gunsmokegames patreon

Good bye January, Hello February!

🕑 Added 2016-02-02 20:01:58 +0000 UTC

Comments

Dinker

Simply using a set of characters and writing them in new situations isn't enough to be considered commentary especially when the creators are making money on their commentary. Parody is a very tricky thing to prove, because it basically has to proven to provide some commentary of worth. And if they did want to make that argument... they have to get lawyers. And go to the US. And then lose because the entertainment industry has more money than god to throw at things like this.

Corbo

The Smoke and Sunset smile time variety hour.

Gunsmoke Games

To add to what Sunset said above, we are also in Canada which has vastly different copyright laws, along with how our court system works. Up here you cannot just sue someone easily, also we have incredibly powerful privacy acts. The problem really is if the project is hosted on a US or similar based provider they can ban us and remove all content WITHOUT NOTICE. Due to the fact that they have to abide by US laws. Now the real questions we need to ask is what legal repercussions could we face in Canada. As far as I'm currently aware that for non-commercial infringement the maximum fine we could face (or WB could get) is $5000.00. Meaning that Canadian courts have made silly copyright violations something they don't want clogging up our court systems with. Where the question now lies is how much can they connect our Patreon to being a commercial enterprise, and if they could prove that it is we could see the maximum fine rise significantly. The scary thing about this is it would be up to a court to decide (meaning litigation..something we want to avoid at all costs). So really our only action at this point is to separate our Patreon as much as possible, this will come with time. But as I stated earlier we need to be very careful as we are extremely new and lack any significant resources to back us in a legal battle. If it came even to a slap suit of any kind we would fold and all your support would be lost. This is our greatest concern. In a situation like this we cannot and will not just go on "doubts, or best guesses" we need solid advice and much more research in order to protect your money, and our livelihoods at this point. -SmokeShank

Gunsmoke Games

I doubt anything would come of it legally, that's not really the problem. WB sent the DMCA to Patreon, not us. We were given the choice to take down anything that was infringing down or be permanently banned. Work will still continue on Injustice eventually, just not right now. The point of an OC game is to have something that can actually be a project for Patreon, so something can actually be put on here.

Gunsmoke Games

Lol those are pretty good actually

hornguy6

In regards to the legal aspects of it, I'm 99% certain that Injustice would fall under parody law as I understand it (disclaimer: I am not a lawyer). According to the Supreme Court: "a parody is the 'use of some elements of a prior author’s composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on that author’s works.' Id. at 580. Like other forms of comment or criticism, parody can provide social benefit, 'by shedding light on an earlier work, and, in the process, creating a new one.' Id. In other words, parodies can be considered 'transformative' works, as opposed to merely 'superseding' works. Since transformative works “lie at the heart of the fair use doctrine’s guarantee of breathing space within the confines of copyright," Alone as with only game mechanics and characters, Injustice probably wouldn't fall under parody but with with the dialogue it does because it provides commentary on the characters. Lex, Mercy, Harley, Joker, Gorilla Grodd, Tala, they all have speaking lines that make fun of them or provide commentary on their relationships with one another. The biggest problem you'd face is if they actually decide to pursue legal action regardless, there's every possibility that they'd win simply because of resources. On the other hand, it would also stand to reason that they might not want to waste money on the high billables of a lawyer for such a "small problem." So those are both things to consider. I greatly hope that you won't finish your work on Injustice, both because I think it's a great idea and because I think that you are in the legal right of it anyways, so best of luck to you.

Gunsmoke Games

Totally something we want to avoid due to the immense workload involved - smokeshank

Saf

Everything made perfect sense and I will continue to fully support you since I'm curious what PoK will bring - but the word "re-skin" makes me uneasy. Kind of sounds like all the nice super heroins will be gone... I hope re-skin is just a loose word for "re-name" :)

Wanderer

random name for webshow "Sunset Showdown" "Sunset and Smoke"

Gunsmoke Games

Guys we have a lot of things to consider with Injustice. Like what implications are there if we do release it on other platforms (sorry if we don't just take your word for it), can we just rename it? Do we have to change any assets? how much more work is there to be completed? when can we devote enough time towards its development? where will we host the file when we eventually release it? Can we promote it? How do we promote it? How can we protect ourselves if WB comes after us? Can WB still come after us? What are the laws in Canada, vs USA? If we went forward initially right after the DMCA we wouldn't have any project for a few months as some of these questions may require professional legal advice. We need to to protect both your interests as a supporter and ours as a creator. This is a very delicate situation that doesn't require haste. For those who think hey just re-skin it, that may take upwards of 500 hrs alone not to mention having to code the rest of the game. So as you can see we need better numbers estimates won't due and we need to find the most efficient and safe method to complete this project. We will have all the details of our plan laid out at the end of the month. - SmokeShank

Gunsmoke Games

Its on HF every friday -smokeshank

Drazhoath

Me he could still work on it and put it up on HF or his tumblr. Plus where did rouge go?

TofuCats

You know why it was postponed right?

Gunsmoke Games

February will mark a full month of development on Path of Kings, and will hold the first meeting on the continued development of our PREVIOUS PROJECT.