Commander Keen 2, 3, 5, 6: is copyright trouble still there?
Commander Keen 2, 3, 5, 6: is copyright trouble still there?
Despite the fact, that the games are no longer officially sold by ID Software since many years? The copyright for such an old software is useless for the ID Software, why should it still be a trouble for the user? If the producer doesn't use the copyright for old software anymore - NO ONE needs it (otherwise it would be useful for ID Software, but it ISN'T)!
Well, I doubt id is really concerned about that property, but they certainly could come at you for distributing it. There are full versions of every Keen game illegally available at various places on the internet, and I shan't name them. Personally, I feel that even though the original disks are long gone, it's not ethically wrong to download them if you owned them in the past (although it is illegal).
My keyboard has no caps lock. It has a BRIAN BLESSED button!
- biffstudly
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They're still sold on Steam, and people still own the rights to the games.
I'm gonna steal from wikipedia here to illustrate my point:
So basically it's always kind of going to be a grey area. Technically, you can distribute Keen 6, and they should never say anything as they no longer support it and have never posted a true recall (to my knowledge, tell me if I'm wrong for sure) PLUS the fact that the game hasn't been available for purchase for quite a few years now. So it's not ILLEGAL, but it's not strictly LEGAL. Kind of a sketchy area to tread.
I'm gonna steal from wikipedia here to illustrate my point:
/endwalloftextAbandonware is a product for which no product support is available and the manufacturer is ignoring the product. It is differentiated from a discontinued product because the manufacturer has not issued an official notice of discontinuance, instead, the manufacturer is simply ignoring the product. Copyright ownership may be unclear because while the manufacturer is ignoring the product it may not be tracking or enforcing copyright violations.
Definitions of "abandoned" vary; generally it refers to a product that is no longer available for legal purchase, over the age where the product creator feels an obligation to continue to support it, or where operating systems or hardware platforms have evolved to such a degree that the creator feels continued support cannot be financially justified. Software companies and manufacturers may change their names, go bankrupt, enter into mergers, or cease to exist for a variety of reasons. When this happens, product rights are usually transferred to another company that may elect not to sell or support products acquired.
Abandonware may be computer software or physical devices which are usually computerised in some fashion, such as personal computer games, productivity applications, utility software, or mobile phones.
In most cases, software classed as abandonware is not in the public domain, as it has never had its original copyright revoked and some company or individual still owns exclusive rights. Therefore, sharing of such software is usually considered copyright infringement, though in practice copyright holders rarely enforce their abandonware copyrights.
So basically it's always kind of going to be a grey area. Technically, you can distribute Keen 6, and they should never say anything as they no longer support it and have never posted a true recall (to my knowledge, tell me if I'm wrong for sure) PLUS the fact that the game hasn't been available for purchase for quite a few years now. So it's not ILLEGAL, but it's not strictly LEGAL. Kind of a sketchy area to tread.
What would the original game authors say?
Do they still profit from the Commander Keen or are they going to profit from Commander Keen later?
I kind of doubt it. id has released the source code of all of their games since wolfenstein after a few years. They gain nothing from that either.Levellass wrote:I believe they're being cautious, just in case there's a multi-million dollar remake\sequel in the works somewhere. After all, what do they gain from making it free?
My keyboard has no caps lock. It has a BRIAN BLESSED button!
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- Kuliwho?
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Don't forget that Keen 6 is tied up in other legal issues. IIRC, the distributors have more control over 6 than any of the others.fantomx11 wrote:I kind of doubt it. id has released the source code of all of their games since wolfenstein after a few years. They gain nothing from that either.
Keening_Product was defeated before the game.
"Wise words. One day I may even understand what they mean." - Levellass
"Wise words. One day I may even understand what they mean." - Levellass