Hasbro and Conquer Club

[suggs]

I should prob read the whole of this.
But what a great idea! If we can get Hasbro to destroy ths site, then at least Twill will get what he deserves.
Lets get Hasbro on board.

[steve monkey]

yeah, let's shut down the site!! Revolution brothers sisters.!

[suggs]

There is also a "version of risk" on facebook and other sites such as landgrab have risk style games.

If Hasbro was overly concerned they would have done something long ago.

Apparently the facebook version is really good.

[suggs]

yeah, let's shut down the site!! Revolution brothers sisters.!

Well, you really wanna be part of a site that does not care AT ALL for the well being of its members?
To which I can see the reply "Well, why dont you bugger off Suggs/We'll ban you" -to which might be fair enough, but Twill has to go first.

[TeeGee]

There is also a "version of risk" on facebook and other sites such as landgrab have risk style games.

If Hasbro was overly concerned they would have done something long ago.

Apparently the facebook version is really good.

HAHAHAHA did u write it?

I am not a huge fan of facebook, so havent played it.

Back on topic, do you guys really want this place closed? Don't we all enjoy the game? Lets be serious for a minute here

[suggs]

I don't want it closed. But I want Twill gone, pronto.

[GeneralN20]

Seems like the little "we're not associated with" isn't enough, and the same thing that Scrabulous did.

If you come to think about it, "Scrabulous" sounds too much like Scrabble. In other words, the name was not really original.

It would be like me making a website called "Conquest Club" and doing things similar to the things done in Conquer Club.

On the other hand, Conquer Club sounds nothing like RISK. The most modern version of the electronic RISK game has more advanced graphics than those here at CC.


About the money for the website, the income received by CC is not imposed. Technically speaking, as I think the website itself calls it, the income is a "contribution." Sure, you get some benefits by going premium, but you can still play the game without going premium. The way I see it, the situation is almost like going out in the streets (the internet in this case) and playing an instrument, and getting some contributions from people that hear you (while others don't give anything); but then having the people who made the "original" song try to get that money from you. That'd be quite the morally wrong thing to do.


Then again, who really cares about morals these days? *sighs*

[herndawg]

You can sue anyone for any reason. If they wanted too they would. They don't have to win in court just make it more appealing to shut down rather than get stuck in court and spend tons of money on lawyers etc.
I would think this would make people want to buy the board game anyway. I would bet more people bought the board game after being here. I did. Prob. a plus for Hasbro.

[jbrettlip]

It is great free advertising for RISK. But I think if it got too big, too successful and too popular, they would eventually come knocking. I would guess, by reading about map ideas and requirements for permission to use copywrites etc, that this has already been discussed before the site went live. I don't think Lack is an idiot. IF found in violation, they could essentially go after every penny the site has made. In fact I would bet, that disclosure at the bottom was agreed upon by Hasbro.

Just stop already. She is gone. The site remains and continues. Wishing ill will on the whole site because you don't agree with a staffing decision is just dumb. Maybe I should go blow up the local grocery store, since the cute checkout girl with only 3 face piercings was let go.

[iancanton]

But the bottom line is that, having been around and built up a decent amount of content, Classic is actually this site's weakest link. I for one "never" play it. And frankly it should be taken down before it becomes a legal albatross.

Agreed. Removal of the Classic map would solve the most egregious problem with copyright.

why? the gameplay of the classic map is not an exact copy of that on the risk board. in risk, mongolia can attack kamchatka. not so in cc classic, where irkutsk is blocking the way.

risk was invented before most of us were born? when does the intellectual copyright run out?

ian.

[jbrettlip]

But the bottom line is that, having been around and built up a decent amount of content, Classic is actually this site's weakest link. I for one "never" play it. And frankly it should be taken down before it becomes a legal albatross.

Agreed. Removal of the Classic map would solve the most egregious problem with copyright.

why? the gameplay of the classic map is not an exact copy of that on the risk board. in risk, mongolia can attack kamchatka. not so in cc classic, where irkutsk is blocking the way.

risk was invented before most of us were born? when does the intellectual copyright run out?

ian.

If anyone read wiki's entry on RISK, you would see they have a full line of games and the copywrite was renewed in 2004. It isn't just Classic, and changing what can attack what doesn't make it a brand new game. Several companies can market checkers, becasue no one knows who invented it. But you can't change the colors and names of Monopoly and sell it, without violating law.

I just think that LAck would know this,and already have addressed these issues. Who knows, a portion of your payment MAY already go to Hasbro. Or they may have a first right to purchase the website.

Leave lawyering to the lawyers, and staffing issues to the owners.

[fireedud]

I'm pretty sure if Hasbro were to sue CC, the only thing that would come out of it is that we would have to take down Classic.

[jbrettlip]

I'm pretty sure if Hasbro were to sue CC, the only thing that would come out of it is that we would have to take down Classic.

And therefore, I am pretty sure you are completely wrong. HAve you ever heard of music sampling. Stealing a bass line from a song, even with new music and words is a violation of copywrite law. See Vanilla Ice vs David Bowie. Not even near the same song, but guess who got paid....David Bowie.

[max is gr8]

I think that the rules are substantially different

[max is gr8]

Also I believe that the copyright will have run out last year am I correct? With a 50 year term that would mean 2007 it would expire

[gdeangel]

You have to distinguish between the copyrights and the trademark issues.

The fact that the mark owner has been lax in allowing facebook and others to create games with the same concepts of gameplay gives a decent argument that there is no trademark gameplay.

On the other hand, you can also have a copyright and trademark in a map. While facebook and others (someone once pointed me to an game app called Lux here as well) may have games with similar "rules", the real issue would be whether or not the classic maps is, (A) in copyright terms, a derivative work of the copyrighted Risk map (i.e., you can't just change a couple of lines and call it a new work), and (B) in trademark terms, whether the classic maps would confuse someone familiar with the base-line Risk map so that they would believe the site here was affiliated with Hasbro. This is why you find the nice disclaimer on the front page of the site.

BUT, all of this is factual. You would have to litigate through a trial, probably in federal court, and, like someone said, the only issue is whether or not the value of fighting it out, assuming you even have the resources, is worth the cost of the litigation, which will end up being a balance of fact that noone who is here weighing in on will be actually deciding.

So, in reality, someone who is really familiar with the facts and the law here (one interesting question is whether US federal courts would have jurisdiction / whether US copyright law would be enforced by a Canadian court. If I recall, Canada just came out with a new IP law... so you may be looking at a moving target, which means paying for ongoing legal advice on this issue. The jurisdictional thing might be an issue for the site to look at before it decided to host with another US based hosting service, because even if a US court has jurisdiction, there are more steps to be take before its decision could be enforced in Canada (so, if you had an exclusively Canadian hosting service, and Lack never wants to visit the US... he could hold out for a while longer - LOL).

Anyway, regardless of whether Twill should be sacked or not, I'd like to see this site stick around. Which means not inviting lawsuits, particularly now that the site is starting to have its own established brand and proprietary IP.

[Gypsys Kiss]

Do any of you really think that hasbro dosnt know about this site already?

[gdeangel]

Do any of you really think that hasbro dosnt know about this site already?

Not really all that relevant.

[suggs]

I don't really understand why Hasbro hasn't bought off this site already. I mean this is just a 2 bit Amateur Hour Shambles Store, net worth i imagine to be about 10 dollars.
I guess its so insignificant as not to be worth their while.

[jbrettlip]

I don't really understand why Hasbro hasn't bought off this site already. I mean this is just a 2 bit Amateur Hour Shambles Store, net worth i imagine to be about 10 dollars.
I guess its so insignificant as not to be worth their while.

Yeah the massive overhead, and the $25 per person fee....I bet Lack is starving in the street.

Will you be taking time off from your financial analyst job in order to help Wicked regain her post of glory here on CC?

[suggs]

I don't really understand why Hasbro hasn't bought off this site already. I mean this is just a 2 bit Amateur Hour Shambles Store, net worth i imagine to be about 10 dollars.
I guess its so insignificant as not to be worth their while.

Yeah the massive overhead, and the $25 per person fee....I bet Lack is starving in the street.

Will you be taking time off from your financial analyst job in order to help Wicked regain her post of glory here on CC?

So you don't know much about oratorical devices? That was bathos.

[jbrettlip]

No, I admit I have no idea what that means. Ignore me then!!

I just looked it up and still don't understand it.

[suggs]

No, I admit I have no idea what that means. Ignore me then!!

I just looked it up and still don't understand it.

I tend to get things ever so slightly wrong, so hopefully BTtownmeg will find this post and correct me. But basically, in this context, undersatement to convey absurdity.

[jbrettlip]

Thanks, I will go back to what I know best: drinking and writing posts that aren't very funny.

[suggs]

Thanks, I will go back to what I know best: drinking and writing posts that aren't very funny.

Thought that was my niche