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http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/

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Topic: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/ (Read 17702 times)

Death 999
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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #15 on: March 24, 2008, 10:16:24 pm »

Well, I guess I kind of never expected a corporate ethics statement to prevent this kind of thing. Atari isn't Ben and Jerry's or Asymmetric.net or something like that.


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meep-eep
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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #16 on: March 24, 2008, 10:46:27 pm »

Exactly. When you find out that a company like Atari has an ethics statement, you know that it's going to be, well... a big joke.

And I'd think that even for Ben & Jerry's it will be a matter of time; it's already a big company, owned by Unilever, with the founders no longer in charge.


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #17 on: March 25, 2008, 10:56:56 pm »

This is pathetic. srsly.


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #18 on: March 25, 2008, 11:00:04 pm »

Quote from: Censored on March 25, 2008, 10:56:56 pm

This is pathetic. srsly.

You mean the "game", the code of ethics or our discussion? The first two are supposed to be pathetic for business reasons, what's our excuse?


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #19 on: March 25, 2008, 11:50:27 pm »

Quote from: Novus on March 25, 2008, 11:00:04 pm

what's our excuse?

Well, first of all, the Star Control name deserves to be in the hands of PR3 & Fred Ford. Second of all, Activision needs to give TFB more freedom when they say that they are ready to rekindle one of their original game franchises.

Also, I don't want Atari hiring a game developer to make a random game in space only to slap "Star Control" on it. They did that to Jenga and it is one of the worst things to ever turn into a video game.

It's great that Iocaine Studios started doing contract work and even made the deadline of a 2-day game. If Atari decides to touch the Star Control name again, I wish they could ask TFB to join in, but their contract with Activision could complicate things.

As far as I'm concerned, I consider this another example that no other developer can recreate the magic of Star Control that TFB has created.


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #20 on: March 26, 2008, 11:42:48 am »

Err... I don't see how that answers Novus's question. o_O
Nor do I see why Censored would call the discussion pathetic. O_o
Stop confusing me, people. Sad

Anyhow... this knavish trick is really disappointing. I was hoping that one day the name Star Control II would be attached to the game Star Control II. Looks like it's not going to happen. Undecided

I wonder though, why would Atari care if the project used that name? Wouldn't that make their brand more popular, if anything?


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #21 on: March 26, 2008, 12:43:02 pm »

I think Censored meant the stunt pulled was pathetic. And I agree. This is like some sort of cyber squatting, sitting on something you don't want to use but don't want anyone else to use either.


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #22 on: March 26, 2008, 01:41:04 pm »

As good as the 'Game' is for only a few days work it is ridiculous that they can just slap a name that is already attributed with a successful series onto it. I mean if i made a game in two days and slapped the name Starcraft or something like that on it people would go mental (assuming i had the rights to Starcraft).

I liked Atari's code of conduct thingie it basically said we follow the laws to the letter and not an inch more and that we can be the biggest bastards in the world at our own discretion. I understand they have the trademark on the name but i don't think they should be allowed to use it for something that is only remotely linked to the other successful games (and while SC3 was hated it was still moderately successful).

Um yeah im angry and thats all there is too it

Lets march on Atari HQ! (any idea where it is?)


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #23 on: March 26, 2008, 09:43:53 pm »

Quote from: Lukipela on March 26, 2008, 12:43:02 pm

I think Censored meant the stunt pulled was pathetic. And I agree. This is like some sort of cyber squatting, sitting on something you don't want to use but don't want anyone else to use either.

I meant Atari's behaviour, of course. And the "game" as well, I tried playing it. It's a disgrace.
Sorry for not elaborating much, it was 1am and I've been pulling 8-8 (12hrs) studying sessions in the library all week, for an upcoming test. I'm quite beat.


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #24 on: March 27, 2008, 11:16:17 pm »

Sigh, the game was lame, it wasn't even challenging, just stay where you are and the AI will keep circling and can't hit you at all. This is probably something to stop any IP doubts or flexing Atari's muscle. The music even started error looping then shut out completely.

*frumple*


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Cedric6014
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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #25 on: March 28, 2008, 12:07:21 pm »

Funny, I found the AI impossible to beat. Maybe I'm just lousy at melee. Most likely!


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #26 on: August 16, 2009, 07:21:38 pm »

I just took a closer look at the .swf file of this game. I have found that some of the the .jpg files which are part of this file have a last modification date in their meta-data. In all cases, the date is either 2007-09-16 or 2007-09-17, giving even more credibility to the theory that this game was indeed only created so that Atari could put it on their "Declaration of Use In Commerce" submitted to the USPTO on 2007-09-18.

I'll leave you with this snippet from http://www.trademarkedge.com/resources/glossary/t.htm:

Quote

Token Use
This term refers to uses of a trademark that are purely for the purpose of securing rights in a that mark, as opposed to any true interest in or expectation of making commercial sales. A manufacturer may, for example, sporadically ship a few boxes bearing the mark, but does so with no particular intention that the mark will become associated with the source of the goods.

If a mark becomes challenged on the grounds of abandonment, the trademark owner will need to prove use in commerce, and token uses will not suffice.


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #27 on: August 19, 2009, 12:16:58 pm »

How does one "challenge a trademark on the grounds of abandonment"?


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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #28 on: August 19, 2009, 05:17:38 pm »

With lawyers, of course. Basically it's a counter-argument to defeat a trademark infringement suit, as far as I can tell anyway.


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Death 999
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Re: http://www.atari.com/us/starcontrol/
« Reply #29 on: August 19, 2009, 11:58:18 pm »

I wonder whether you have to infringe the trademark and be sued and then successfully defend, or whether you can sue to have the trademark dismissed first. The latter would be a lot safer, but the legal system can be weird. Like, an old unenforced law that's absolutely horrible can't be struck down by the court until someone tries to enforce it, because no one would have standing to sue.


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