Topic: Scribblenauts Dev/Pub Sued for Copyright Infringement

[lolmonade]

I find it amusing that most posters here are taking Warner Bros. side on this.  Keyboard cat and Nyan cat, as silly as they are, we're interesting and noteworthy enough to be included in the Scribblenauts game, and the content creators weren't solicited for permission, so they're suing WB because of it. 

How ridiculous is it if it were my little pony or Garfield being used without permission?  I think people are being flippant about this because they're "just Internet memes".

[TJ Spyke]

I find it amusing that most posters here are taking Warner Bros. side on this.  Keyboard cat and Nyan cat, as silly as they are, we're interesting and noteworthy enough to be included in the Scribblenauts game, and the content creators weren't solicited for permission, so they're suing WB because of it. 

How ridiculous is it if it were my little pony or Garfield being used without permission?  I think people are being flippant about this because they're "just Internet memes".

Here's the thing, the creater of Keyboard Cat didn't even copyright it until AFTER it had been used in the first game.

As for Nylan Cat, it didn't become popular until someone else took it and put it on YouTube with music. The original meme was not popular before then.

There is also the fact that neither one of these guys cared when thousands of people and websites used it, they only became interested when somebody with money used it. Also, you don't see Toei Animation or Funimation suing over people using Vegeta and the "It's over 9000" line. They are suing because they want money, plain and simple. They never would have gotten money from people on messageboards using them, but they think they can get money from Warner Bros. using it. And why would the Keyboard Cat guy wait 4 YEARS to sue?

[ejamer]

Including them as small Easter eggs in the Scribblenauts game was an homage to something the developers found cute and funny, not an attempt to profit off the work of others. After all, these are stupid internet memes that are often used freely with nary an attempt made to prevent or limit usage. I don't think the developer or publisher should be penalized for paying tribute to a meme they enjoy - although I do agree they should have sought permission before adding them.

Also, I'm simply not sold on either meme having any meaningful value. The lawsuits feel like a cheap money grab that could/should have been handled in a different manner if the creators actually cared about their works instead of a quick payday.

[pokepal148]

As for Nylon Cat...

i fixed a typo... you're welcome...
There's a cat made of nylon involved???

[TJ Spyke]

LOL, stupid typos. I was typing so fast I didn't pay attention.

[pokepal148]

also technically it would be 3 and a half years...

[lolmonade]

I find it amusing that most posters here are taking Warner Bros. side on this.  Keyboard cat and Nyan cat, as silly as they are, we're interesting and noteworthy enough to be included in the Scribblenauts game, and the content creators weren't solicited for permission, so they're suing WB because of it. 

How ridiculous is it if it were my little pony or Garfield being used without permission?  I think people are being flippant about this because they're "just Internet memes".

Here's the thing, the creater of Keyboard Cat didn't even copyright it until AFTER it had been used in the first game.

As for Nylan Cat, it didn't become popular until someone else took it and put it on YouTube with music. The original meme was not popular before then.

There is also the fact that neither one of these guys cared when thousands of people and websites used it, they only became interested when somebody with money used it. Also, you don't see Toei Animation or Funimation suing over people using Vegeta and the "It's over 9000" line. They are suing because they want money, plain and simple. They never would have gotten money from people on messageboards using them, but they think they can get money from Warner Bros. using it. And why would the Keyboard Cat guy wait 4 YEARS to sue?

I won't argue the shadiness of not copyrighting it until after the game used it, I don't know enough about that to make a counterpoint.

Message boards don't typically use nyan cat and keyboard cat for profit.  That would be protected under fair use.  The line is crossed when these characters/icons are used in a product being sold.  I'd argue Toei Animation would be within their rights to sue individuals/groups that used Vegeta/over9000 for profit too, given that it uses a recognizable character from one of their most well-known shows.

I don't disagree that they're motivated only by profit, but there is a level of negligence that happened here when the creators of Scribblenauts put those two things in the game, and no one thought to themselves "is there any legal ramification that could occur by us using these recognizable internet icons without getting permission?". 

[Ceric]

Next Valve is going to sue NASA...

[marty]

just a little information about copyright:


as soon as you create something 'original,' you own the copyright.  You can file your copyrighted creation with the government, but it's not necessary (and it doesn't grant you any extra protection).  Writers/Comic book artists/programmers used to mail themselves copies of their work so the USPS would put an legal date on an unopened letter or package containing the work because it was cheaper than filing anything with the US copyright office.  Sealing envelopes with a notary's seal on it was another common, cheap method of legally obtaining an official date on materials.  Email things to yourself provides about the same amount of protection.


5th Cell/WB wouldn't be dumb enough to claim that they invented keyboard cat, regardless of when the copyright was filed, since keyboard cat as a meme predates their publication of the property(or wether there is no copyright, which is what they would argue if they wanted to drag the suit out--they're probably not dumb enough to say that they created keyboard cat).  Keyboard/Nyan Cats may not be an 'original' enough ideas for them to warrant copyright protection, or the works might be copyrighted but scribblenaughts might be able to legally use them through "fair use" (another hugely legal grey area) , though--which a lawsuit may or may not provide a ruling on.


copyright/patent law is a fucking mess.  You're only protected for as much as you have the means to defend your claim in court, which means that it just becomes a matter of who has more money to waste on lawyers.

[TJ Spyke]

Actually marty, there are advanatges to filing a copyright with the USPTO:

1)You establish a public record of your work
2)If you intend to bring a lawsuit over your work, you need to have copyright registration if its a US based work (meaning you can't sue someone for copyright violation unless you have registered your work with the USPTO)
3)If you copyright it within 3 months of publishing your work, you can also get statutory damages and attorney's fees if you sue for copyright infringement (otherwise, all you can get are actual damages and profit loss you suffered. Since Keyboard Cat was copyright long after that, he probably would get nothing since I have not seen any indication he makes any money from the meme, so he didn't lose any money or profit from the games using it).
4)It allows you to register your work with the US Customs Office and preventing infringing works from being imported into the US

[marty]

Actually marty, there are advanatges to filing a copyright with the USPTO:

none of those  = extra protection for your copyrighted works.
none of those = necessary to hold copyright.


there are advantages to having filed copyright with the gov if someone does (what you believe to be) infringe on your copyright but it's not necessary--i.e. you don't lose your copyrights by not filing with the gov.

[MegaByte]

as soon as you create something 'original,' you own the copyright.  You can file your copyrighted creation with the government, but it's not necessary (and it doesn't grant you any extra protection).  Writers/Comic book artists/programmers used to mail themselves copies of their work so the USPS would put an legal date on an unopened letter or package containing the work because it was cheaper than filing anything with the US copyright office.  Sealing envelopes with a notary's seal on it was another common, cheap method of legally obtaining an official date on materials.  Email things to yourself provides about the same amount of protection.

While it's true that you automatically gain copyright, just mailing something to yourself (though it's touted as a popular cost-effective method) doesn't provide any legal proof of date in the US.

[marty]

as soon as you create something 'original,' you own the copyright.  You can file your copyrighted creation with the government, but it's not necessary (and it doesn't grant you any extra protection).  Writers/Comic book artists/programmers used to mail themselves copies of their work so the USPS would put an legal date on an unopened letter or package containing the work because it was cheaper than filing anything with the US copyright office.  Sealing envelopes with a notary's seal on it was another common, cheap method of legally obtaining an official date on materials.  Email things to yourself provides about the same amount of protection.

While it's true that you automatically gain copyright, just mailing something to yourself (though it's touted as a popular cost-effective method) doesn't provide any legal proof of date in the US.

Funny.  I guess I knew people mailing themselves packages containing their own works for no reason (the same comic book writers/artist also filed their copyrighted material, too).

[TJ Spyke]

none of those  = extra protection for your copyrighted works.

Well, my post showed there IS extra protection provided. Look at the last point, if you register it with the USPTO, you can block people companies from importing infringing works. That means if you have a movie but don't register it, a company could make a pirated copy and import it and you can't stop them.