When you want to find who has the copyrights..

[Dualnames]

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"

[arj0n]

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?

[GarageGothic]

Um, in the Douglas Adams FAQ (from 2005'ish) it says:

Well, 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.

[Dualnames]

Um, in the Douglas Adams FAQ (from 2005'ish) it says:

Well, 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?

[GarageGothic]

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).

[ThreeOhFour]

The Adams family (lol)

Du nu nu nunn! *click click*

Sorry 

[Radiant]

Wouldn't they shut me down?

That would seem likely, yes.

[Mr Flibble]

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.

[Dualnames]

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?

[GarageGothic]

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

[Dualnames]

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.

[GarageGothic]

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!

[TerranRich]

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.  

[Igor Hardy]

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.

[TerranRich]

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?

[Igor Hardy]

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.

[Radiant]

And then there's Crimson Echoes...

[Joseph DiPerla]

Wouldn't mobygames often times tell you the copyright info for a particular game or name?

[m0ds]

Moby?? Noo... you'd have to delve far deeper than that, with any game.

[Joseph DiPerla]

Wikipedia?