🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <349@mcdsun.UUCP> fnf@mcdsun.UUCP (Fred Fish) writes:
>In article <456@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:
>>Beware... the game "OGRE" is copyrighted by Steve Jackson games. Steve
>>Jackson is, I am given to understand, a litigious fella. That means he's
>>heavily into taking vigorous legal action to defend his rights.
>
>I am slightly confused here, are you saying:
>
>	(1)	The name "OGRE" is a trademark (registered or not) of
>		Steve Jackson games.  It's not possible to my knowledge
>		to copyright a single word.
>
>	(2)	Steve Jackson games distributes a copyrighted work that
>		is similar to but not derived from (or vice versa) the
>		"ogre" game recently distributed over the net.
>
>	(3)	Steve Jackon games owns the copyright to the "ogre" game
>		distributed over the net.
>
>	(4)	Something other than (1), (2), or (3) above...
>
>-Fred
>-- 
>= Drug tests; just say *NO*!
>= Fred Fish  Motorola Computer Division, 3013 S 52nd St, Tempe, Az 85282  USA
>= seismo!noao!mcdsun!fnf    (602) 438-3614


Not claiming to be an authority, but my understanding is that (4) The
_design_ of a game (rules, board layout, etc.) is copyrightable.

Steve Jackson had a rather ugly experience when splitting with
Microgames (or whatever), with both sides claiming ownership of the
materials he developed and they sold.  This has rather sensitized him
to the subject of copyright infringement.  He is a very nice guy
otherwise, and I have corresponded with him over the net [ From:
<sjackson@im4u.utexas.edu> it says on one of the notes from him that I
saved].  If you are interested in his opinions on netogre, drop him an
email line.

I was disappointed in all this, because I was trying to find a current
source of an old favorite of mine developed by Steve, called Rivits.
This was one of those great "zip-loc bag games", and I played it a lot
while doing ocean survey work along the equator.  It turns out this
was one of the games to which both sides had a good enough claim that
neither dared the legal hassle of bringing it out in defiance of the
other, so there is no current source.  It would have made a great
Amiga game, something like Final Conflict for the Apple ][+, but I
lost the copy I had, and there are none to be found.

Kent, the man from xanth.