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from the shooting-yourself-in-the-foot dept.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/12/nintendo-sends-cease-and-desist-notice-to-pokemon-rom-hacker/
A fan-made Pokémon ROM hack in the works for eight years was set to launch this Sunday. But a letter sent by Nintendo's Australian law firm on Wednesday has stopped those plans in their tracks.
According to Adam "Koolboyman" Vierra, developer of the fan-made Pokémon Prism project, Nintendo's Australian law firm sent him a cease-and-desist letter, which he uploaded to Google Drive with identifying information redacted. (American representatives for Nintendo were not able to confirm the letter's authenticity as of press time.) The request alleges that Koolboyman's project, which alters the source ROM of the 1999 game Pokémon Gold to create an entirely new adventure, violates multiple Australian laws.
[...] Pokémon Prism is different because it's a "ROM hack"—meaning, it's not a full game. Rather, Prism is a small patch file that is worthless without the original ROM file (which can either be legally dumped from a cartridge or maybe-not-so-legally downloaded from the Internet). Computer gaming fans would describe this kind of release as a "mod." Mods do a similar thing: they take existing, paid-for game engines and assets, and they apply a patch file that remixes existing content and adds new twists.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 26 2016, @02:54AM
so barring a change in the law, you're risking a lot of wasted time and effort on a mod that's for personal use only
How is the time wasted? The mod still exists, and can be shared openly. Although the law may forbid distribution, it does not actually prevent distribution.
It's not like these mods are sold for profit as a business.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Monday December 26 2016, @05:30AM
Sigh, isn't it obvious? Most ways of sharing require that you not share materials that infringe ip rights.
Then there's the resulting lawsuits.
So, yes, the work is wasted in cases where the rightsholder objects.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday December 26 2016, @09:39AM
Well, there's a solution: Get filthy rich, and then buy the rights for a sum that the current rights holder will not be able to resist.
Working out the details of this plan is left as exercise to the reader. ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 26 2016, @12:38PM
Profit is irrelevant. You are guilty of copyright infringement and trademark violation, perhaps have also violated business secrets.
But don't worry, the first one only lasts at least 70 years after the artist's death and the two others go on forever and ever and ever...
You. Are. Going. Down. HARD.