldrik@lemmy.wtf 5 weeks ago
I guess that depends on where you are in the world, but I’d imagine that the rights would be inherited by the closest family member? If not, it would probably go to the public domain.
Kissaki@beehaw.org 5 weeks ago
It may depend on the country and state, but with a lack of heirs, it likely goes to the state like all other possessions.
ICastFist@programming.dev 5 weeks ago
Marcin Paczynski told The Game Business he could “write a book”
Please do
He didn’t even know that he owned the rights because this was just a package with his inheritance … we have a lot of stories like that.
Wow, no wonder the dude wasn’t aware. “Oh, just a box with papers. Meh”
stories like developers whose physical documentation of IP ownership was torched in a fire
It’s always interesting to know which games’ rights might seem “completely lost”, just so we can 🏴☠️ in peace. Say, wasn’t this strategy something GOG did originally? Just sell and see if the current rights-holder shows up?
Geodad@beehaw.org 5 weeks ago
I’m against the concept of intellectual property. Information should belong to the entirety of humanity.
Dave@lemmy.nz 5 weeks ago
So you post a selfie on Lemmy and the next thing you know, you’re the key subject in a new Facebook ad?
I think we need some level of IP laws, but current copyright periods are way too long.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=14361…
Rufus Pollock’s math agrees. I am so bummed he recently took this down from his personal website where it had been available for 15 years
Kissaki@beehaw.org 5 weeks ago
If you make a good effort to identify, locate, and contact copyright holders, but the path runs cold, can you disregard copyright? Maybe by claiming fair use or lack of traceable copyright?
Trademark requires active use. I don’t believe there’s such a thing for copyright. Are there limits other than regular fair use and documented year expiration?
Kichae@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
No. You don’t get to just decide you have the right to use someone else’s work just because you coudn’t find them to ask, any more than you get to decide that you can use their car. Them not actively selling their works isn’t the equivalent of leaving the car derilict on public property.
4am@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
It should be, and they should only get 14 years before it expires.
Rokin@leminal.space 5 weeks ago
GOG is doing god’s work.
majestic_flamingo23@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
I agree for the most part, now if they would only support linux natively…
monogram@feddit.nl 5 weeks ago
Heroic Games Launcher FTW
miguel@fedia.io 5 weeks ago
Linux support trails, mac support is nonexistant.
Sina@beehaw.org 5 weeks ago
This is arguable. There were countless free dos games out there in the common domain that GoG took down and made paid again.