Screenwriters Claim Sony Copied Their Plot For A Video Game
from the judge-explains-basics-of-copyright-law dept
The entitlement some people feel because someone else had a somewhat (but not really) similar idea to what they had, and then actually executed on it better, is really astounding. For years, we've seen people claim that various filmmakers, TV producers and authors had "stolen" their ideas and sued over it. These lawsuits almost never get anywhere. In almost every case, the similarities between the stories are marginal at best, and clearly were developed independently. It's just that the creator of the less-well-known work is jealous of the success of whoever came up with a better version that got a lot more attention.Apparently, those kinds of lawsuits are now moving to video games as well -- as two screenplay authors tried to claim that Sony copied their screenplay for its game, God of War. Of course, both the video game and the screenplay are apparently based on ancient Greek mythology, which, you know, are sorta in the public domain by now, and the general concepts are rather pervasive in an awful lot of modern storytelling.
No matter. The screenwriters insisted that the gamemakers must have seen their screenplay. Thankfully, the judge is having none of it:
"No one can own the basic idea for a story. General plot ideas are not protected by copyright law; they remain forever the common property of artistic mankind."
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Filed Under: copyright, god of war, plots, video games
Companies: sony
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Public Domain
Doubtful. Greek mythology only goes back a few thousand years. That's much less than forever minus one day. Plus, the mythology was given by the gods in many cases, and since gods are immortal, it's not even life plus 70 years yet. If the writers of the screenplay licensed the IP from Zeus then they would have a good case here.
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Re: Public Domain
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Re: Re: Public Domain
CBMHB
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Re: Public Domain
I want to see the movie that these people claim that GOW ripped off. Is it anything like it, with all the blood and sex?
Hay, GOWIII comes out next week, coincidence?
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Re: Public Domain
That is just a few years shorter than the IP on Mickey Mouse
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and when i cant shit cause you own the toilet paper
fraking lawyers and there actor lobby idiots and the entire SO CALLED industry is insane
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Re: and when i cant shit cause you own the toilet paper
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Re: Re: and when i cant shit cause you own the toilet paper
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Re: and when i cant shit cause you own the toilet paper
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more popular != better
One nit with this assertion: more popular != better...just sayin'...
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Re: more popular != better
To some, being able to talk to other people about a product (i.e. popularity vs obscurity) could definitely make a product "better". A common culture counts for a lot to many people.
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Re:
Hence the almost in the lines "These lawsuits almost never get anywhere" and "In almost every case..."
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There's a movie about Kratos? I wanna see it.
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Sony, Style Without Substance
It seems that all companies sooner or later fall from grace.
Look at IBM, a ghost of their former self.
HP which started as an inventor of significant things who morphed to be better at Dell's business model then Dell.
Ronald J. Riley,
I am speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
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Re: Sony, Style Without Substance
You must be stuck in 1995. In 2010, IBM is a powerhouse in many different fields that cannot be touched by any of their competition.
It's funny to see that your nonsense signature matches up to your nonsense post in length.
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