Free tip for copyright holders
If someone makes a digital version of your popular board game, don't sue them. If someone ports your software to a new platform, or creates a wildly popular knockoff, don't sue them. Don't instinctively reach for a DMCA notice or a lawsuit. These developers aren't your competition, they're your fans.
Once you shut them down, you'll prob'ly write your own version for that platform. After all, you now see that there's a market. But if their knockoff already has an enormous fanbase, you won't win them over by shutting down the software.
Scrabulous, a Scrabble knockoff by two Indian students, became the most popular game on Facebook. 500,000 people played it per day, until it was removed from the platform. It was replaced by an inferior, and far less popular, licensed version by Hasbro and EA. Hasbro lost, even though they won.
Copyright holders: If the software works, buy it. Not only do you save the development time for the officially licensed version, but you inherit the fanbase.
Tris was one of the original jailbreak apps for the iPhone. It was a free Tetris clone, written by student Noah Witherspoon before legitimate third-party applications were possible. Once Apple opened the App Store, Tris joined Tap Tap Revolution in going legit. It was a popular app, but not long-lived. Unfortunately, EA had a much more awkward version of Tetris slated for the iPhone. So Tris was shut down.
Copyright holders: If the developer shows promise, hire them. Who better to have working for you than your biggest fans?
Comments
I love it when companies support the people who live them by buying their products. Take for example coverflow on the Mac - developed by some guy and purchased by Apple.
You're right - this is the right way to do things.
I totally agree with you here. I used to play games on this flash-game site that had great versions of so many classic games (tetris, monopoly, etc..). One day, I went to play, and the site said that they were down indefinitely due to some pending lawsuit or something. This was at least 3 years ago, so the details are foggy, but it totally sucked.
This is why open source is so great. Sure there are rules in place, but it's all about development, networking, and building.
This always cracks me up: http://www.nissan.com/ it's not really nissan, but nissan has sued them a few times over the URL for cybersquatting. They have lost several times. If I were this company, I would join Nissan's affiliate program (if they have one) and make some serious cash.
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