Strat
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« on: August 05, 2007, 08:53:31 am » |
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Some of the games that are being translated are 10 years old if not more. I've been wondering for the past little while how long copyrights for these old games that aren't even manufactured/produced anymore would last.
Although most people will agree that translating a game and reinserting the new text in is a labor of love, it would be interesting to see if it would be possible to make a profit, albeit a very tiny one from the sale of that work, for instance blank cartridges with the translated ROM onto it, supplied exclusively through the group that performed the work. That way, it would somehow become officially legal to do so and even people without the funds or will to order a device to pump the newly-translated ROM onto a blank cartridge would be able to order said game as a ready-to-play cartridge they can stick into their SNES systems.
My question pertains to the legality of that procedure and if it would be at all possible. Please keep *all* your opinions and arguments about the ethics of charging money for a translation to yourselves or take it to PM.
Thanks.
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odino
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« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2007, 09:22:43 am » |
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Never legal.
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Nightcrawler
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« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2007, 09:33:07 am » |
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Right. It would never legal without the permission from the original game's copyright holder. Unfortunately, aside from the Genesis Translation Beggar Prince, I don't believe permission has ever been given out. Someone versed in copyright law will have to give the exact numbers, but the copyright lasts a ridiculous long time. I hope the answer is not this: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.htmlThat states the copyright lasts the entire creator's lifetime and 70 years after his/her death... Ouch.. |
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RedComet
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« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2007, 09:34:33 am » |
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The copyright runs out in 150 years or some ridiculous number like that.  NC: That's for US copyrights, though, right? What about international copyrights like Japanese games? :huh: |
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KingMike
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« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2007, 10:05:27 am » |
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Thanks, Disney.  |
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Strat
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« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2007, 10:11:11 am » |
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RedComet brings up a good point. What about international copyrights? Or is there a difference at all?
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Gideon Zhi
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« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2007, 10:38:52 am » |
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Unfortunately for us, the Berne Convention's take on international copyright laws makes even the translation of someone else's work without their expressed permission illegal, so putting the patched game on a cart and selling that would be a lot worse in the eyes of the law.
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o_manko
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« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2007, 11:28:46 am » |
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It's illegal anywhere. The copyright was something like 25 years after creation, then 25 years after the death of the creator, and now it can span 100's of years depending on how it's registered. But for the most part I'm just assuming video game copyrights work the same as music copyrights...
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Maegra
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« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2007, 01:13:37 pm » |
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well, i surmise after the coming Nuclear Holocaust alot of things are going to be legal... :crazy:
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Kajitani-Eizan
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« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2007, 01:44:22 pm » |
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the what now?
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creaothceann
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« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2007, 02:17:59 pm » |
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Oh, the one that'll almost wipe us out. You know? That one. |
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Kajitani-Eizan
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« Reply #11 on: August 05, 2007, 05:05:24 pm » |
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dammit! i KNEW intel was up to no good! core 2 quad? more like core SKY quad.NET!
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Bongo`
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« Reply #12 on: August 05, 2007, 08:42:51 pm » |
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dammit! i KNEW intel was up to no good! core 2 quad? more like core SKY quad.NET!
Hehe.. Terminator 3 fan, eh? |
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HyperHacker
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« Reply #13 on: August 24, 2007, 03:52:39 pm » |
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dammit! i KNEW intel was up to no good! core 2 quad? more like core SKY quad.NET!
Holy crap... Microsoft .NET framework... O_O |
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