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Currently there is a dispute between KeSPA and Blizzard over SC/SC2 (and potentially other Blizz titles like WC, WOW, D3 etc...) broadcasting rights amongst various things.
The issue I want to talk/ask about is IP rights over games. Specifically, if players play matches in a tournament, who has the IP rights to the match video?
Lets break this down by the components.
1. Software vendor made the game. (ie Blizzard)
2. The players played the game.
3. The tourney organizer provided the commentary, the settings, the related celebrations/side shows.
4. The sponsors paid for the event.
Again. I don't want to discuss whether Blizz or KeSPA is right or wrong. I only want to discuss whether the IP right exist and who owns it.
Consider most sporting events like basketball or racing. The manufacturer of the equipment has no right to video recording despite they hold IP rights over the exterior design (look and feel) of their product and that this design is being reproduced in the broadcast.
Of course, this was often the case because the equipment manufacturer is expendable. If the manufacturer demands royalty, the organizer may simply choose another equipment provider. In addition, the amount of equipment appearing in the sport may come from many different vendors and that requiring royalty or requesting auth from each vendor would be ridiculous.
However video games are unique in that the game vendor is the only equipment provider and that significant portions of their product is being reproduced in the broadcast. Thus, by placing terms in their EULA, they could legally deny their video game to be used in broadcasts.
However, this does not mean the vendor has the rights to the match videos. It only means that broadcasting those videos would violate IP rights of the vendor (assuming the vendor clearly states against the broadcast in their EULA).
So in the end, I feel that each party (including the players) have partial IP rights of the video and that releasing the video would requires consent of all parties.
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So, I'd need to call up Capcom every time I wanted to post a video of me playing SSF4?
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Intellectual property rights are rather tricky, and with the video game property, its as if a new dimension is added to the problem.
The creator of games definitely hold some sort of right over the games they publish. However, any sort of real control they have over it I think should be in agreements before the game actually goes public. You can't simply release a game to the public market, put it into hands of individuals and then announce a new right to own everything that has occured before your intervention. IP rights do exist for games, the players have some sort of right if the events are televised and have profit provided. Sponsors only have some sort of rights over the events, not the actual game itself. Really I usually advocate smart planning by companies before getting into events. The companies should be responsible over what types of rules they have before the product is released.
EDIT: Spelling mistakes and rhythm
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T.O.P.
Hong Kong4685 Posts
On May 31 2010 14:20 L wrote:
So, I'd need to call up Capcom every time I wanted to post a video of me playing SSF4?
According to Blizzard, Yes. They own all user generated content.
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On May 31 2010 14:20 L wrote:
So, I'd need to call up Capcom every time I wanted to post a video of me playing SSF4?
Of course there's the issue of enforcement, and the fact that you're not making money off of the match vid, and you're a small entity out of many, etc.
I've seen playthroughs of single player games taken off YouTube before. Unlike for a major tournament match vid, there's no tourney organizer or sponsors, so you might argue that the game publisher has relatively more IP rights over that video.
In terms of enforcement there's also the issue of the reach of organizations past country borders and awareness across languages. In the West, you have sites like SDA, TASvideos, TwinGalaxies, and super-play that host videos of people playing certain games as fast as possible (speed run) or well (high score). But the Japanese speedrunning records site UltimaGarden does not publish videos, perhaps because there would be legal action from game companies. Sometimes shmup developers release superplay DVDs of top score runs.
However, some Japanese players host their own shmup superplays on their websites. Also, Japanese arcades regularly release match videos from tournaments.
I don't know anything about who should have the IP rights, but from what I've seen, game companies have not been at all consistent about asserting those rights.
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what i am trying to say in my post is simply this....
If the software vendor want to restrict our use of the software/product, they can. However, it was rarely done before because it would not bring monetary benefits to the vendor, but instead hurt its popularity.
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EPT
