Magic Workstation

Sdeph5200 · User Joined: 15 Mar 2003 Posts: 6 Location: Kennesaw,GA

I know this is on everyones mind, so I MUST ask, What is the legal situation between you and WoTC right now? I mean they shot down Apprentice fast as hell, and you guys have a product that is A) WAY better than Apprentice, and B) You're selling it for CASH ...I can't be made to believe that they aren't threatened by this .....I really love your program guys, but I'm not going to pay for it if its never going to go 1.0 b/c of WoTC.

Kendrix · Registered User Joined: 28 Mar 2003 Posts: 30

REALLY good question (and I have already paid for this software so I like it to continue to be under developpment !)

Detonator · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 2:41 pm Post subject:

I not know real reason discord between WotC and Apprentice Team.
But in our event I may say one - we sell the our intellectual property (the program and the cards base). As from versions 0.9, program does not use WotC copyrights or trademarks materials, (except cards texts without Flavor texts - this is public permitted by WotC - see WotC Legal Corner)
If we shall remove card texts from base, what relation MWS will have to WotC?
If them have claims to us , we ready their discuss and solve. But cease program developments we not shall.

all_hallow_eve · User Joined: 09 Apr 2003 Posts: 11 Location: CA

I say you guys are going down the right track, and just cross all your t's and dot the i's... I just purchased my license, and ready to test for regionals, this program is such a good product, and as long as you are not stepping on WOTC's License Agreement/Trade Mark... I say keep up the damn good work, because I can't wait to see 1.0

Detonator · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2003 5:25 am Post subject:

kunide · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 6:04 pm Post subject:

If I understand, you are safe because MWS does not include the copyrighted stuff like arts, flavor texts and card frames.

However, the program is built in a way that it's easy to import these copyrighted stuff.

To me, that look like Napster. Napster didn't distribute music. However, it facilitated the illegal distribution of music. Napster get sued. Are you safe only because you not have a central server (kinda like Kazaa)?

Also, can't you be sued because in this official board you authorise people to post links where we can download the copyrighted arts and flavor texts?

Detonator · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 7:27 pm Post subject:

1) kitchen-knife have buil-in feature to kill. Why them sell in shops?
2) link is not infringement, otherwise Google.com is Lord of Infringement.
3) in different countries - different laws. Don't exsist any global international laws. In russian patent law "Game rules is unpatentable", but in USA WotC have patent on rules of MTG.

If you download MWS, you don't have copyrighted materials. If you change MWS resources or files, or download additional files from third servers, we can't bear responsibility to your actions.

brainwad · Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2003 4:18 pm Post subject:

actually, over here, knives are banned to under-16s for that exact reason... that knives are deadly... you need a disclaimer saying that this product is purelly educational, you cant be held responsible for what users do with it, and that under-18s cannot use it just in case they can do something illegal...
_________________
Have you ever noticed how some flavor text has no relevance whatsoever to the card it's on?

POTF · Registered User Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 25

LOL... ok...

"To me, that look like Napster. Napster didn't distribute music. However, it facilitated the illegal distribution of music."

The program doesn't facilitate getting card pictures. It is a database program that uses information freely available. Napster was a program that helped you get music, not a database of music titles and such. Different concept. Nice try.

The program reconigzes pictures you have, which you could have scanned in yourself. So maybe the people offering pictures could be questioned, but shoot I own a lot of these cards anyways.

"Also, can't you be sued because in this official board you authorise people to post links where we can download the copyrighted arts and flavor texts?"

Yeah ok, Google does the same thing. They aren't shut down. So no reason to shut down the boards. Both offer links. When I see Google go down then I will be concerned.

Double-Agent · User Joined: 31 Dec 2003 Posts: 2 Location: Portugal

First time visiting the forum and stumbled upon this always controversial subject. I've downloaded MWS and I honestly can see no way of WoTC taking legal actions against the MWS dev team.

1 - They are not distributing copyrighted material - at least not from WoTC - in the official package you can download from their website. If the users add this material later - images and such - it is not the MWS team's responsibility, it's the user's and those who distribute such material.
2 - MWS is a simple database program. It is a database of cards but it could be a database of your weekly shopping needs as well. No copyright infringement at all.
3 - The game rules themselves are made publicly available by WoTC, and so are card texts and flavour texts. The game itself cannot be subject to copyright in most countries in the World (does anyone have the copyright of Chess? What about Tic-Tac-Toe? Who holds that copyright?), and although it can in the United States (the land of the free, they say...) MWS simple lets you put objects in a table, tap these objects and alter a few variables. It can be Magic, it can be any other CCG, it can be absolutely nothing.
4 - Providing URL links to illegal material is not, at this point, a crime. Hosting that material and making it available is. It's not a crime to tell your friends where to buy drugs, it is a crime to sell them.

The point is, IF MWS ever has automated rule checking like you have in Magic Online then the engine that allows it to happen cannot be distributed with the application, under penalty of violating the US copyright law, although in 90% of the countries it wouldn't be violating any laws (you can freely program and distribute a game of chess if you wish to). Scripts and files that would allow for that automated rules checking would have to be provided by a third party, who would be violating copyright. But if we can download the images, I'm sure we would find a way of downloading this to.

That's my take on the subject.