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From: rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Ross Ridge)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: CRAP Poll 77C Part III Subsection 2 Paragraph 19: Them Thar Words
 At The Bottom Of The Screen
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:12:19 -0000 (UTC)
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References: <p61ogjd0eis80b29jljvjmj31170q28rjc@4ax.com> <jti2hjl9c6qciubetmcr5iep6nk3f2dv00@4ax.com> <vetdfa$38r2a$1@dont-email.me> <eab6eeb4b52c04e501a06b4e3386f61fd50e383d@i2pn2.org>
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Originator: rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Ross Ridge)
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Justisaur  <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>WTF!?!?!  I didn't think you could take control of a trademark that'd 
>been abandoned?

There was never a registered trademark for Flappy Bird, and when someone
else attempted to register the trademark the author never took the
opportunity to challenge the application.  So the registered trademark
was eventuly granted to someone else, effectively superceding the Flappy
Bird author's (unregistered) trademark.

>Even so, wouldn't copyright apply?  Don't we have 100 years after the 
>author's death?

Copyright only applies to the game, it's code, graphics, story, and stuff
like that.  It doesn't apply to the name of the game.  There's lots of
games, books, movies and other works that have identical names depsite
being completely unrelated.  So the author could presumably sue or issue
DCMA takedown notices against other games and other kinds of works that
copied Flappy Bird too closely (though the gameplay mechanics aren't
copyrightable).  But as he wants nothing to do with the game anymore,
that's unlikely to happen.

-- 
 l/  //	  Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo]  rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/  http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
 db  //