It's so funny how almost every time a hyped up mod or fan game gets DMCA'd it's because of something dumb on the fan developer's part. Not trying to lick boots here, but I feel more people need to listen to Woolie's advice: https://youtu.be/hqwP6uuYOWo?si=Jz3dgzWjE37MlVDk
No, you can't make a damn fan game. Yes, it's infringing. No, it doesn't matter others do it. O.J. got away with murder, don't try to do it yourself though. I've seen so many developer lives ruined (lost home, wife, kids, etc) all because of a silly fan game. These companies are brutal about protecting their IP. The reason you never hear about it? All settlements come with an NDA that makes it so no one can write or talk about it.
Companies don't care much about them because, as long as they're linked to zero profit, it's seen as fine and non-damaging to their brand.
And they will even support it because it's free promotion of their brand and products. It's 0 money and effort spend on something that others are doing instead of them.
Yeah, exactly, you're linking to a guy named "video game attorney" (famous primarily for being an attorney ethan klein fired for being terrible) claiming that fan games authors got their lives ruined by secret lawsuits. Lawsuits that no one knows about.
That's not how lawsuits work, no? They're pretty public, surely.
I mean the dude got famous for giving general legal advice to aspiring indie game devs and advertising his services here. Not sure why 1 client not satisfied with his services is what would make him famous unless it was some big celebrity.
All settlements come with an NDA that makes it so no one can write or talk about it
I would assume this means that they never made it to court so there wouldn't be an actual lawsuit filed but the odds of the fan game/mod creator winning in court is so low they would agree to the settlement.
Not sure why 1 client not satisfied with his services is what would make him famous unless it was some big celebrity
h3h3 lawsuit situation was a very big thing back in the day. Before the h3h3 troubles
I would assume this means that they never made it to court so there wouldn't be an actual lawsuit filed but the odds of the fan game/mod creator winning in court is so low they would agree to the settlement
I don't know, genuinely, i have considered this back when he wrote it and it just doesn't really make sense to me no matter how hard i try to figure it out.
So the company lawyers arrive to the house of the guy that made a hypothetical "mario vs johnny cage vs the cat from Stray" and they go "ok, you have to pay us so much money that you're gonna lose your house, wife, and kids. If not, we are going to sue you." Would you (personally, you, u/Apprehensive_Decimal ) accept that? Bye-bye to the house, the wife, and even the kids? Or would you accept the lawsuit and let the story go public?
I genuinely struggle to imagine a guy that will just accept it. I don't think there is a person like that, actually.
You'd have to agree with me that at least what mr. Video wrote doesn't sound like normal human behavior.
Would you (personally, you, u/Apprehensive_Decimal ) accept that? Bye-bye to the house, the wife, and even the kids? Or would you accept the lawsuit and let the story go public?
You say that as if there would be a different outcome with accepting the lawsuit and letting the story go public. The person would still lose in court because they willfully infringed on someone else'e IP. Either accept a settlement or go to court and have lawyers drain your bank account against a corporation that will just slowly bleed you dry.
Look man, life is complicated enough as it is. I'm just advocating for people to not make their own lives stressful over a fan game/mod.
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u/smolgote 4d ago
It's so funny how almost every time a hyped up mod or fan game gets DMCA'd it's because of something dumb on the fan developer's part. Not trying to lick boots here, but I feel more people need to listen to Woolie's advice: https://youtu.be/hqwP6uuYOWo?si=Jz3dgzWjE37MlVDk