Could this eventually spell trouble for free shards?

[SJane3384]

http://www.brokentoys.org/2011/03/29/ea ... years-ago/

[nightshark]

Hopping a few links, this got me excited in my pants:
http://www.geekosystem.com/richard-garr ... line-game/

[SJane3384]

Dunno. Garriott seems to have become kind of a douche in the past decade...

[Matty]

EA didn't own the game UOSA is replicating... right? they owned a later version of it.

[Kasume]

he's been too busy flying in space.

[Chaos]

That was about part of the ultima series not ultima online ..

Rules about free shards has already been to court and been demeaned ok .. You just can't make money off of there works .. that is all ..

I seriously don't think EA would pay to take this BACK to court seeing they lost so bad so many years ago and it would cost a fortune.

[MatronDeWinter]

Electronic Arts acquired Origin Systems in 1992....

Without EA, there would be no UO at all.

[Rick Scarf]

EA didn't own the game UOSA is replicating... right? they owned a later version of it.

EA bought UO, they own all rights to all versions of it.
But as said above, it's not worth the cost of litigation to pursue something that isn't generating revenue.

[LightShade]

Could we take EA to court for ruining UO then?

[Atraxi]

Could we take EA to court for ruining UO then?

I would sue for pain and suffering, but I've never been subjected to Trammel (knock on wood).

[lettuce]

how did they ruin uo ?

[Mens Rea]

Post a link to the UO terms of service and the other document with terms and conditions in it - it will give clues as to who is right and who is wrong.

[Braden]

The DMCA laws didn't go into effect until 1999. UO came about in 1997 (when it was first released to the public). This gives enthusiasts a little bit more leeway than if they were to try and develop a free shard system for modern MMORPGs, which would be against the law as the DMCA does not apply to Ultima Online. There is some discrepency as to why this applies to only software works and not media such as movies or music.

Electronic Arts acquired Origin in 1992. Based on my understanding, Gariott himself retained ownership of the intellectual property but not the right to market or sell it. Meaning that Origin the company owned a stake in UO but not all of it. After UO was developed, Gariott sold his stake in it to EA with the caveat that they could not use his Lord British character.

[LightShade]

Could we take EA to court for ruining UO then?

I would sue for pain and suffering, but I've never been subjected to Trammel (knock on wood).

indeed.... When I think of hell it looks a lot like trammel.

[BlackFoot]

only reason they are enforcing copyright of U4 is cause they are going to try and resell it as an updated somwthign or other.