[MUD-Dev] Re: Commercial Online Roleplaying Games (fwd)

[J C Lawrence <claw#kanga,nu>]

Some specifics on the old charge:

------- Forwarded Message

From: "Richard A. Bartle" <richard#mud,co.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
Subject: Re: Commercial Online Roleplaying Games
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 10:13:18 -0000

Ian Klimon, Esq. <iklimon#home,com> wrote:

> [q]The question of patents and copyrights has emerged at various times and
> levels...Apparently some are claiming ownership of the entire concept of
> multi-player gaming on-line (whether patent, or copyright, or both I know
> not).
    The Sitrick Patent (US Patent 4,572,509) does just that.

> As an attorney who specializes in internet/computer and intellectual
> property law, I can tell you that the chances of someone succeeding in
> claiming ownership of the entire concept of online multi-player gaming are
> slim to none.  :)
    Perhaps, then, you would like to offer your services to some of the
larger online games companies who are either paying Sitrick a licence
fee or spending several million dollars trying to crack it?
    Non-US MUDs needn't worry about being sued by Sitrick, as far as I know:
I put the concept of MUDs into the public domain in 1985, and someone would
have to have brought out a patent with an effective date prior to December
1978 for it to have any bite.

        Richard
------- End of Forwarded Message

-- 
J C Lawrence                                 Home: claw#kanga,nu
----------(*)                              Other: coder#kanga,nu
--=| A man is as sane as he is dangerous to his environment |=--


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