capcom wins dead rising copyright case

[Danny]

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6201348.html

so it took them this long to realise "theres differences" between dawn and rising?.

*opens up a fresh can of sarcastic claps*:bored:

[MikePizzoff]

Bring on Dead Rising 2!!!

Of course they'll have to do some tweaks to the game... mostly MAKING THE TEXT LARGER SO I CAN READ WTF I'M DOING!!!

[MinionZombie]

Bring on Dead Rising 2!!!

Of course they'll have to do some tweaks to the game... mostly MAKING THE TEXT LARGER SO I CAN READ WTF I'M DOING!!!
And add a range of difficulty levels for gamers who don't like to play super hardcore Capcom style, make the save system far better, make aiming weapons far better, and spread out into an entire town.

I knew they'd win, I was in favour of Capcom regardless because Dead Rising is so unlike Dawn beyond 'zombies in a mall', and you can't copyright that. Zombies cannot be copyrighted as a movie monster, nor can having a mall in your game/movie/show, so ergo the two strenuous ties to the movie are rendered null and void in terms of copyright.

Zombies that are stronger at night than during the day, and at night they have glowing red eyes, some contain a wasp-like insect that if you kill, all zeds within a certain radius die and their heads explode, the mall isn't Monroeville, it doesn't contain any of the stores, it's all as a result of terrorism against a corporation who have done some Mexican dudes wrong, you play as a photojournalist called Frank who is seeking to cover the story ... I could go on and on as to why DR is unlike DOTD.

...

--Both works are set in a bi-level shopping mall.
Oh my god, let's sue everybody who built a bi-level mall, or has ever filmed in one ever!!WEAK

--The mall has a gun shop, in which action takes place.
There's gun shops all over America, but the gun shop in Dawn was a mock-up, Monroeville doesn't actually have a gunshop, it was put there to help the film, likewise it's there to help Dead Rising, not because of Dawn of the Dead. WEAK

--The mall is located in a rural area with the National Guard patrolling its environs.
Who else would you have locking it off? Also, towards the end in the story, you've got specially trained combat soldiers with high-tec gear invading the mall. Also, many malls are in rural-ish areas due to the space requirements for the actual mall. WEAK

--Both works are set in motion by a helicopter that takes the lead characters to a mall besieged by zombies.
In Dawn, it wasn't the intention of the characters to end up at the mall, they stumbled across it by accident, in DR Frank has hired the guy to fly over to get some photos and then sets down at the best possible place for a sustained scoop - the mall - how else would you get to the location when all road-traffic is blocked? WEAK

--Many of the zombies wear plaid shirts.
Super-weak, let's sue everybody in reality both before and after Dawn existed who wear plaid and set foot in a mall! *gasps!* SUPER WEAK

--Both works feature a subtext critique of sensationalistic journalism through their use of tough, cynical journalists with short brown hair and leather jackets as a lead male character.
Since when was Dawn about 'sensationalistic journalism'? It's not, it's about consumerism and man's own inability to work together in a serious crisis beyond their full comprehension. In DR, Frank is a journalist, but it's not necessarily the main focus if you don't play the story mode ... Flyboy was a chopper pilot, not a journalist ... Frank is a journalist, and not a pilot, many people have short brown hair, and you can wear a whole variety of clothing snatched from throughout the mall. WEAK

--Both works feature the creative use of items such as propane tanks, chainsaws, and vehicles to kill zombies.
When were propane tanks used in Dawn? A couple of times in the remake, but not in the *real* Dawn, which is part of this lawsuit. Also, when were chainsaws used in the *real* Dawn, and despite being in the remake, the remake didn't involve a chainsaw-juggling clown. The vehicle is found outside and is a convertible, not a VW Scirocco. Methods of zombie killing cannot be copyrighted. WEAK

--Both works are a parody of rampant consumerism.
Dead Rising isn't at all about consumerism, it's about slaying zeds with a whole variety of 'world objects', and solving a case involving terrorism. WEAK

--Both works use music in the mall for comedic effect.
Quick, let's sue all malls that use muzak as background ambience, oh wait, most of them do, and they were doing it before Dawn came along. And didn't GAR only include it after he'd heard it, i.e. it wasn't an original intention to use that aspect? Also, it's simply ambience in Dead Rising. WEAK

--Dead Rising's use of the word "hell" references the tagline for Dawn of the Dead's release ("When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.").
Don't recall this off the top of my head, but since when were nods & winks a crime? If they are, Shaun of the Dead would be absolutely lawyer-raped by now. Quick, copyright every single word in Dawn of the Dead! WEAK

*gasps*

Rant over.

[SymphonicX]

I still believe that if you're not wanting to assosciate yourself with something, the last thing you should do is say that on the front cover of your product...it creates the assosciation by default. DR and Dawn ARE BLATANTLY SIMILAR...they're just not cause for copyright fraud...to think so is stupid, it violates creative license...and there's obv a money grabbing element to whoever's making these lawsuits...and those reasons for sueing? RAZOR THIN AT BEST...half of those things aren't true - but Flyboy WAS a journalist...a traffic journalist ("hey you're Steve Andrews" - denotes he was more than just a pilot)

Anyway....frivilous at best, but anyone who says DR and Dawn are totally and completely different, unrelated and purely coincidental needs their heads checked, it's a nod to Dawn, and a crap nod at that. The game ****ing blows. Discussion over, I bought the xbox for that game and thanked my lucky stars when COD2 came out, because it pisses all over that travesty of absolute ****e that was Dead Rising. Crap, crap and more crap. can't believe I own two copies!

[blind2d]

for real, the makers of dead rising were lazy sobs at best. played it, hated it. why make the dude so gorilla-shaped? bcause it's easy to animate! why set it in a mall? bcause it's convenient to have lots of different weapons and space to use them! etc.

[Cody]

Apparently I've been living under a rock and didn't even know this law suit was going on :laugh: oh well.

[bassman]

Never really expected them to win, anyway. Maybe now they'll try to go after Zack and Miri Make A Porno for the hockey team reference and a few quick shots of the mall.:rolleyes:

[LoSTBoY]

Bring on Dead Rising 2!!!

Of course they'll have to do some tweaks to the game... mostly MAKING THE TEXT LARGER SO I CAN READ WTF I'M DOING!!!

Nutz to that, bring on Dead Rising PC version. :p

I've still not had a good shot of the game. :(

[Eyebiter]

Case: Capcom v. MKR (ND Cal. 2008) Capcom Co., Ltd. et. al. v. The MKR Group
http://www.patentarcade.com/2008/11/case-capcom-v-mkr-nd-cal-2008.html

Legal analysis of why the judge ruled in favor of Capcom

[Dtothe3]

A few things i want to get off my chest;

1. Do you expect a journalist to be able to shoot for shit? An ordinary man will not hit with a pisol at 20 feet. I can't help but think the aiming is deliberately crap.

2. The save system... OK, I'm not going to put up a defence here.

3.....

I thought it was good at the time :(

[Butturff]

The game is good for fucking around with but it definitly is a difficult play.

[bassman]

1. Do you expect a journalist to be able to shoot for shit? An ordinary man will not hit with a pisol at 20 feet. I can't help but think the aiming is deliberately crap.



So because he's a journalist, that means he can't own and fire his own pistols in his off time? I know a guy that works at a climbing rope manufacturing plant and he's one of the best shots ive ever seen....

[krakenslayer]

Atmospherically, visually and stylistically, Dead Rising is VERY similar to Dawn of the Dead. But not to the point of plagiarism.