Infogrames Serves Civ3 Fans With Cease and Desist 226
janolder writes "According to multiple articles on heise online (German only), the leader of an effort to localize Civilization III for Germany, Kai Fiebach, has been slapped with a cease and desist letter, including $500 lawyer bill from Infogrames Germany. A grassroots effort to help Kai and tell Infogrames off is forming."
"Background: Most European versions of Civ3 are late. With a slated release for March 2002, Kai and a group of Civ3 fans decided to translate portions of Civ3 to German and to make the result available as a set of files to be applied to the US on time for Christmas. Kai informed Infogrames of his effort and even offered to join forces with their localization team if only the game would be released sooner. Sadly, Infogrames reacted by sending Kai a cease and desist letter, alleging copyright infringement. The home page of the translation effort has already been taken down.The reason for Infogrames' reaction seems to be that Infogrames Germany doesn't make a single penny on the US version of the game sold through Amazon Germany and other vendors."
I tags (Score:4, Funny)
Cheers,
levine
It's a feature! (Score:1)
Applied to the US? (Score:3, Funny)
Well, I hope I have time to finish typing this before das ereignet.
binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:3, Insightful)
The problem here seems to be that the text those guys are distributing is (c) Infogrames.
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
maybe true, but, you dont go giving your loaf of bread to everyone in the world now? you normally eat it by yourself or your family. they probably shouldn't have released it for public consumption (as i originally said)
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
Um. (Score:1)
Re:Um. (Score:2)
So if they take the copyrighted text from the game, even if its something as basic as "You will have to sweeten the deal if you want the {{civ}} to accept, {{civ_leader}}" and redistribute that, it's probably illegal. Even if you are translating it into another language.
I'm not saying I think thats a good law, just that that's the tack the company will take. That it's a copyright violation.
Now, if they changed the text more than just a straight translation, they'd have a better case, probably. Of course, IANAL.
The thing is, they don't even have to take it to court... There is no way the developer can afford to fight this, unless someone like the EFF steps in to help him out. Which is probably their REAL tactic.
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
It is?
You meet someone and say "Hello, sir. How are you today?" and I hear you say that. I think that's a pretty good phrase, so when I next meet someone I say, "Howdy, dood! Howzit hangin, my man?" am I infringing on your copyright to the phrase you uttered initially?
Same meaning, different words.
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:2, Informative)
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1, Insightful)
"One of the enduring strengths of the Civilization franchise has been its ability to be customized by the fans.... Firaxis is very interested in Civilization III having an active mod community, but need to know where our efforts are best spent. Together we can make Civilization III a potent platform for not only exploring factual history, but also your creativity and interests. "
Apparently having the game in your native language does not apply as someing in fan's 'interests'.
As the german site linked above states, it's Infogames German division that fears they'll loose money if this voulenteer effort gets the product done before they do - it's all the *same company* people, it's just a different local manager, who wants to make sure he/she gets their bonus so they can buy that new SUV they've been coveting etc. etc. etc. I would understand (and I wouln't characterize the management as I have) if they approached these people, personally, thanked them for their effort, and tried to work out something. It's *obvious* that the german fans involved had this attitude, but the company just reacted with the easiest, most convenient 2x4 they could find. Typical. *end rant*
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
A little history (Score:2, Informative)
When Apple released the Macintosh in 1984, the system was heavily based on the use of resources (it still is). Apple's User Interface Guidelines pushed keeping all strings in resources to make it easier for third parties to localize the software.
Reading these at the time, I didn't experience any cognitive dissonance. I thought that, surely, nobody could object to a third-party's deliberately increasing one's market share, for free. I imagined that EULAs of the future would specify that anyone who made such modifications should submit them for approval by the original author.
How times have changed!
Ignorant Fool (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:binary modification = illegal :( (Score:1)
I think one of the problems (Score:5, Interesting)
- Just my 0000010 cents
Re:I think one of the problems (Score:1)
Re:I think one of the problems (Score:3)
Actually, you're the poster with a reading comprehension problem. Both the poster you replied to and the original Slashdot article text explain that Infogrames GERMANY doesn't get credited with revenue from sales of the US version. The problem that the patch causes is Infogrames's German division not receiving revenue. This, in turn, reduces the likelihood of future German translations, despite a potentially large German audience.
Re:I think one of the problems (Score:1)
if not infogram hasn't lost any money yet, and it would have been a better move for them to exploit the fan's work to speed up their translation and boost their christmas sales instead of undertaking a useless and shameful attack on these guys.
Well maybe i missed some important point here and infogram's gail is not to make money but to prove the world it can make a release all by itself even though they are slow to it
Re:I think one of the problems (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I think one of the problems (Score:1)
Yeah, I always feel like typing that extra letter, too. I just thought I'd put in a comment before someone tries to rip on you.
Prosecuted under DMCA (Score:1)
I don't think so.
Creating a patch for an existing piece of software isn't nesacarily volating the DMCA.
It might however be a violation of the license agreement. But that's somthing differnt.
Re:I think one of the problems (Score:2)
Why can't I write a script which patches a software program for translation purposes, how is that a breech of copyright if it requires the original package?
What is actually happening here is that Infogrames have a revenue recognition problem because they don't know how to run an international publishing company. They're late with a release that fans want, and they are abusing the law and their hard core fan base.
I Will Help (Score:1)
If someone can recommend a page will more information in English (or even better Japanese ^_^) I will gladly do what I can to help. It hurts me very much to see dedicated fans and hobbyists be threatened and intimidate for doing things that will only benefit the company in the long run.
I do not wish to see this lawyer paid but if it must come to that I will gladly help do a small bit to assist. I will even pay to assist in the German localisation, assuming that it will continue after this unfortunate incidence.
Please reply with additional information if it is available. I wish to know more but I have plenty of trouble with English, to say nothing of German ^_^
R. Suzuka
Re:I Will Help - how? (Score:1)
what infogrames should have done, is work with this guy. they have done the translation(s) - and, they are german.. who else is better to do translations to german? infogrames can win out of this if they play their cards right. and, the last thing we need is what happened with the "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US" episode when translations go wrong.. badly wrong...
Re:I Will Help - how? (Score:1)
I've delt with the Civ3 tech support crew, they have enugh problems dealing with English. While I don;t think that this problem required the services of lawyers, I do see why Ifogrames saw it nessesary to do this.
Sorry, But Tough (Score:5, Interesting)
It's a nice gesture to offer to work with the official translation team, but they are probably (hopefully) have the entire process planned out. So it wouldn't be of much help to have some random guy "helping out."
Besides, even if I had to wait I'd rather have a real version instead of a hacked up patch that comes with no guarantee.
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:1)
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:1)
Besides, even if I had to wait I'd rather have a real version instead of a hacked up patch that comes with no guarantee.
Excuse me? Have you ever read any software EULA? The official product will come with an equal zero guarantee, and you'll probably get more support from a volunteer effort, since those people actually care for their work enough that they're willing to do it without pay.
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:3, Insightful)
In case you haven't noticed, proprietary software advocates always forget that clause. How many times have Linux developers been told that someone's not going to use Linux because "there's no-one we can sue if something goes wrong!"? Proprietary software isn't any better. In fact, given the wording of some EULAs I've seen, your attempted lawsuit might give the company grounds for legal action against you, especially if you publicize said lawsuit.
This is, of course, assuming that EULAs have any legal weight at all. That is, unfortunately, still an uncertain issue, and seems to depend entirely on what judge you get and how informed he is about precedent and contract law. And how much he's been paid off, in America.
Exactly. (Score:1)
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:5, Informative)
Translations are derivative works. There is a specific exemption for these in most countries, Germany included, and this appears to be a straight substitution of text files.
Mind you, this didn't stop the German fans translating Harry Potter being served with cease and desists, so I guess we're back to the old argument that access to lawyers allows you to (practically) dictate what the law is.
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:2)
Derivative works require permission of the copyright holder, at least under Anglo-American copyright law.
They get separate copyright protection on their own as well - so in effect what you have is a copyrighted article that requires permission from both the person who created the derivative work and the person who created the original.
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:2)
Sorry, but I don't believe that to be the case for a derivative work that contains a significant amount of original work, e.g. a translation, or curiously a spoken word recording (you need to pay for "performance rights", but then you have sole copyright on the result).
The problem (as per bloody usual) is that the definition of "significant" is nebulous and very dependent on what the mythical average person would find reasonable, which is why cases like this often result in a lot of money being paid to lawyers - to whom the concept of "original work" is generally anathema, ironically enough.
However, I'm keen to be corrected. Got a reference? Otherwise it's just my word against yours, which doesn't help the gallery much. ;-)
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:3)
Sorry, I posted hastily. If you produce a translation that differs substantially from the copyright holder's translation, then yes, it's an original work, and you can sell it. You might have to prove that it's substantially different in court, but if you can demonstrate that, then you're OK.
This doesn't happen very often with print, only generally for academic works, poetry and plays, but there's no reason why it can't, if you can persuade one publisher to step on another's toes.
The trouble here is that there's no authorised version to compare it to, so it's rather dangling in a void. Have a look for my other comment in here which has links to two stories about Harry Potter translations, one of which was allowed to stay on the web by a court.
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:2)
Yes, very astute. That's the point exactly. While I'm thinking about it, you still have problems with trademarks, which is perhaps one reason why novellists are becoming keen on branding and trademarking their creations. I know I am.
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Sorry, But Tough (Score:1)
Re:"copy-written" (Score:1)
Re:Sorry, but you're not making sense (Score:1)
4. It is illegal to distribute translated versions of copyrighted text without the author's permission.
Re:Sorry, but you're not making sense (Score:1)
(Almost) fair enough. (Score:1)
This is a proprietary game. The authors do get to say what happens to it, and who can and cannot contribute.
I find the $500 lawyers bill to be insane though - I mean, seriously, the guy was just trying to help, no?
Too many lawyers in the world, and too little common sense I think.
The Civilized way to react (Score:1)
The texts in the game are copyrighted and obviously they cannot be redistributed even once translated. But I wish people would learn to solve their problems without going through lawyers. *sigh*
Re:The Civilized way to react (Score:1)
Bill is nullified already (Score:3, Informative)
According to the heise article [heise.de] (in Krautish, sorry), the $500 bill has been declared void by Infogrames. They still threaten with a $10,000 fine if he won't cease working on the translations and remove all the work done so far from the 'net.
Re:Bill is nullified already (Score:2)
Civ 3 is tedious anyway, I bought it played it once and sold it to a friend who was a Civ fanatic, even he says this version is tedious with flawed gameplay. My advice, forget it and move on, and thing twice before you buy another infogrames game.
Bullshit. (Score:1)
Sympathies....but... (Score:1)
I cant say the current situation will help their lackluster stock price [yahoo.com]. Perhaps this will spur inforgames to release localized versions faster (and maybe help get some of my money back!)
Kai? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Kai? (Score:1)
-Kevin
Corporations and Copyright (Score:2, Insightful)
Instead, he was trying to help his fellow German gamers with localization. Infogames should have overlooked the fact that his might have been copyright infringiment.
In the end, it is horrible for their PR, if nothing else.
Re:Corporations and Copyright (Score:1)
He may not have been trying to hurt their profits, but seeing as how Infogrames Germany doesn't make money off the US version, he was hurting their profits. Would you buy two copies of a game if the first one worked fine but the second one happened to be localized?
I didn't think so.
Let's use a little common sense that we /.'ers are vaunted for, please.
Re:Corporations and Copyright (Score:2)
Uhm? Are you sure about that?
Re:Corporations and Copyright (Score:1)
Re:Corporations and Copyright (Score:1)
Re:Corporations and Copyright (Score:2)
True, but regardless of what he was trying to do, he was in fact competing with Infogrames and, if successful, he would have hurt their profits.
Infogames should have overlooked the fact that his might have been copyright infringiment.
There's no "might have been" here. Unauthorized derivative works, which include translations, are prohibited under the copyright law of virtually every nation on earth and have been for a long time. This is nothing new, and it's nothing sneaky. If this were not the case, I'd be making tons of money rushing German translations of the latest Stephen King novels to market.
All that being said, it was rather stupid of Infogrames to take such a ham-handed approach with an until-recently-friendly fan who could have saved them a wad of cash and gotten the game to market sooner.
The best way to punish Infogrames would be to refrain from buying the German version of Civ III until they apologize and withdraw their demand for money. I rather doubt any such boycott will ever happen in this particular market, though.
Remember... (Score:4, Informative)
see what happened to Kontour (was Killustrator [slashdot.org] because of a similiar german lawyer tactic [slashdot.org]...
it's like ambulance chasing but for intellectual property... so... don't necessarily jump on infogames case, because they didn't initiate the cease and decist...
E.
Re:Remember... (Score:3, Informative)
If you know that, please let us know how, because that's not what the blurb here says:
Re:Remember... (Score:1)
We'll see, I'm probably off base...
e.
Re:Remember... (Score:1)
To expand the subject a bit: If memory serves, "cease and desist" ambulance chasing doesn't work in copyright issues because there is no public interest that needs protection. "Cease and desist" lawyers prefer to pick on incorrect advertising by small companies as there is some moeny to be had and there is little need for research. A few years back, lawyers went bonkers with computer stores advertising 17" monitors (as opposed to 43.18cm monitors). Happily, the courts put a stop to this by declaring "17" monitor" a proper name rather than a measurement and a name. Same with floppy sizes (8.89cm and 13.225cm floppies). :-)
Note: it is legal to advertise using english mesurements as long as metric is shown as well.
Re:Remember... (Score:1)
E.
Re:Remember... (Score:1)
*shrug*
E.
Could This Be Another German Lawyer Situation? (Score:1)
With CivI and CivII, the dialogue for the boxes was always included as plain text. I remember happily editing the intro dialogue to CivI to do parodies of various things (as did others; the Douglas Adams parody was incredibly popular in its time). I and others also edited some of the various dialogues, not only into foreign languages, but into certain statements that can't really be said in a family site like this one. What Infroggrames is doing is destroying an eleven-year-old tradition. Of course, Infogrames has a habit of doing that.
Civ fans form one of the most dedicated computer gaming communities around, rivaling Quake and Half-Life, not to mention with a great deal more history. If Infogrames wants to keep that fandom on their side to purchase more copies of Infogrames games, this isn't the way to do it.
T-shirts? (Score:1)
Re:T-shirts? (Score:1)
is already getting T-shirts silkscreened.
Re:T-shirts? (Score:4, Funny)
> So where can I pick up my 'Boycott Sid Meier' shirt/Tshirt/bumper sticker?
Research "Tee Shirts" and "Printing", and then you can build them in any city with a textile mill.
Or you may find it easier to just plunder neighboring civilizations that already have them.
Re:T-shirts? (Score:2)
How does copyright handle translations (Score:1)
In the case of civ3 it seems to be even unclearer, since Infogrames probably has the right to distribute the German version, but the translators are not distributing the game. Is there a right of translation? And since Infogrames distributes the English version as well, at least in Europe, what is their financial damage in that case. Isn't it rather a gain, when more people buy the game, especially if it puts the release date of the "German version" before Christmas instead of March?
Why it Doesn't Really Matter (Score:2, Troll)
Re:Why it Doesn't Really Matter (Score:1)
Re:Why it Doesn't Really Matter (Score:2)
Can you even avoid it now? Every DVD purchase or rental is a little contribution to the funds used by these corporations to ass rape their own customers using the legal system. Every song you listen to on the radio, every CD you buy is another few cents that goes to that bitch Hillary Rosen, who justifies strapping on a lee press-on penis and fucking her customers up the ass in the name of the rights of the artists (The tremendous irony of this always seems to escape her, too.)
And, as Gello Biafra so astutely observed, the only person able to escape this corporate cluster-fuck was the fucking Unibomber and he was a fucking nut-bag.
I think I've got a point around here somewhere... Oh yeah. These bastards are not going to volunteer to stop screwing us over and we have fewer and fewer rights every day; their attitude is that we have the privilidge to pay them for the use of their products and we have less and less ownership every day. The only way we're going to break out of this cycle is through legislation and they give a hell of a lot more to Congress than we do individually.
Compare with Harry Potter in German (Score:5, Interesting)
I know of two unofficial fan translations of Harry Potter books into German. This high quality, multi contributor [bbc.co.uk] one was torpedoed before completion. However, this one man effort [ananova.com] hit the web early, and was allowed to stay up by a court because it was inferior to the official translation.
And there's the problem. A translation can be treated as a derivative work with enough original content to protect it under copyright laws. It doesn't have to be worse, it can be better - it just has to be different. However, if the copyright holder (in another language) has not yet done a translation, it becomes problematical to prove that your translation is substantially different.
As this is a civil case, it'll come down to a judge deciding what is (here comes that word again) a reasonable delay of the official version before translators can take a shot at it. A three month delay is probably reasonable, a three year one probably unreasonable, but it will be decided on a case by case basis (at least in the UK, I'd be interested to hear if there's a specification of duration in Germany)
So, if the translators waited for the official CivIII German version to come out, then produced their own resource files that differed from the official ones, that would be allowed. But they can't force the copyright owners to hurry up.
What a tangled web we weave.
Infogrames' statement on their homepage (Score:3, Informative)
Google's translation [google.com] is astonishingly readable, but just in case, here's the text in a nutshell:
- It's a clear violation of the copyright and Infogrames is required to enforce it.
- The official German localization is already in a pretty advanced state - its advantage over the "guerilla translation" is that it covers the entire game while Kai's translation only deals with certain parts of the game. [At least that's how I understand this part]
- In general however, Infogrames are very pleased about fan initiatives and plan to support them more in future. They are still trying to work out ways to cooperate with them.
Re:Unfortunately, this is true (Score:2)
Inaccurate Translation (Score:3, Funny)
"You have discovered the wheel."
"You have discovered metal employment."
"You have discovered waffle pigeon."
Ridiculous (Score:1)
So Infogrames can sue Systran? (Score:1)
Rough translation with notes (Score:2)
The controversy over the translation of the US play Civilization 3 (Civ3) by fans of the play escalates. The company Infogrames, which possesses international rights to distribute the game, sent the 39-year old project manager Fiebach additionally for the provisional order an omission assertion and a lawyer bill of over 1,000 Marks...In the omission assertion Fiebach is requested by the lawyer of the company, Stephan Wiedorfer, to omit any processing of the computer program Civilization 3 and to cease distribution of 'processing' created so far. With an offence against this agreement Fiebach would have to pay a contractual penalty at a value of 20,000 Marks as well as attorney's fees.
The rub is that Fiebach is also being nailed for further distribution of his translation over the internet (not sure what copyright law precedent is in regards to this sort of thing):
(He is being held) responsible for further files which are based on his translation which are distributed by third parties over the internet.
Infogames' German-language version of Civ3 is not due to be released for four months, at least:
Babelfish translation of original article (Score:3, Interesting)
The controversy over the translation of the US play Civilization 3 (Civ3) by fans of the play escalates. The company Infogrames, who possesses world-wide the rights to distribute, sent to the 39-jaehrigen project manager dock Fiebach additionally for the provisional order an omission assertion and a lawyer calculation at a value of over 1.000 Marks. The calculation called, requires Infogrames fast groundless however further the delivery of the omission assertion. Fiebach needs more time according to own specification however, in order to confer with its lawyer over the individual points exactly.
In the omission assertion Fiebach is requested Stephan Wiedorfer, by the lawyer of the enterprise, to omit any processing the computer program Civilization 3 and so far created to ' processing ' no more to spread. With an offence against this agreement Fiebach would have to pay a contractual penalty at a value of 20.000 Marks as well as transfer the lawyer costs.
Fiebach could not fulfill these demands according to its predicates -- however the condition to be responsible for further files which are based on its translation which distribute third over the network. " as I am to control ", express myself Fiebach annoyed opposite heise on-line.
Besides it is impossible in opinion of Fiebach to consult within the set period its lawyer. It is annoyed about the behavior of employer speaker Michael Wetzel, which guessed/advised it to the lawyer assistance, it however for it no extension of the period not described more near enables in particular. " Mr. Wetzel even guessed/advised me to switch a lawyer on. Mine is however in the vacation and I at present knows myself not, as I with restraint is ", does not deplore myself Fiebach. The demand, Civilization 3 might be translated not through third, is to opinion of Fiebach besides in the glaring contrast to the comments and the initial assistance of a support coworker of the Civilization developer Firaxis. This had helped Fiebach at the beginning of the translation work and even for its Community support had praised.
Likewise under bombardment the operators of the German-language Civilization-3 largest according to own specification are guessed/advised - Fansite Civ3.de , which is led even on the Firaxis homepage in the column Fansites. The two operators likewise received an omission assertion. Fiebach explained in the meantime, he respected the decision of the Site operators to delete the project web page and lock the FTP acces.
Infogrames speaker Michael Wetzel understands the disappointment of Fiebach, does not want however despite the protests of the fans not from the course to deviate and a time extension grant. In a discussion with heise on-line it made clear that it concerns itself with the play around property of Infogrames. Therefore be out of the question a translation through third, particularly since Infogrames Germany counts on not insignificant incomes with the sales starting from March 2002 of the available German version of Civ 3.
The fact that the fans of Civ3 do not agree with the behavior shows various forum contributions to the Infogrames Website.Auch those daily more than 200 Mails, which achieve the enterprise according to firm speaker Wetzel daily, makes by the majority their displeasure over this situation air -- partial in quite harschen words ( daa / c't)
Who originated this? (Score:1)
Guys, Germany has some really weird laws. Anybody can send someone a "you're violating a copyright" letter, and tack along a bill for the effort of writing that letter. I won't be surprised if this is a stupid German Lawyer who started this. (without any need to contact Infogrames).
I can't find any "originals" so... I don't know for sure what's going on....
Roger.
Anyone tried Babelfish? (Score:1)
There we have it -- conslusive proof that lawyers are robots after all. (And what the HELL does the previous sentence mean?!)
Looks like I'll be pirating Civ3 (Score:2)
Does this mean people who are working on translations of Japanese game ROMs are going to stop for fear of lawsuits? I hope not.
Maybe it's time for a career change. Those lawyer cocksuckers make a bundle for nothing more than being sheer assholes.
-Legion
What they really should have done is... (Score:2)
...ask for a world map, two technologies, and half the treasury, then gone to war anyway.
Yeah, I guess I've been playing too much. ;-)
JIT translating file systems? (Score:2)
Here's one method off the top of my head: Put the files on a Linux filesystem, exported via SAMBA. Add a hook that intercepts text, routes it through the fish, and sends it on the the game system. The first time the file is accessed, things will be slow, but the file server can cache the translations so that subsequent accesses will be much faster.
Something To Think About (Score:2)
A lot of people are in here arguing that "Infrogrames has a right to make money", as if this were a piracy issue. Had you read the blurb on Slashdot more closely, you would realize that this translation is only for people that legitimately bought the US version of the software, usually online.
Infrogrames may not be making money specifically the way it wants (small licensing fees going through Infrogrames Germany and into the US Infrogrames)... but they're actually making more money this way than they would be on the official German translation of Civ3.
If you're German, own a legitimate copy of Civ3... (Score:2)
askthecivteam@firaxis.com
Please be civil.
Remember, if you _own_ a product, you are not _copying_ it or infringing Firaxis's rights in any way. As long as the patch (which I believe will involve a translation of the "Text" subdirectory) will not work unless you have the real thing, I can't see how Firaxis can lose... unless they heavy handedly stomp and piss on all their fans. Of which I am one.
For shame, Firaxis!
Another Gripe at Infogrames (Score:2)
They marketed a "Limited Editon" which promised designer notes(which were pretty much the only worthwhile goodie added). They shipped the Limited Edition, which said it contained the designer notes, and they never included them. Just plain forgot to include them in all 75,000 of the "limited" Limited Edition.
People have squawked about it [apolyton.net], but Infogrames and Firaxis (Sid Meier's company) have been silent on this rip-off. This is particularly galling as Firaxis used to be a real standout in terms of standing behind their products with patch support and decent documentation.
Sometimes you wonder how the bean counters really can manage to screw up a thing of beauty.
EULA vs COPYRIGHT (Score:4, Informative)
Providing patches for a binary-only software product may be a violation of the EULA, but that doesn't in itself make it a COPYRIGHT violation.
EULA violations are purely civil, there might not be any statutory or punitive damages, etc. (depends on the local laws). EULAs are based in CONTRACT law.
Copyright violations can be civil or criminal (FELONY (*) in some cases), there are statuatory damages (you can be ordered to pay even if they weren't harmed AND you didn't benefit), punitive damages, contributory and vicarious infringement theories (which don't seem to exist with EULAs) which judges follow, etc.
The DMCA may apply in both cases, depends on the country and the judge. If you get Judge Kaplan, you might as well sell all your stuff and live on the street right now and get it over with. 1/2
Ask a lawyer (in your jurisdiction) for legal advice.
(*) In the US. I don't know the situation in other countries.
P.S. If a company acts so irresponsibly as to try to assess a $500 bill for sending a cease and desist letter because you were trying to be helpful, then to hell with them. Asking you to pay for the costs of their legal attack is unconscionable.
But what I heard about the laws in Germany, that practice seems to be blessed by the gov't there.
"abmahnung" I believe it is called.
Re:EULA vs COPYRIGHT (Score:2)
"Cease, desist and pay" on the other hand is very much a fact of life in Germany. Some lawyers even base their entire revenue stream on this concept. In recent cases, these lawyers have had some trouble collecting on their bills though.
Re:EULA vs COPYRIGHT (Score:1)
By translating the original Civ 3 text he is creating a derivative work which he cannot distribute without permission from the original work's owner.
The people who have been given distribution rights to that work in Germany stand to lose real money if his patch is distributed, so it's no surprise that they are suing him.
His motivations were very nice and all, but still, he's messing with another person's copyrighted works.
If he really wants to volunteer on a project I'm sure the Freeciv [freeciv.org] folks would be a bit more gracious about the help.
Patches/copyright: patch-maker or patcher affected (Score:2)
If a 3rd party releases a patch, who is making the derivative work? The patch-maker or the person who applies the patch?
Of course that leaves open the fact that the patch maker had to have a modified version from which to make the patch (possible infringement) and that the patch itself could be contributory infringement (contributes to the user's infringement).
Would make an interesting Supreme Court case (Score:1)
The Supreme Court has long held that producing a parody or satire of a work does not violate the copyright.
Someone modified the images and sounds in Juri Munki's "Heart Quest" to make an affectionate parody called "Jerry's Guitars," which has Jerry Garcia trying to catch guitars instead of a butterfly trying to catch hearts. This would probably not be seen by the courts as an infringement, either on Munki or the estate of Jerry Garcia.
I wonder if something like this could be argued as a parody. One would have to put some humor into the translations. However, since none of the actual original work is used (the files would be patches to the original work), I don't think a copyright claim could be used in court.
As for reverse engineering, well, translating the strings in resources file hardly qualifies as reverse engineering. If the strings are in the actual code, then that might apply. Of course, Win32 resources are nowhere near as sophisticated and open as Mac resources, so this may be a gray area.
Re:Would make an interesting Supreme Court case (Score:2)
Tough to prove, there. If humour is a required element, how would a court define humour? Some stuff is obviously humourous (Marx Bros, Jerry Lewis, Jim Carrey, etc) while other things are not so cut-and-dried.
Re:EULA vs COPYRIGHT (Score:2)
Because of the special structure of Civ3 (AFAIK, the messages which require translation are stored in separate files), there's no need to distribute a "patch" in order to translate the software. You simply replace some of the original files with completely different ones.
As far as I can tell, Infogrames Germany is using copyright to forbid the distribution of the translation. Translations are derivative works under copyright, so they can do that. (Minor nitpick: Infogrames Germany claims that they don't earn money if a copy of a US version of the game is sold to some German. This casts some doubt on the question whether they can really enforce copyright for the US version.)
Re:Stop posting stories like this... (Score:1)
Re:civ3 can rest in peace そう私 (Score:1)
Re:Slashdot = Racist Biggots (Score:1)