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| Re: Eh. | |
| Posted By: Ma1agate | Date: 5/16/05 9:14 a.m. |
In Response To: Eh. (Louis Wu) I'm in violent agreement with Louis on this one, but I actually wanted to make a different point. Any company with a significant IP could behave like Games Workshop, but most usually don't. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the Warhammer and WH40k IP's. But Games Workshop is so freaking strict about controlling the use of their IP that even if you're the most rabid fan, you can't even get a tattoo of anything dealing with Warhammer. They are poised to bring IP infringement cases against just about anybody. You can't make your own Warhammer mod for any other game without excluding any other IP that might appear in the same mod, so basically you either have to do a total conversion or nothing. They don't even let you create skins to use in games. Say you want to make an Eldar or Space Marine skin for UT? Nope, that's IP infringement. Despite my disappointment at learning that GW takes this hardline stance, I staunchly support it. The point I'm trying to illustrate is that any company that allows you to use their IP in any way is doing you a favor. Regardless of how hard one believes they had to work on it, they did put in work, and are entitled to 1) Make money from it, and 2) dictate to what extent others are allowed to use it. They also can reserve the right not to release elements of their IP for public use if they so choose. So in my opinion, rather than howling and baying for the ability to use elements of a particular IP as if they are OWED, people should be grateful for that which they are allowed to use by the creators. I'm not directing this argument at anyone in the Halo community here, I'm just expressing my general opinion on what I've seen on the web at large. The idea that once something is released to the public or put out onto the web it becomes community property is basically the same argument that all music is/should be free. If you really think about it, this train of thought eats itself in time. I'm sure most of you have heard this before: Someone produces some kind of entertainment media, people exploit technology to obtain it for free, which reduces the income of the creator because nobody buys it, so the incentive to produce is lessened, and the creator could make more money at a desk job, etc. ad nauseum. You basically choke off the creativity out of greed. With use of IP's, I see a similarity. If I create something and that IP is my livelihood, and yet I can't keep people from bastardizing the ever-loving crap out of it, creating spin-offs etc. , why would I want to continue producing? Now, this use of my IP wouldn't necessarily directly affect my livelihood in terms of income as it would for say, a musician, but the idea that anything I create is wide open to any kind of use the public sees fit? I would probably stop releasing my work to the public, rather than see it raped into oblivion. I just don't think people should act entitled to whatever they want, especially if its the source of someone else's livelihood. You should respect their wishes for their IP no matter what. Let them decide what you can and can't use, and don't whine if you don't get exactly what you want. ~Ma1
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