90 replies to this topic

[Nocturne]

In all countries where the Berne Convention standards apply, copyright is automatic, and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office. Once an idea has been reduced to tangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, a videotape, or a computer file), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce his or her exclusive rights. However, while registration isn't needed to exercise copyright, in jurisdictions where the laws provide for registration, it serves as prima facie evidence of a valid copyright and enables the copyright holder to seek statutory damages and attorney's fees. (In the USA, registering after an infringement only enables one to receive actual damages and lost profits.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

[ProGames™ Company]

Copyrights are $35 for online registration. Normal registration is $50 (source: U.S. Copyright office http://www.copyright.gov/). I don't know about ^TMs but I doubt the US government would let anyone have anything for free. I can legally steal your games as long as they are not officially copyrighted.

EDIT: Done some reading on the copyrights/Trademarks and trademarks do not need to be registered, but it is recommended as you are officially recognized by the government. Trademarks are for recognizing the source of something, so you can trademark company logos/names. Copyrights MUST be registered and are only for goods, not sources.
So TMing your games does nothing. I can steal them
TMing your logo or company name does help because then I can't steal them.

In short, you can't be cheap and skimp on copyrighting your games, or someone will steal them.

Found: "Note that copyright is automatic and happens from the simple act of creating a product. The moment you create something, it's protected by US copyright law."
This is what game companies have told me.

Also, there's poor man's copyright, where you mail it to yourself.

Link please. Won't believe it till I see it.

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17 of the United States Code (17 USC - Copyrights)21) to the authors of original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. (See also Title 37 Code of Federal Regulations (37 CFR, Chapter II)22, which implements this statute.) Copyright protection arises automatically once an original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed; e.g., written, filmed, recorded. It does not require that a copyright notice be placed on the work, that the work be published, or that the work be deposited or registered with the Copyright Office or any other body.
Source: http://www.cendi.gov...yright.html#211

http://www.copyrights-attorney.com/copy-4.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_man%27s_copyright
^(Poor Man's Copyright)

Since I created an original work, and mail them to myself in sealed envelopes, I'm protected by copyright law, as stated in many websites, govt sites, and other sites.
The moment an original work is made, it's copyrighted.

[slam drago]

Okay. Thank you nocturne and PROGames USA for clearing that up.

Edited by slam drago, 11 February 2012 - 03:55 PM.

[Nocturne]

Since I created an original work, and mail them to myself in sealed envelopes, I'm protected by copyright law, as stated in many websites, govt sites, and other sites.
The moment an original work is made, it's copyrighted.

Not quite true... Ordinary mail is NOT enough. You really should use registered delivery mail so that there is certified proof (in the form of local postal receipts and records) that you have sent it when you say you have sent it. It's also a good idea to add a cutting or a page from the local newspaper that has the date on it too as that makes it even more difficult to dispute.

[jtyler]

I suggest that you offer a paid music composer something other than the game that they created the music for. That isn't much incentive for a paid composer.

[ProGames™ Company]

I suggest that you offer a paid music composer something other than the game that they created the music for. That isn't much incentive for a paid composer.

That reminds me, the ad is no longer available, someone has taken it, and since I made the first post, we've figured out a payment method. So they don't just get the game, but $ too.

[jtyler]

Oh, ok.

[theepicgeno]

On your website.. how long are the games, and how much memory will the game take up? And, if you can tell me, how many games did you sell already?

[Terrified Virus]

@slam drago
Thanks. At least I can get rid of .weebly

I got it working, but the address at the top still says .weebly. The .tk address just takes me to the site.

Doesn't happen to me.

Also, you do need to register a trademark here:http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/index.jsp

Without that, your TM is useless.

And trademarking your games is useless, you need to copyright them and that is $50.

No, copyrights are free. You can register a trademark, but you can also keep an unregistered trademark for free. His trademark is not useless, even if he has no copyright. I
don't see why everyone is criticizing this topic so much. His website isn't that bad, and when I made a website with a .weebly subdomain, I didn't get a single comment about it.

[ProGames™ Company]

@theepicgeno
Every game ProGames™, RabidMedia™, or GeoGames™ (me and my 2 subsidiaries)
create has many levels.

PixPac™ is over 50mb.
Speedy the Mouse™ and Speedy the Mouse™: Sweetie Strikes Again are over 100mb.

We are currently contacting Steam to have our games sold digitally.
Then, you will be able to get on Steam, buy our games, and download them.

[Psalms23]

Hey man, you have a nice idea here and a good enthusiasm for business.

I abolsutely recomend getting a domain name.. they can be as cheap as $1.50 if you get a godaddy code.

Trust me, a domain.weebly.com site is not professional and anyone who is thinking of buying will be put off by this. Also, the idea of buying and then having you email them the game is not professional.

You can get ecommerce software that allows it to work so that when someone pays, they automatically get emailed a download link which expires after a certain amount of time. For this, try http://www.e-junkie.com/ << This service will be about $5 a month, but there might be free solutions around, I'm not sure.

Also, you will need hosting (Actually I think weebly might allow you to point your domain there for free- that means you pay less then $10 for a domain and it lasts for a whole year.

If you add these professional options you could start something really good here and if you advertise it right you might be alot of sales. Good luck.

[theepicgeno]

@theepicgeno
Every game ProGames™, RabidMedia™, or GeoGames™ (me and my 2 subsidiaries)
create has many levels.

PixPac™ is over 50mb.
Speedy the Mouse™ and Speedy the Mouse™: Sweetie Strikes Again are over 100mb.

We are currently contacting Steam to have our games sold digitally.
Then, you will be able to get on Steam, buy our games, and download them.

Ok, great. But how many of your games did people buy?

[ProGames™ Company]

@Psalms23
Oops, forgot to change the link on here. I got my own domain.
We're setting up at store at the moment.

@theepicgeno
I need to get the store set up first.

[Terrified Virus]

whats with all the criticism? his website isnt that bad. I have made worse and people didn't fill my topic with rudeness.

[beatson]

You should definitely reconsider using a free web builder. Not only is it unprofessional, it's very unattractive. if you're going to sell your games online and be successful, you need to show your potential customers that you're devoted to the product you're selling. A free domain name and host alongside poor design is heading in the opposite direction. As I have already posted in another topic, you should take time to learn the skills needed to build a decent looking website that functions according to your needs (in this case, an eCommerce system). Things don't happen overnight, you can't slap a (probably not trademarked) name on a free host/website builder, cover it with a free .tk domain name and then expect people to buy from it - it just doesn't work like that.

[ProGames™ Company]

You should definitely reconsider using a free web builder. Not only is it unprofessional, it's very unattractive. if you're going to sell your games online and be successful, you need to show your potential customers that you're devoted to the product you're selling. A free domain name and host alongside poor design is heading in the opposite direction. As I have already posted in another topic, you should take time to learn the skills needed to build a decent looking website that functions according to your needs (in this case, an eCommerce system). Things don't happen overnight, you can't slap a (probably not trademarked) name on a free host/website builder, cover it with a free .tk domain name and then expect people to buy from it - it just doesn't work like that.

The design of our websites are very good. We have been working on them and have changed them around a little. We are working on the gamestore.
Weebly and .tk are very good things and are used by many other companies out there.
It didn't happen overnight. We have been very busy working on our sites, the store, and a few very big games to be released MAYBE (don't know just yet) this Summer.

My company name and its games are trademarked.
The trademarks and copyrights were discussed above.
Please read before posting.

[beatson]

You should definitely reconsider using a free web builder. Not only is it unprofessional, it's very unattractive. if you're going to sell your games online and be successful, you need to show your potential customers that you're devoted to the product you're selling. A free domain name and host alongside poor design is heading in the opposite direction. As I have already posted in another topic, you should take time to learn the skills needed to build a decent looking website that functions according to your needs (in this case, an eCommerce system). Things don't happen overnight, you can't slap a (probably not trademarked) name on a free host/website builder, cover it with a free .tk domain name and then expect people to buy from it - it just doesn't work like that.

The design of our websites are very good. We have been working on them and have changed them around a little. We are working on the gamestore.
Weebly and .tk are very good things and are used by many other companies out there.
It didn't happen overnight. We have been very busy working on our sites, the store, and a few very big games to be released MAYBE (don't know just yet) this Summer.

My company name and its games are trademarked.
The trademarks and copyrights were discussed above.
Please read before posting.

You're obviously unwilling to take constructive criticism, so I guess I'll make this my last post in the topic going through a few things I disagree with.

"The design of our websites are very good" - Presuming we're looking at the same website, I'd like to know how you came about this conclusion. You have a black background, a blurry logo and zero content design (along with a bad choice of font in some places.) The games store is better, but could do with some work below the header.

"Weebly and .tk are very good things and are used by many other companies out there" - I refuse to go into why a .tk domain name is not something an established (and by the looks of it, dedicated) company use, especially since .com domains are so cheap these days, along with hosting! Which leads me onto Weebly. I can't for the life of me understand the hype behind it, or why anyone would think using it is a professional choice to make for an established company.

"My company name and its games are trademarked.
The trademarks and copyrights were discussed above.
Please read before posting." - I didn't read the above posts, but my initial impression from your website was that your company was more than likely NOT trademarked. What does this say about your website?

[ProGames™ Company]

1.Black and green are the company colors.

2.The logo was resized on the website, made bigger. It's not blurry.

3.I've seen alot of .tks and weebly users. They are very good things that alot of companies use.

Some things about your site:
-you have black backgrounds, too.
-you have no logo at all.
Just saying...


Company sites are supposed to be simple. Would you rather it have rainbows all over it and every letter be a different color? XD That would be too much.
For examples:
-gamestop - 2 main colors (red and black) and plain white background
-nintendo - 2 main colors (red and white) and plain white background
etc. etc.

You must not think they're trademarked?
I'm just pointing out that company sites are simple, with a few chosen colors to match the company.

[beatson]

1.Black and green are the company colors.

2.The logo was resized on the website, made bigger. It's not blurry.

3.I've seen alot of .tks and weebly users. They are very good things that alot of companies use.

Some things about your site:
-you have black backgrounds, too.
-you have no logo at all.
Just saying...


Company sites are supposed to be simple. Would you rather it have rainbows all over it and every letter be a different color? XD That would be too much.
For examples:
-gamestop - 2 main colors (red and black) and plain white background
-nintendo - 2 main colors (red and white) and plain white background
etc. etc.

You must not think they're trademarked?
I'm just pointing out that company sites are simple, with a few chosen colors to match the company.

You clearly don't have a clue. Put your site next to the ones you mentioned (yes, mine too) and compare. If after you've done that you still don't see any differences, then there is simply no helping you.

[ProGames™ Company]

1.Black and green are the company colors.

2.The logo was resized on the website, made bigger. It's not blurry.

3.I've seen alot of .tks and weebly users. They are very good things that alot of companies use.

Some things about your site:
-you have black backgrounds, too.
-you have no logo at all.
Just saying...


Company sites are supposed to be simple. Would you rather it have rainbows all over it and every letter be a different color? XD That would be too much.
For examples:
-gamestop - 2 main colors (red and black) and plain white background
-nintendo - 2 main colors (red and white) and plain white background
etc. etc.

You must not think they're trademarked?
I'm just pointing out that company sites are simple, with a few chosen colors to match the company.

You clearly don't have a clue. Put your site next to the ones you mentioned (yes, mine too) and compare. If after you've done that you still don't see any differences, then there is simply no helping you.

My site looks like a company site. Yeah, they have a slideshow of ads on their home page. That's the only difference.

I think my site looks good.


I see why not many companies have gmc accounts. This whole topic has been me explaining to people what trademarks and copyrights are, and what company websites are, etc.

ProGames™ is an indie game company run by 1 person, Brandon Orner.
GeoGames™ (ProGames™ subsidiary) is run by 1 person, David Wright.
We are 2 people. Just like 2dBoy. http://2dboy.com/

Edited by ProGamesUSA™, 04 April 2012 - 01:39 AM.