I'm wondering does anyone know who has the copyrights of HHGTG Text Adventure Computer Game? Infocom had the rights till 2004 or 3 or 01 then they lost them, and hell, I 've yet to been able to find a proper license saying "We have the rights"
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been released at 1984 by Infocom.
In 1986 Infocom became Activision.
If there was only a Patent then it was lost in 2004.
Nothing to find about the copyrights, maybe contact Activision?
Um, in the Douglas Adams FAQ (http://www.zootle.net/afda/mfaq.shtml) (from 2005'ish) it says:
QuoteWell, the deal is that the rights to the HHGG game have reverted back from Activision (successor to Infocom) to Douglas Adams. In fact, this is why the game did not appear on the most recent Infocom collections.
So if you haven't already, I recommend you contact the Adams estate.
Quote from: GarageGothic on Fri 06/11/2009 12:50:47
Um, in the Douglas Adams FAQ (http://www.zootle.net/afda/mfaq.shtml) (from 2005'ish) it says:
QuoteWell, the deal is that the rights to the HHGG game have reverted back from Activision (successor to Infocom) to Douglas Adams. In fact, this is why the game did not appear on the most recent Infocom collections.
So if you haven't already, I recommend you contact the Adams estate.
You serious on that? I mean
"Dear Adams Family,
I want to make a game, gimme rights" sort of an email?Wouldn't they shut me down?
Well, considering that you've been working on the game for so long and are still interested in who owns the rights, I take it that you actually would like a permission. Or perhaps you just want to know which cease-and-desist letters to leave unopened?
The Adams family (lol) doesn't seem to be a money grubbing bunch like the Herge (add your own accents, I can't be arsed) trust. I'm sure they'd listen to reason. What I would do was tell them that the game is entirely non-profit, but that you could add a donation button to the website so that people who download the game could donate a suitable amount to some charity that Douglas Adams would have approved of (Save the Rhino, Comic Relief and whatnot).
Quote from: GarageGothic on Fri 06/11/2009 13:25:00
The Adams family (lol)
Du nu nu nunn! *click click*
Sorry ;D
Quote from: Dualnames on Fri 06/11/2009 13:01:50
Wouldn't they shut me down?
That would seem likely, yes.
Quote from: Radiant on Sat 07/11/2009 19:30:45
Quote from: Dualnames on Fri 06/11/2009 13:01:50
Wouldn't they shut me down?
That would seem likely, yes.
I have to agree with this, most people don't agree with our laissez faire attitude to copyright.
Quote from: GarageGothic on Fri 06/11/2009 13:25:00
Well, considering that you've been working on the game for so long and are still interested in who owns the rights, I take it that you actually would like a permission. Or perhaps you just want to know which cease-and-desist letters to leave unopened?
The Adams family (lol) doesn't seem to be a money grubbing bunch like the Herge (add your own accents, I can't be arsed) trust. I'm sure they'd listen to reason. What I would do was tell them that the game is entirely non-profit, but that you could add a donation button to the website so that people who download the game could donate a suitable amount to some charity that Douglas Adams would have approved of (Save the Rhino, Comic Relief and whatnot).
And there are three ways this would go:
A) Never get an answer
B) Get a negative answer and be shut down
C) Get a positive answer and realize the world is still a happy place to live into.
So in case I haven't got the sarcasm (if there was any), what makes you kind of certain that they will allow me to continue?
Dude, you were asking who had the rights to the game. Now you know. Do whatever you want with that knowledge. I'm not trying to convince you of either option.
I meant no sarcasm, but possibly I'm too trusting in thinking that most people are nice and reasonable, and that anybody related to Douglas Adams must be, if not good, then at least mostly harmless :)
Quote from: GarageGothic on Tue 10/11/2009 00:59:51
Dude, you were asking who had the rights to the game. Now you know. Do whatever you want with that knowledge. I'm not trying to convince you of either option.
I meant no sarcasm, but possibly I'm too trusting in thinking that most people are nice and reasonable, and that anybody related to Douglas Adams must be, if not good, then at least mostly harmless :)
I hope there's no harm done there, or minterpretation of my previous post. I'm just wondering what gave that certainty (at least that how it was interpreted by me) that they would allow me to carry on. Meaning that perhaps you knew something more. That's all. ;)
I just meant that it's up to your own sense of lawfulness whether you think the risk is worth taking or not. If it's not important to you whether or not you have an official go-ahead, then there's no reason to chance it. I just got the impression from your original post that you were actually interested in obtaining permission which is why your later adversity to contacting them confused me.
I have no special insight into the matter, but I do know that they permitted BBC to publish their updated version of the game as part of a Comic Relief campaign, so that's why I suggested you might offer to support a charity.
Whatever you end up doing, I wish you the best of luck!
More likely than not, they won't even notice your game and won't really care if they happen to find out about it. AGDI and Infamous Adventures carried on with their remakes using Sierra's IPs.
Then again, the Space Quest 7 project got shut down this year because of them. :-X
King's Quest IX also nearly got shut down. After the fans' appeal Vivendi allowed the production to be continued without King's Quest IX in the title, but demanded the game to be handed to them for evaluation before its release.
Vivendi offered the SQ7 team the option to remove all IP (rename Roger Wilco, the entire game, etc.), but they refused and instead shut down.
I heard about King's Quest IX. It's now called "The Silver Lining" (after the subtitle of the original name), but did they have to rename the characters as well?
Quote from: TerranRich on Wed 11/11/2009 16:45:36
I heard about King's Quest IX. It's now called "The Silver Lining" (after the subtitle of the original name), but did they have to rename the characters as well?
Only the title, the characters could stay as they are. However, the creators can't release the game without Vivendi's final approval.
Also, Vivendi has been bought out recently, wasn't it? Means more legal trouble probably.
And then there's Crimson Echoes...
Wouldn't mobygames often times tell you the copyright info for a particular game or name?
Moby?? Noo... you'd have to delve far deeper than that, with any game.
Wikipedia?
I am thinking of asking telling the Adam's of what I'm attempting, but I'd rather not in fact. The risk is too great.
Well, actually, this looks like a moral issue.
If they don't respond or allow it, you haven't got anything to worry about. But the question arises about what would you do if you get a negative answer from them?
Would you continue making the game? If yes, nothing short of a legal ceisse and decist (sp) from their lawyer could stop you.
So you have to make a decision between a moral action (hard way, more risk), or the less moral action (easy way, practically no risk).
Well, the choice is yours, and the concenqences that go with it.
If I'd put myself into your position this time, I'd choose the hard way. I mean, I wouldn't do to others what I wouldn't want done to myself. But that's just me.
Your answer Jim, seems to be reasonable, but well, I really can't make up my mind to be honest. I'm trying to compare which way would be the best to follow, but none seems to have a clear advantage in my head. I mean who wouldn't love to have the family of the man he respects the most, on his side, and who wouldn't hate to have the work of two years gone, just because he told it on the wrong person?
In this case then you'd have to prioritise - is it more important to you to get the game out, or to have the blessings of the Adamses?
Personally I'd ask. I'm sure they're reasonable people - so long as you're not making a profit, they're likely to agree. If they answer you at all. :P
Quote from: auriond on Wed 18/11/2009 10:49:15
In this case then you'd have to prioritise - is it more important to you to get the game out, or to have the blessings of the Adamses?
Personally I'd ask. I'm sure they're reasonable people - so long as you're not making a profit, they're likely to agree. If they answer you at all. :P
Personally I would. But it's not only the hard work of me that's in peril if they decide to shut us down. And also, anyone have a bloody idea who from the family to contact and where can that email be found..?
my guess is here
http://www.douglasadams.com/contacts/
Well, they can find out about it after the release and they can ban you then (if they want to). Offcourse, that wouldn't stop the game from circulating in certain circles.
On the other side if the game had an "approved by Adams" stamp on it, it wouldn't hurt the games popularity at all, now.
I don't know, every choice you make can lead to a bad end.
On the other side, being an optimist, you could believe in yourself. It may not turn out right, but you could sleep easier that way.
On the bottom line, it's your choice. Maybe you should thought of this before deciding to make the game (yeah, grandma, I told you so, general after the battle crap lalala lines here).
F* it man, it won't kill you if they ban you. I mean, it's important, but it's not lethal.
/me goes play smartass somwhere else.
Quote from: Jim Reed on Wed 18/11/2009 22:56:43
Well, they can find out about it after the release and they can ban you then (if they want to). Offcourse, that wouldn't stop the game from circulating in certain circles.
On the other side if the game had an "approved by Adams" stamp on it, it wouldn't hurt the games popularity at all, now.
I don't know, every choice you make can lead to a bad end.
On the other side, being an optimist, you could believe in yourself. It may not turn out right, but you could sleep easier that way.
On the bottom line, it's your choice. Maybe you should thought of this before deciding to make the game (yeah, grandma, I told you so, general after the battle crap lalala lines here).
F* it man, it won't kill you if they ban you. I mean, it's important, but it's not lethal.
/me goes play smartass somwhere else.
Not a smartass at all there, I do agree. Anyway, I'm not going for it. I'm just in the search for rights as we speak. I think an approved by Adams stamp on the game, would prove more a pain in the ass than it would be good.
You may also want to consider the fact that if any kind of legal trouble comes from this, you now have a lengthy record on the Internet of the fact that yau are aware that you are potentially breaking the law... Not going to help your case in a court!
Hhahaha, aiding and abbeting, ask the moderators to delete this thread before lawsuits come knocking on your door. =D
And now I'm an acomplice.
Quote from: mätzyboy on Thu 19/11/2009 17:13:51
You may also want to consider the fact that if any kind of legal trouble comes from this, you now have a lengthy record on the Internet of the fact that yau are aware that you are potentially breaking the law... Not going to help your case in a court!
True. But well, ah f^*^ !! Better hide from the face of the Earth then?