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Update: Bejeweled replies to RockboxUpdate: Bejeweled replies to RockboxPosted Apr 18, 2006 16:39 UTC (Tue) by stevenj (guest, #421)Parent article: Rockbox gets cease-and-desisted The reply from Dave Haas of PopCap was posted on the Rockbox mailing list today. The relevant paragraph seems to be: Regarding your question below, the gem graphics in the color image of PluginJewels as seen at http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/pub/Main/PluginJewels/jewelscolor.png , are identical to the graphics seen in versions of Bejeweled(R) for PalmOS, PocketPC, or Windows Mobile, seen here: http://www.astraware.com/products/bejeweled/palm/bejeweled_screenshot_320x320_02.gif . The screenshots are 100% identical, down to the gem placement on the game grid. The response on the mailing list seems to vary from replacing the images just to save trouble (e.g. using the images from Jools instead), to arguing that "100% identical" is an obvious overstatement and that PopCap has no case. I would be very curious to see how it turned out if it came to a legal challenge, or at least hear an informed opinion by a copyright-law expert. This may be too expensive to be worth the trouble, however, compared to just swapping icons.
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Update: Bejeweled replies to Rockbox Posted Apr 18, 2006 19:37 UTC (Tue) by sepreece (subscriber, #19270) [Link] Well, copyright covers organization of elements of a work as well as the verbatim content. You can't paraphrase a book directly (that is, at a detail level - say paragraph-by-paragraph) without infringing (modulo fair use exceptions like parody), though you can write a description of the book (stating the ideas in your own words and your own logical organization) without infringing.
The law doesn't go to details; it would be up to a judge or jury to review the evidence and decide if the set of icons and the arrangements of the icons in the user interface of one game infringed the others. If anybody can cite case law on previous cases involving such similarities, that would be interesting. The "Anti-Monopoly" case apparently turned on the history of the game rather than details of what would constitute infringement; that might apply here, too, if some of the reports of earlier versions are close enough to the specifics of the current games.
Anti-Monopoly Posted Apr 18, 2006 20:16 UTC (Tue) by frazier (guest, #3060) [Link] This is interesting:http://www.washingtonfreepress.org/36/court.html http://www.antimonopoly.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Monopoly
The only thing I "knew" in regards to a Monopoly Monopoly was this classic from The Onion:
-Brock
Update: Source for case law Posted Apr 19, 2006 20:47 UTC (Wed) by sepreece (subscriber, #19270) [Link] If you're interested, <http://www.patentarcade.com/> provides a bunch of summaries of decisions in the specific area of video games.
Update: Bejeweled replies to Rockbox Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:10 UTC (Wed) by Wol (guest, #4433) [Link] Even being identical is not necessarily infringement ... independent creation is an absolute defence, and if the code underlying the images is different (bitmap as opposed to vector, or autogenerated by program code, or whatever).
Rockbox should refer Haas to the font vendors and find several examples where IDENTICAL fonts have been declared NOT to be copyright violations. I think there are several points at which Helvetica and Univers are identical, along with several of the Swiss variants. There's probably examples within the Times family. Etc etc.
It might be an idea to ask Groklaw and see if they can come up with stuff! Basically, this Haas is talking out his rear end, and there is legal precedent we can use to stuff this hole, should we wish :-)
Cheers,
Update: Bejeweled replies to Rockbox Posted Apr 19, 2006 12:43 UTC (Wed) by job (subscriber, #670) [Link] That's true. I believe Microsoft cloned Helvetica and called it Arial, where even all the font metrics are identical to make sure font substitution works automatically. (If I remember correctly.) They did it for many typefaces, and I don't believe they payed any royalities since they had to change the names.
Update: Bejeweled replies to Rockbox Posted Apr 19, 2006 12:57 UTC (Wed) by job (subscriber, #670) [Link] This turned out to be a bad example after some Googling. Apparently Microsoft hired Monotype for this work, who were too professional to completely clone the typeface and it turned out quite different (not as nice, in my opinion) with only identical metrics. But I'm sure there are other, better, examples.
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