While the authors have said they're doing their best to avoid stepping into any illegal areas, we all know full well that any day soon these poor guys will most certainly be getting a nicely worded email from Nintendo's favourite law firm asking them to "Can the project or face the consequences!".
What I don't understand is why people would spend so much time and effort, when they know from the start that what they're working on belongs to someone else. Just...why? Do they not know that Mario is property of Nintendo? He's their most famous mascot and is tied to them like Mickey Mouse is tied to Disney. Do people similarly assume that Mickey can be appropriated to whatever purpose they want?
I suppose one reason might be the experience. Sometimes a project like this can be like spending your time doing a jigsaw puzzle; it gets the brain working and tunes up your logical processes. It rewards you with non-quantifiable internal benefits. Or at least a feeling of accomplishment.
But it's the property of Nintendo. They're going to crush the project as soon as they become aware of it. In fact, they have to, otherwise their property can become public domain. Why would people do something like this, when there are so many other worthy pursuits out there? Why not spend your time doing something that accomplishes some good in the world, instead of pirating the property of a megabillion dollar company?
In fact, they have to, otherwise their property can become public domain.
That's not exactly true. Trademarks can be lost if they're not defended, but not patents or copyrights. There doesn't appear to be any trademark issues here.
Sadly it'll be dead within a few weeks (Score:3, Informative)
While the authors have said they're doing their best to avoid stepping into any illegal areas, we all know full well that any day soon these poor guys will most certainly be getting a nicely worded email from Nintendo's favourite law firm asking them to "Can the project or face the consequences!".
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Re:Sadly it'll be dead within a few weeks (Score:3)
In fact, they have to, otherwise their property can become public domain.
That's not exactly true. Trademarks can be lost if they're not defended, but not patents or copyrights. There doesn't appear to be any trademark issues here.