[Coco] HWGA (was) Coco games copyright

[Allen Huffman]

A few CoCo games have lived on after the CoCo. Color Outhouse was  
supposed to be ported to the PC via someone posting to this list years  
ago, and a few other authors eventually did PC games.

I, too, will be starting iPhone/iPod Touch development soon and plan  
to port some coco projects. Should be fun!

Sent from my iPhone
Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/allenhuffman

On Feb 12, 2009, at 10:36 AM, Ben Jimenez <ben_jimenez at yahoo.com> wrote:


>

> Hi, i'm not sure why I can't see my responses to these post but here  

> goes. The reason I was asking is because I'm starting to develop  

> some games for the Ipod platform and I thought it would be cool to  

> convert some of the Coco games.

>

> I'm developing in Object-C so i'm not sure how easy it would be to  

> do the whole emulator, but making some clones of some good game  

> would help me to get a good start on the platform and keep the coco  

> games going.

>

>

>

> --- On Wed, 2/11/09, John <johnguin at hotmail.com> wrote:

>

>> From: John <johnguin at hotmail.com>

>> Subject: Re: [Coco] HWGA (was)  Coco games copyright

>> To: "'CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts'"  

>> <coco at maltedmedia.com>

>> Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 4:55 PM

>> Would it be easier to port MESS or some other emulator and

>> get the entire

>> COCO library in one fell swoop?

>>

>> To be clear, I have NO idea how easy/hard that would be.  I

>> just wanted to

>> ask what was an obvious (to me) question.

>>

>> John

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com

>> [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On

>> Behalf Of Allen Huffman

>> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:38 PM

>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts

>> Subject: Re: [Coco] HWGA (was) Coco games copyright

>>

>> Ben, which platform?

>>

>> Sent from my iPhone

>> Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/allenhuffman

>>

>> On Feb 11, 2009, at 3:33 PM, Ben Jimenez

>> <ben_jimenez at yahoo.com> wrote:

>>

>>> Hi,

>>>

>>> well that more then answers my question. I am think

>> about cloning

>>> some games. I guess I should try to contact the

>> authors once I

>>> determine which one(s) I want to port over to a mobile

>> platform.

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> --- On Wed, 2/11/09, Joel Ewy <jcewy at swbell.net>

>> wrote:

>>>

>>>> From: Joel Ewy <jcewy at swbell.net>

>>>> Subject: Re: [Coco] HWGA (was)  Coco games

>> copyright

>>>> To: "CoCoList for Color Computer

>> Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>

>>>> Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 1:01 PM

>>>> James Hrubik wrote:

>>>>> Why am I waiting with bated breath, holding my

>> finger

>>>> over the DELETE

>>>>> key...

>>>>>

>>>>> Maybe each newbie should get an email from

>> Dennis with

>>>> something to

>>>>> the effect that discussions of religion,

>> politics, and

>>>> copyrights

>>>>> should be avoided because they are equally

>> likely to

>>>> start flame wars.

>>>>>

>>>>> (Sorry, Joel.  I know you just wanted to help

>> the guy,

>>>> but I can't

>>>>> help thinking you were just trolled.)

>>>>>

>>>> Maybe so.  But I've now said all I have to say

>> on the

>>>> matter, and I

>>>> won't respond to insults or taunts.  Nothing

>> anybody

>>>> can say to me on

>>>> this list can be worse than things I've been

>> told in

>>>> person.

>>>>

>>>> JCE

>>>>> On Feb 11, 2009, at Wednesday, February 11,

>> 2009 -

>>>> 1:51 PM, Joel Ewy

>>>>> wrote:

>>>>>

>>>>>> Ben Jimenez wrote:

>>>>>>> Hello,

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> I was thinking of converting some Coco

>> games

>>>> over to a new platform,

>>>>>>> but was wondering what the copyright

>> was on

>>>> them now?

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> -- 

>>>>>>> Coco mailing list

>>>>>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com

>>>>>>>

>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>> Copyright is forever.  Well, not quite

>> forever.

>>>> It's the life of the

>>>>>> author plus 70 years plus the amount of

>> time since

>>>> Walt Disney died, or

>>>>>> something like that.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Seriously, it isn't like patents,

>> which expire

>>>> in 17 years.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> There are a number of authors of CoCo

>> games who

>>>> have given permission

>>>>>> for their programs to be distributed for

>> free,

>>>> often with certain

>>>>>> restrictions, such as "you may not

>> charge for

>>>> a copy", etc.  This does

>>>>>> not mean that they have renounced their

>> copyright

>>>> and put the programs

>>>>>> in the public domain, only that they are

>> using

>>>> their copyright to

>>>>>> specify the terms under which their works

>> can be

>>>> copied.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> L. Curtis Boyle has received permission to

>> make

>>>> some of these games

>>>>>> available for download from his web site,

>> and has

>>>> documented the

>>>>>> permissions he has.  Since these authors

>> have

>>>> given some enhanced

>>>>>> permissions for their works, they might be

>>>> amenable to discussing a

>>>>>> port.  You'd just have to get in touch

>> with

>>>> them and see.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Of course, if you're just talking

>> about

>>>> writing your own clone of their

>>>>>> original game, you don't need to get

>> any

>>>> permission or worry about

>>>>>> copyright, unless you directly copy stuff

>> from the

>>>> game, or use

>>>>>> trademarked names and so on.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Now since these things are pretty old, and

>> many of

>>>> the old authors

>>>>>> aren't involved with the CoCo anymore,

>> you

>>>> might get away with just

>>>>>> appropriating it, but of course you'd

>> be doing

>>>> so at the risk that they

>>>>>> would take notice and threaten a lawsuit.

>> How

>>>> likely that would be

>>>>>> would probably depend on how you use it.

>> If you

>>>> are trying to sell

>>>>>> copies of a game that blatantly steals

>> their

>>>> copyrighted materials, they

>>>>>> would probably be more likely to take

>> offense, or

>>>> take action.  If you

>>>>>> do it for fun and give it away for free,

>> and

>>>> position it as a fan paying

>>>>>> tribute to a great game of the past, they

>> may not

>>>> care, and might even

>>>>>> feel honored that their old work has been

>>>> remembered.  On the other

>>>>>> hand, they might still be perfectly within

>> their

>>>> rights to sue you.  Do

>>>>>> so at your own risk.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> One other factor is that for most of these

>>>> programs there's no economic

>>>>>> benefit to be gained from suing you.

>> It's not

>>>> as if you're depriving

>>>>>> them of any significant potential income

>> from

>>>> these 20+ years old

>>>>>> programs.  But for some people it may be a

>> matter

>>>> of principle.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Now, there may be some CoCo games out

>> there that

>>>> are really Open Source,

>>>>>> or something approximating that.  Those

>> you should

>>>> be able to port more

>>>>>> freely.  But for those that aren't you

>> are

>>>> either going to have to

>>>>>> disassemble them or contact the original

>> author

>>>> and see if the source

>>>>>> code is still around.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> JCE

>>>>>>

>>>>>>

>>>>>> -- 

>>>>>> Coco mailing list

>>>>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com

>>>>>>

>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> -- 

>>>>> Coco mailing list

>>>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com

>>>>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

>>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> --

>>>> Coco mailing list

>>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com

>>>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

>>>

>>> --

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>>

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