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Copyrights: Pony vs. Pony, FIGHT!!!
LadyM
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Soooo . . . the PonyStars virtual pony-pet game is using art from a different pony game, PonyIsland.net. PonyIsland has been around since 2003, players pay for accounts (it's not free), and it's based in Sweden, although most players are American.
Examples of copied artwork:
Those are pretty obvious, but others are more subtle examples of tracing, with more alterations. From the pose and to some extent the hair I can tell these are copied, even though changes have been made:
There is also a website called Poney Vallee. Poney Vallee appears to be identical to Acclaim's PonyStars (down to the background) which makes me think that Acclaim worked out a deal with Poney Vallee or bought the rights to Poney Vallee, or something like that. So Acclaim may have no idea that PonyStars' pictures are traced/copied.
My question is . . . is it considered copyright infringement even though some of the pictures have been altered slightly (the dragon pony and the butterfly pony)? How about the pictures that have been altered more, like the pony with translucent wings turned into a pegasus?
If it is copyright infringement, what would you suggest the owners of PonyIsland and/or the person who drew the artwork for them do? Do you think a simple letter to Acclaim would clear this up, or not?
I am neither an owner of PonyIsland nor the artist, but I know them and would be happy to pass advice along to them. I know it's just a game, but . . . it's a game that the creators worked long and hard to create. This bothers me, especially since a real game company like Acclaim is involved.
Examples of copied artwork:
Those are pretty obvious, but others are more subtle examples of tracing, with more alterations. From the pose and to some extent the hair I can tell these are copied, even though changes have been made:
There is also a website called Poney Vallee. Poney Vallee appears to be identical to Acclaim's PonyStars (down to the background) which makes me think that Acclaim worked out a deal with Poney Vallee or bought the rights to Poney Vallee, or something like that. So Acclaim may have no idea that PonyStars' pictures are traced/copied.
My question is . . . is it considered copyright infringement even though some of the pictures have been altered slightly (the dragon pony and the butterfly pony)? How about the pictures that have been altered more, like the pony with translucent wings turned into a pegasus?
If it is copyright infringement, what would you suggest the owners of PonyIsland and/or the person who drew the artwork for them do? Do you think a simple letter to Acclaim would clear this up, or not?
I am neither an owner of PonyIsland nor the artist, but I know them and would be happy to pass advice along to them. I know it's just a game, but . . . it's a game that the creators worked long and hard to create. This bothers me, especially since a real game company like Acclaim is involved.
LadyM on
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If they didn't have permission to buy/recreate this stuff and they wind up being unwilling to figure things out, I'd just send these lovely ponies to Kotaku and go from there. Cuz, I mean, the similarities are pretty damn obvious.
Do what Houk said.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Satans..... hints..... I'm a mo bro!
Disclaimer: IANAL. The section of copyright law you're probably concerned about here is the right to create derivative works. A copyright holder retains the exclusive right to create derivative works, (and, of course, the right to grant, or license this right to others). This is why, for example, it's not permitted to create Harry Potter slash fiction and such. Here, it would seem that you've identified a case where one company is creating derivative works of another company's, potentially without permission. This is likely actionable.
Of course, this isn't necessarily the case. Maybe both of them derive from a different work that is in the public domain or under a creative commons license. Maybe they have a licensing agreement. Who knows? I would inform the first company's legal department and let them handle it.
Heed this advice. You may also want to look into the license terms of the first site, as it may be under a license (such as Creative Commons) that allow for derivative works to be published.
No, they definitely don't. I know who drew the artwork. She made it specifically for PonyIsland, which has not sold or distributed the work to other sites.
I will definitely check out the link!
It should also be pointed out that Acclaim Entertainment went bust, and their name got bought out, so the new company isn't actually anything to do with the old company.
select your lawyer, and then, select your subpoena.
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word, I was thinking when I first glanced at the ponystars site that they looked nearly identical to my little pony's...
OMG PWNIES!!1!
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
This is true, but from what I understand, the original game (PonyIsland) came to an agreement with Hasbro. I'm not sure the same can be said for Acclaim's copycat game.
The real issue, though, is that the work of an independent artist is being used by a corporation without her permission.
OMG PWNIES!!1!
~Lady Roxy
LunaCat and the other artists all worked SO hard on these pics, why do people have to do this!