Rebirth of America, this is my time

"Okay, the small talk is over, let's get straight to the topic."

After inviting Ethan and Evelyn to sit down, Barbara Babcock glanced at her watch. The time on it made her smile and said: "It's eight o'clock now. I have a class at nine o'clock." , so you have fifty minutes to understand the problem."

The clean words made Ethan nod slightly.

Glancing at Evelin, after seeing the girl signaling him to speak boldly, Ethan said seriously: "Teacher Barbara, the main reason we came here today is to consult you about the copyright issues of video games. This emerging industry enjoys Is it protected by copyright? If so, how should we use the law to protect ourselves?”

Yes, this is what Ethan is here for today.

And it seemed that his question was a bit unprofessional, or a bit idiotic, so Ethan added, "Teacher Barbara, please forgive my ignorance, because my greatest understanding of the law is that the law has Hysteresis.”

"It doesn't matter."

Lawyer Barbara snorted softly, put her elbows on the table, and gestured: "Ethan, I understand what you mean, you don't have to be so reserved. In fact, Evelin has told me about Mirova and Atari a long time ago. It’s something…”

Having said this, Lawyer Barbara thought for a moment, and then said: "It should have been two years ago? When Nolan Bushnell's plagiarism incident was just exposed? Yes, she came for consultation at that time."

"What?"

Ethan was a little surprised and turned to look at Evelin.

The girl leaning on the sofa looked normal and said, "I thought you wanted legal aid."

She spread her hands and said: "If Mi Luohua really sues you, we will have to use an even more rogue way to fight back against this kind of hooliganism, and those rubbish lawyers on the market don't have this ability."

This fact really surprised Ethan.

Did he never expect that Evelin, who had always disliked Ethan in the past three years, would have helped him shake him up a long time ago?

"Thank you." Ethan was touched.

But thank you...

He was speaking for the original Ethan Jones.

Because looking at it now, this guy who died is even more unlucky!

"Hey! Evelin! Who are you calling a rogue?"

The communication between Ethan and Evelin was heard by Barbara.

Regarding the title of gangster, she straightened up her face.

Evelin was not afraid, she stuck out her tongue, came over, took her arm, and said coquettishly: "Oh, Teacher Barbara, I'm just praising you for your awesomeness!"

"Hmph!" Barbara glared at Evelin angrily, then she couldn't hold herself any longer and burst into laughter, "Okay, okay, stop shaking, we won't waste time anymore."

Amidst the laughter, the atmosphere at the scene became very easy-going.

The kind-looking Barbara smiled and answered Ethan's question: "Ethan, your question is actually very simple. Video games are protected by law."

"However, I have to make a special statement about this matter."

"The copyright protection law currently used in our country was enacted in 1909. Since there were no electronic games at that time, when summarizing copyright, it is impossible to include electronic games in the category of copyright registration."

"Of course, people have already thought about similar issues when formulating laws, so when writing laws and regulations, there are cover-up items. For example, our 1909 Copyright Protection Law states that protected by copyright The objects covered by the law include novels, music, dramas, movies and other published or unpublished works.”

“So, the current common understanding in our industry is that video games should be classified as other works. In other words, if someone plagiarizes the content of a video game, the 1909 Copyright Protection Act will also apply. .”

‘So that’s it? ’

Lawyer Barbara said it very clearly, and Ethan heard it clearly.

But precisely because he understood it, he was even more puzzled.

Frowning, he said: "Teacher Barbara, since the content of video games is also protected by copyright protection law, how could Atari dare to plagiarize Milohua's games in the first place?"

Yes, this is the key to Ethan’s desire to find a lawyer!

Because in his memory, the copyright protection laws in the United States are very, very strict!

If not, there would be no hell joke about drawing a mouse on an isolated island and then being saved!

However, after he came to this era, the copyright lawsuit between Milohua and Atari made him less confident.

Because, in the memory of the original owner of the body, the plagiarism by Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, occurred in 1972, and Milohua learned about it as early as 1973, but last year, that is, In 1974, they formally prosecuted!

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is something wrong with this!

After all, no company can watch its competitors plagiarizing its own work and remain indifferent!

Especially when competitors are also making huge profits from plagiarized works!

Ethan's question made Lawyer Barbara raise her eyebrows. She took a sip of coffee and said with a smile: "Ethan, please don't be confused, because I was also very surprised when I heard your story. Then I I went to check the information, and then I discovered that Atari’s plagiarism of Milowa was all a problem with the American Copyright Office.”

"???"

This answer intrigued Evelin.

"Teacher Barbara, are you talking about those staff..."

"No, No, No..."

Before Evelin could finish her words, Barbara had already interrupted: "Evelin, it's not what you think."

"I just said that our current copyright protection law was enacted in 1909. At that time, there was no category of video games. However, it also stipulated a very interesting thing, that is, all works must be registered in the Copyright Office When registering copyright, you need to fill in the corresponding application form according to the type of work."

“We are now able to define video games as other types, but at that time, when Milohua applied, the people responsible for the review felt that video games might belong to music, they might also belong to images, and they might even belong to movies. They felt that these Things have to be registered separately.”

"Mi Luohua felt that their game was a whole and it was impossible to register it separately. However, someone had infringed the game under separate registration, and rights protection was very troublesome, so the registration at that time was in a deadlock."

"In the end, because the argument couldn't come to a conclusion, Milohua only registered the patent for the game console Odyssey, but did not register the copyright for the game content."

"???"

"What?"

Ethan was shocked!

This answer left him speechless!

Because it sounds like...

It’s so special and nonsensical!

And his incredible face made Barbara say with certainty: "It's outrageous, right?"

"There's no way, this is reality, because only in reality can things like this happen that don't require logic."

At the same time, she also spread her hands and said: "However, I haven't finished talking about this matter. The following content is actually more funny. Do you know that there is another key reason why Mi Luohua did not register the copyright for the game at that time? The Copyright Office has a service called expedited service.”

"You may not have heard of this thing, but I know it very well because I have used it."

“According to the Copyright Protection Act of 1909, regardless of whether the work is registered for copyright, it will be protected by law, but if you want to protect your rights, you must register it with the Copyright Office.”

“This may sound like a paradox, because I have not registered the copyright, then I cannot determine the effective time of copyright protection, and I cannot determine the effective time of copyright protection, so I cannot protect my rights.”

“But with expedited service, it becomes easier.”

“Once an unregistered work is infringed, the victim can apply for expedited service from the Copyright Office. The Copyright Office will review and issue a copyright registration certificate within a certain period of time, and there will be a note on the back of the registration certificate, When will the copyright protection of this work take effect?"

"For example, if I apply today, but my work was created ten years ago, the Copyright Office will set the time as 1965. It is precisely because of this way of compensation that when Milohua and the Copyright Office disagree In the end, even if the two parties did not reach an agreement, Milohua didn't care, and their lack of care also gave Atari a chance."

At this point, Lawyer Barbara laughed.

His crooked eyes sparkled with amusement.

"I've said it all so far. You should be able to understand what I mean, right?"

"Since Mi Luohua did not register the copyright, why didn't Nolan Bushnell dare to copy it?"

She raised her voice and said, "Because only if they succeed in copying and make a lot of money! Milohua will apply for expedited service to sue them! And at this stage, Atari has actually succeeded!"

"Mi Luohua must first prove to the Copyright Office when his game was made, and then the Copyright Office can determine the time of rights. During this embarrassing period of evidence collection, they have no way to protect their rights!"

"Also, you have to pay attention to one thing. "Pong" is not the first arcade machine launched by Nolan Bushnell! Before launching "Pong", he also made other games!"

"It just didn't work out. The original copyright holder didn't know about it at all, so he didn't care about it."

Okay!

It turns out that it was Milova who relied on the Copyright Office's ability to have a history book that allowed Atari to win everything!

Ethan was a little emotional.

Although he thought what lawyer Barbara said was a bit funny, but...

Well, this is indeed a traditional American art.

After all, in this country, weird things have happened where refugees were sent from one place to another.

When Ethan, who lives in the 21st century, has seen countless fun...

Mi Luohua's fun can't really be considered fun, at most it can be regarded as a big joke.

"Okay, Teacher Barbara, thank you very much for your answer."

Ethan held back his laughter and said seriously.

But, to be honest, he felt much more relaxed at this moment.

Because he figured out the real cause of the problem that the original owner of the body was struggling with, and at the same time, he also knew that in 1975, in this barbaric era, video games were also protected by law.

In this case...

If you register a copyright for "Snake", can you sell it?

And once he sells it, won’t he make money?

As soon as you have money...

Beach! Beauty! Beechburg!

Hey hey hey!

Thinking of this, Ethan couldn't wait to ask again:

"So, Teacher Barbara, I'm going to register the copyright now. Can I fill in the form of video games?"

"I won't be rejected by the Copyright Office like Mi Luohua, right?"

"of course not!"

Lawyer Barbara smiled and said: "Actually, after Milohua formally sued Atari last year, the Copyright Office has relaxed the registration in this area. You can completely register your content in the name of video games. copyright."

This answer satisfied Ethan very much.

However, just when he was about to say thank you and follow the procedures to register.

Lawyer Barbara said, "However, I don't recommend you register now."

"???"

This sentence made Ethan a little confused.

Evelin was also a little surprised, "Why? Teacher Barbara?"

The confusion between the two made Barbara laugh, "The reason is very simple..."

"Babys! You are very lucky. The fifty-six-year restriction will soon be overthrown by those capitalists!"

Note: ① The joke written by the Copyright Office in the article is true. The expedited service is also called special treatment. It can only be applied for when there is a risk of copyright infringement, customs matters, or the contract or release period for issuing the certificate must be accelerated. , after the application is accepted, the copyright registration certificate will generally be reviewed and issued within 5 working days. This service has really harmed many people, because many times it is impossible to confirm the specific copyright time. There are more jokes about copyright protection. If you are interested, you can learn about Richard Prince, a well-known appropriation artist in the United States. He erases the text from other people's works and then re-photographs them with a camera, which is considered original and gets a copyright. Without the approval of the Copyright Office, the Copyright Office said that his re-creation met the requirement of "some originality" in copyright registration, which is outrageous. What I think is even more outrageous is Marlboro, because at that time, Marlboro paid for its own commercial, but he took a photo of it with his camera and it became original.