In response to Unknown Person
Close enough :-p
In response to Elliot Leonhart
Elliot Leonhart wrote:
OKAY LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT!

I'm going to start creating all my icons from scratch.
They probably won't look anything like rm2k icons so they cannot be mistaken for them.

So how do I make sure that no one screenshots them and uses them for their own game. And, if I see them being used by another person, how can I prove that they're mine??? Do I just have to sit back and let that person use my icons?

There is such a thing called small claims court. You don't even need a lawyer. Just threaten to sue, and if threats don't curtail it, subpoena the violator (visit your library or town hall for more info), and you can gather all of the evidence needed. You can then present your own files with their original dates, and it will be clear that your products were copyright first.

(That does, however, demand the fact that Dantom collect personal information on all users, under the same privacy statement as before. In addition to having serious problems with getting current users to register personal information, it also gives a serious problem of scaring off new users.)

However, there need to be some sort of damages involved. For example, if you are a for-profit game designer, and someone steals your icons, then you can logically claim that anyone who is playing their game is a customer that your game has lost due to infringement. All you have to do is make a small computation as to how much profit you're losing, and if it exceeds a few hundred dollars or so (more reason to charge more for your games!) you'll have good grounds to sue.

Don't even try to bring material belonging to a free project into small claims court, however -- you can sue for emotional damage ("That game was my pride and joy!"), but there's no profit involved, and any less than $50 might get you ridiculed by the judge (who definitely has better things to do).


Don't take my word for it, though -- I'm not a lawyer. However, I'm pretty sure that's how things work.
In response to OneFishDown
You're playing a semantic game... that's an entirely different sort of "demo" from what's being talked about here. What you're saying means about as much to this conversation as a demolitions expert jumping in and talking about people stealing his or her "demo" jobs.
You dont acually in an action "copyright" something.

My version of the rules of copyrighting

- You make it, you have the copyrights to it.
- You give the rights to someone else. Let it be on paper.
- Someone takes your idea, sue their @$$ or settle it in a more diplomatic way.
In response to OneFishDown
OneFishDown wrote:
My demos aren't in DM.Demos. If I wanted to make something open-source to show people how to do it then I'd make a tutorial.

In BYOND the distinction between tutorials and demos is just that tutorials are generally geared toward newbies, and tend to show complete mini-projects rather than a simple environment to demonstrate a single concept.

Lummox JR
In response to Elliot Leonhart
Just dont worry about it. Are you going to grow up, making sure someone doesnt name their Child what your name is?
In response to Zlegend2
Zlegend2 wrote:
You dont acually in an action "copyright" something.

You can actually copyright something with an action -- for a fee, you can register a copyright.
In response to Spuzzum
like trademarks and phrases and that kind of stuff. But work that can be proven from your computer is automaticly yours. The copyright in my words is simply the date the file was created and other various information.
just one question ( i didn't read all replies so i dun know if its been said) but did u send a letter to the library of congress with X ammount of money to copyright it? otherwise, it isn't copyrighted
In response to KitKate20
KitKate20 wrote:
just one question but did u send a letter to the library of congress with X ammount of money to copyright it? otherwise, it isn't copyrighted

No, that hasn't been said, and for good reason too.
In response to Elliot Leonhart
Elliot Leonhart wrote:
So how do I make sure that no one screenshots them and
uses them for their own game.

You can't unless you can go into that persons computer and disable the ScreenPrint button or other related programs.

And, if I see them being used by another person, how can I
prove that they're mine???

By placing them somewhere with the 'Copyright (c)2003 by me' on the same page, is your best bet.

Do I just have to sit back and let that person use my icons?

That could be a 'yes' - although, why bother aggressively protecting that which is near impossible to do so? Any legal battle you pursue would cost far more than the time and value of the icons in the first place.
In response to Zlegend2
Zlegend2 wrote:
like trademarks and phrases and that kind of stuff. But work that can be proven from your computer is automaticly yours. The copyright in my words is simply the date the file was created and other various information.

*Copies all Windows XP files*
*Sets system clock to 1980*
*Pastes Windows XP files*
*Resets clock, files lawsuit against Bill Gates*
In response to Garthor
*falls over form laughter*
In response to KitKate20
KitKate20 wrote:
just one question ( i didn't read all replies so i dun know if its been said) but did u send a letter to the library of congress with X ammount of money to copyright it? otherwise, it isn't copyrighted

You information is incorrect. This is from the United States Copyright Office Website: http://www.copyright.gov/faq.html#q13
In response to Shadowdarke
How do I protect my sighting of Elvis?
Copyright law does not protect sightings. However, copyright law will protect your photo (or other depiction) of your sighting of Elvis. Just send it to us with a form VA application and the $30 filing fee. No one can lawfully use your photo of your sighting, although someone else may file his own photo of his sighting. Copyright law protects the original photograph, not the subject of the photograph.


Bizzare Americans...
In response to Maz
Tsk'...Tsk' dissing Americans! Shame on you! Shame on you all!!! America Rocks! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...I'll be quiet now -_-
In response to Goku72
Goku72 wrote:
I'll be quiet now -_-

Good.
In response to Crispy
-_-
Holy crap, this is a lot of press. Okay, here's how it works. As soon as you put a little (c) next to something, its copyrighted, that's it. If it comes to it, you would have to prove that you dreamed it up first. If you send in money, yada yada, its then a registered copyright, and you can put a little (R) next to it. That's why its called "registered" and then you can trademark (tm) anything you have registered. Yipee, skippy, end the freakin discussion.
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