Chapter 12 History Book
"Okay, the chat is over, let's go straight to the topic."
After inviting Ethan and Evelin to sit down, Barbara Babcock glanced at her watch, and the time on it made her smile. He said, "It's eight and a half now. I have a class at nine o'clock, so you have thirty minutes to understand the problem."
Ethan nodded slightly at the clean words.
Glancing at Evelin, after seeing the girl signaling him to speak boldly, Ethan said seriously: "Teacher Barbara, the main reason we came here today is to consult you about the copyright issues of video games. This emerging industry enjoys Is there copyright protection? If we enjoy it, how should we use the law to protect ourselves?"
Yes, Ethan is here for this today.
And it seemed that his question was a bit unprofessional, or a bit idiotic, so Ethan added, "Teacher Barbara, please forgive my ignorance, because my greatest understanding of the law is that the law has gaps."
"It doesn't matter."
Lawyer Barbara snorted, put her elbows on the table, and gestured: "Ethan, I understand what you mean, you don't have to be so reserved. In fact, Evelin has already told me It's already happened with magnavox and Atari..."
At this point, Lawyer Barbara thought for a moment, and then said: "It should have been two years ago? When Nolan Bushnell's plagiarism incident was just exposed. ?Yes, she came for consultation at that time."
"What?"
Ethan was a little surprised and turned to look at Evelin.
The girl leaning on the sofa had a normal expression and said, "I thought you wanted legal aid."
She spread her hands and said, "If magnavox really sues you, we will have to use this method to deal with this kind of gangster. Fight back in a more rogue way, but those rubbish lawyers on the market don't have this ability."
This fact really surprised Ethan.
Did he never expect that Evelin, who had always disliked Ethan in the past three years, would have helped him shake him up a long time ago?
"Thank you." Ethan was touched.
But this thank you...
he said it on behalf of the original Ethan Jones.
Because looking at it now, this guy who died is even more unlucky!
"Hey! Evelin! Who are you calling a gangster?"
Barbara heard the communication between Ethan and Evelin.
Regarding the title of gangster, she straightened up her face.
Evelin was not afraid, she stuck out her tongue, leaned over, took her arm, and said coquettishly: "Oh, Teacher Barbara, I'm just praising you for your awesomeness!"
"Humph!" Barbara He glared at Evelin angrily, and then he couldn't hold himself any longer, and burst out laughing, "Okay, okay, stop shaking, we won't waste time."
Amidst the joking, the atmosphere at the scene also changed. Became very easy-going.
The kind-looking Barbara smiled and answered Ethan's question: "Ethan, your question is actually very simple. Video games are protected by law." "
However, I have to make a special statement about this matter. ."
"The copyright protection law currently used in our country was enacted in 1909. Since there were no electronic games in that era, when summarizing copyright, it is impossible to include electronic games in the category of copyright registration." "
Of course, When formulating laws, people have already thought about similar issues, so when writing laws and regulations, there are detailed items. For example, our 1909 Copyright Protection Law states that the objects subject to the Copyright Protection Law There are novels, music, dramas, movies and other published or unpublished works." "
So, the current common understanding in our industry is to classify things like video games into other works, that is to say , if someone plagiarizes the content of a video game, the 1909 Copyright Protection Act also applies."
'So that's? '
Lawyer Barbara said it very clearly, and Ethan heard it clearly.
But precisely because he understood it, he was even more puzzled.
Frowning, he said: "Teacher Barbara, since the content of video games is also protected by copyright protection law, how could Atari dare to copy magnavox games in the first place?"
Yes, this is what Ethan said.wants to find the key to a lawyer!
Because in his memory, the copyright protection laws in the United States are very, very strict!
However, after he came to this era, the copyright lawsuit between magnavox and Atari made him less confident.
Because, in the memory of the original owner of the body, the plagiarism by Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, occurred in 1972, and magnavox learned about it as early as 1973, but last year, that is, In 1974, they formally prosecuted!
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is something wrong with this!
After all, no company can watch its competitors plagiarizing its own work and remain indifferent!
Especially when competitors are also making huge profits from plagiarized works!
Ethan's question made Lawyer Barbara raise her eyebrows. She took a sip of coffee and said with a smile: "Ethan, please don't be confused, because when I heard your story, I was also very surprised, and then I I went to check the information, and then I discovered that Atari's plagiarism of magnavox was all a matter of the American Copyright Office." "
???"
This answer intrigued Evelin.
"Teacher Barbara, are you talking about those staff..."
"No, No, No..."
Before Evelin could finish her words, Barbara had already interrupted: "Evelin, It's not what you think."
"I just said that our current copyright protection law was enacted in 1909. At that time, there was no such category as video games, but it also stipulated a very interesting thing, that That is, when all works want to register copyright with the Copyright Office, they need to fill in the corresponding application form according to the type of work." "
We can now define video games as other types, but at that time, when magnavox applied, he was responsible for the review Some people think that video games may belong to music, they may also belong to images, and they may belong to movies. They think these things must be registered separately." "
magnavox feels that their games are a whole and cannot be Separate registration, and it was infringed under separate registration, and it was very troublesome to defend rights, so the registration was in a deadlock." "
In the end, because the argument could not come to an end, magnavox just registered the patent for the game console Odyssey , and did not register copyright for the game content."
"???"
"What?"
Ethan was shocked!
This answer left him speechless!
Because it sounds...
so special and nonsensical!
And his incredible face made Barbara say with certainty: "It's outrageous, right?"
"No way, this is reality, because only in reality can such things that do not require logic happen."
At the same time, she also He spread his hands and said: "However, I haven't finished talking about this matter yet. The following content is actually more funny. Do you know that there is another key reason why magnavox did not register the copyright for the game at that time, and that is the Copyright Office There is a service called expedited service."
"You may not have heard of this thing, but I know it very well because I have used it." "
According to the 1909 Copyright Protection Act, regardless of whether the work is registered for copyright, it will be protected by law. But if you want to protect your rights, you must register with the Copyright Office." "
This may sound like a paradox, because I have not registered the copyright, then I cannot determine the effective time of the copyright protection. , I can't defend my rights."
"But with expedited service, everything becomes easier."
"Once an unregistered work is infringed, the victim can apply to the Copyright Office for a copyright infringement. Emergency service, the Copyright Office will review and issue a copyright registration form within a certain period of time, and there will be a note on the back of this registration form as to when the copyright protection of this work will take effect."
"For example, I will apply today. , but my work was created ten years ago, the Copyright Office will set the date as 1965. It is precisely because of this method of compensation that when magnavox and the Copyright Office disagree, even if the two parties do not reach an agreement, magnavox didn't care either, and their indifference also gave Atari an opportunity."
At this point, lawyer Barbara laughed.
His crooked eyes sparkled with amusement.
"I've said it all here, you should be able to understand what I mean, right?"
"Since magnavox has not registered the copyright, why doesn't Nolan Bushnell dare to copy it?"
She raised her voice and said : "Because only if they succeed in copying and make a lot of money! magnavox will apply for expedited service to sue them! And at this stage, Atari has actually succeeded!" "
magnavox has to prove to the Copyright Office first, When was your game made? Then the Copyright Office can determine the time of rights. During this embarrassing evidence collection period, they have no way to protect their rights!" "
Also, you have to pay attention to one thing, "Pong" "It's not the first arcade machine launched by Nolan Bushnell! Before launching "Pong", he also made other games!" "
It just didn't succeed. The original copyright holder didn't know about it at all, so Ignore him."
Okay!
It turns out that it was magnavox who relied on the Copyright Office's ability to have a history book that allowed Atari to win everything!
Ethan was a little emotional.
Although he thought what lawyer Barbara said was a bit funny, but...
well, this is indeed a traditional American performance.
After all, in this country, weird things have happened where refugees were sent from one place to another.
When Ethan, who lives in the 21st century, has seen countless fun...
magnavox fun, it really can't be considered fun, at most it can be regarded as a big joke.
"Okay, Teacher Barbara, thank you very much for your answer."
Ethan said seriously, suppressing a smile.
But, to be honest, he felt much more relaxed at this moment.
Because he figured out the real cause of the problem that the original owner of the body was struggling with, and at the same time, he also knew that in 1975, in this barbaric era, video games were also protected by law.
In this case... if
you register the copyright for "Snake", can you sell it?
And once he sells it, won't he make money?
As soon as you have money...
he beach! Beauty!
Hey hey hey!
Thinking of this, Ethan couldn't wait to ask:
"So, Teacher Barbara, if I register the copyright now, can I fill in the video game?"
"I won't be rejected by the Copyright Office like magnavox, right?"
" Of course not!"
Lawyer Barbara said with a smile: "In fact, after magnavox formally sued Atari last year, the Copyright Office has already relaxed the registration in this area. You can completely use it in the name of video games. Your content is registered as copyright."
This answer made Ethan very satisfied.
However, just when he was about to say thank you and follow the procedures to register.
Lawyer Barbara said, "However, I don't recommend you to register now."
"???"
This sentence made Ethan a little confused.
Evelin was also a little surprised, "Why? Teacher Barbara?"
The confusion between the two made Barbara laugh, "The reason is very simple..."
"Ethan! You are very lucky, fifty-six The years of restrictions will soon be overturned by those capitalists!"
Note: ① The joke written by the Copyright Office in the article is true. The expedited service is also called special treatment. When there is a risk of copyright infringement and customs matters, Or you can only apply if you must expedite the contract or release period for the issuance of the certificate. After the application is accepted, the copyright registration certificate will generally be reviewed and issued within 5 working days. This service has really harmed many people, because many times it is impossible to confirm the specific copyright time. There are more jokes about copyright protection. If you are interested, you can learn about Richard Prince, a well-known appropriation artist in the United States. He erases the text from other people's works and then re-photographs them with a camera, which is considered original and gets Without the approval of the Copyright Office, the Copyright Office said that his re-creation met the requirement of "some originality" in copyright registration, which is outrageous. What I think is even more outrageous is Marlboro, because at that time, Marlboro paid for its own commercial, but he took a photo of it with his camera and it became original.
(End of chapter)