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I want… who works at EDGE Magazine?June 11th, 2009 |
Check out this great pixel poster of gaming history!
Offworld says it went out in issue 203 to all subscribers. Alas, I won’t be getting it. Anyone from EDGE read the blog & wanna send me a poster? 
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Not to be a wet blanket – the poster is cool and all – but under what copyright authority can the magazine possibly publish this thing? How is this not lawsuit bait?
Just struggling to figure it all out …
I’m keeping my poster for putting up in a student lab, sorry!
Ryan: Why would a games company want to sue a games magazine for promoting its games via a free poster?
Daniel: Why would Disney shut down day cares for painting Mickey Mouse on their walls?
http://www.snopes.com/disney/wdco/daycare.asp
According to the vast majority of copyright holders out there, it’s not promotion – it’s infringement.
Time to make use of the company printer, I see!
I’d be happy if they just uploaded it in full quality, the mini screens on their site have higher pixel depth than the ‘high res’ image they linked. You can barely even see Mega Man!
Ryan — my guess is that they actually contracted with Gary to print/distro the poster.
How are you not an Edge subscriber? Sounds like an occupational hazard 
Andy – who’s Gary? The artist? What difference does that make?
Does no one understand what i’m saying? The artist used non-ironic depictions of, among other things, copyrighted Nintendo mascots in a poster that was then sold to magazine subscription customers. Can i put Mario in a screensaver and sell that to people on my website? i’m pretty confident i can’t …
Does no one understand what i’m saying? The artist used non-ironic depictions of, among other things, copyrighted Nintendo mascots in a poster that was then sold to magazine subscription customers. Can i put Mario in a screensaver and sell that to people on my website? i’m pretty confident i can’t …
You can if Nintendo says you can. Did you not understand what Andy was saying?
Awesome pic
I’m not a lawyer, but it looks like “fair use” to me… an artistic rendering incorporating artistic interpretations of an aggregate of historical characters? I think a lawsuit — based on copyright, which wouldn’t be quite accurate, maybe trademark — would not go very far.
if the poster is being sold….yes its a copyright and possibe trademark violation occuring.
its not fair use. its not satire, and its not commentary if the “object” the poster- is now a for sale object.
kept within the bounds of “editorial” i dont think theyred be any issues.
–says it went to all subscribers… — seems to be a seperate object and not part of the magazines editorial function… is it a “free” reward?, maybe. but yes. I see what youre saying, and yes ,if my IP was being used this way, without written permission, id look into it.
besides all i hear now is that damn comcast music -song in my head when ever i see old pixelboy type illustration now…:)
c3
One thing: collages enjoy protection even when composed of otherwise copyrighted work. (This was once a BIG issue, but it has been settled for some time.)
collage? interesting.. im gonna google this.
would this poster though be “collage”…wouldnt collage refer to the “use of actual” images, published or created by another for another purpose.
this seems to be a wholly original construct.
anyhow. i do plan now a a quick google.
are all the images uses in the the poster “nintendo”? if so it may indeed by a cross promotional licensed piece.
i can see how “collage” would factor large on this blog.:)—- googleing now.
c3
Does it help if I am acquainted with someone who used to work at Edge Online?
” The de minimis doctrine and the fair use exception also provide important defenses against claimed copyright infringement.[11] The Second Circuit in October, 2006, held that artist Jeff Koons was not liable for copyright infringement because his incorporation of a photograph into a collage painting was fair use.[12]
hmm..some time..2006? well i may be old but 2.5 years is all recent to me..
interesting because Koons LOST 20? years ago an important case of derivative works rights, and obviosly he wanted to challenge that again in years later, and chose collage as the media.
somehow i think very soon that second circuit ruling may be challenged…
to follow up a past thread. i dont think that judgement may have been very wise i plan to look beyond wikipedia for its meaning, and i wouldnt be surprised to read the judgement – wasnt all- wikipedia say it was….
just call me a realist.
Nice to see that Darwinia made it in. Lots of classic memories there too – Ghouls ‘n Ghosts for one!
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2006/11/finally_koons_w.html#comments
as i thought, the wikipedia “wisdom of the collage” is lacking in much of the reality of the actual case its reporting on..
agenda agenda agenda does not equal wisdom/..
not sure this poster would be considered collage btw— not even by koons latest 2006 judge:)
Edge is a British magazine. US laws might affect people who wish to import it to the US, but it doesn’t hurt the artist or Edge itself (or if it does, tra la la, it’s not like you can extradite them for a civil copyright claim).
That said, the UK’s copyright laws aren’t exactly anodyne. However, Edge has sufficient industry clout that I wouldn’t say it was beyond the bounds of possibility that they did, in fact, get permission from the rights holders for the homage images. A nice letter from each of Nintendo, EA, Sony and London Transport (for the buses) and that would cover most of it.
Richard
PS: Has anyone spotted any MMO references in there? I’m to lazy to look.
Wow, chilling effects in action.
A quick Google gets you to Gary Lucken’s web site where you can see, among other things, that he has been doing this professionally for some time, and that his clients include folks like Sony, the BBC and Wired. He’s done an EDGE cover on a similar theme, and another for PSW. I would be surprised in the extreme if he and his clients hadn’t considered the copyright implications.
My guess is that either they’ve got explicit permission from the copyright holders, or lawyers have looked at it and determined that it’s legal under whatever the British equivalent of fair use is.
well, from the outstart of the ip comments, it ws stated that the poster and its creation/distribution/publication most likely was done “poperly”..
but TRA LA LA LA LA?;) only trouble ahead for all of us with that attitude.
“can i haz your swimming pool?”;)
Wow, some of you guys have no idea about copyright law if you think a guy doing artwork, in his own style, that gently riffs off old games (see that Speedball stadium? That game came out in the late 80s…), presents an issue.
cube @21: How does the attitude of assuming, till indicated otherwise, that a professional illustrator does his job professionally mean “trouble ahead for all of us”? I think I missed a step.
Now that we’re done talking copyright, let’s have fun with the image. I see:
Super Mario Bros. (by the castle and by the bottom right “Race” sign.
Pacman. (obvious)
Pong. (On the building face.)
Tetris. (falling from the sky in front of the curved glass building.)
Brain Age. (Hot air ballon.)
Space Invaders. (Coin op and on the side of the bottom right high rise.)
Bubble Bobble. (*I’ve been Bubble Bobble free for 5 years now.* coin op in the middle.)
Pole Position. (Race and Finish stree banners.)
Game Boy Advance. (Not a game per se but right beneath the Brain Age ballon.)
Sony PSP. (Billboard in the water.)
Nintendo Entertainment System. (On the truck north of the castle.)
Sony Playstation (On the truck three cars behind the NES truck.)
Comodore C64 (On the truck at the top right of the image.)
Sonic the Hedgehog. (Left and down from the Pacman maze.)
1080′ (The skate park)
Ghosts and Goblins. (In the graveyard.)
There’s a pile more in that picture that I recognize but can’t name.
Commando? (By the bottom air strip)
Mega Man? (On the dock)
Rampage? (Flaming buildings)
Contra? (Maybe top left)
Vectrex? (The game syste on a truck next to the castle.)
Mech Warrior?
Half Life? (The tower in the middle I think)
Rock Band/Guitar Hero? (The stage)
Kung Fu or Street Fighter? (The coin op up top)
Smash TV? (The Massive Damage sign??)
yes, i think you did..
it wasnt the issue of the illustrators work or the poster specifically-its been only an “object” to a larger discussion here brought on by its use of trademarks, designs and its SALES status by a third party.
Its the issue that bartle here thought to say that “its only civic(civil) issues” and that “tra lala” im here. your there and so sorry if i sell your work for me to enrich myself from.
this seem to exhibit a idea of entitlement to others work that will, IMO.. “lead to trouble ahead for all of us.”
as i said. “can i haz swim in your pool or pond” — bill murry-chevy chase- caddyshack redux.:)
@Derek
Pon Pon Pata Pon (Lower right hand, black and orange spider thing)
Doom (The really big freaking Cacodemon)
Starfox (The Arwings coming in from the top left)
The NES is on a truck towards the upper left.
Pararappa the Rappa (Holding a concert in the park)
Street Fighter is actually down to bottom in the airpark set up like the airport stage.
Katamari Damacy (The Prince is next to a giant ball at the top, just off center to the right.)
Viewtiful Joe (Standing on the pier)
Kind of questionable, but seems like Master Chief is standing in the entrance to the building that can be seen below the hot air baloon.
Playstation a couple cars of traffic back from the NES
I don’t know about the mecha in the center, it reminds me more of Metal Gear than any of the Mechwarrior series. Maybe a BattleMaster, there aren’t any Mechwarrior games I know of that allow it to be used though. The Pinkish mecha jump jetting around below it doesn’t remind me of any battlemechs either, but I could see a reasonable argument for it being a Commando.
The Tower in the center does immediately bring to mind thoughts of the Combine tower in Half Life 2.
The rest of the questionables I’ve either addressed in my main list, or just honestly don’t know either. =)
I’m so glad that some troll named Ryan Henson Creighton was able to turn this discussion into puerile speculation by unqualified outsiders about something that doesn’t even warrant questioning. Border-line flame war. Buncha chobos.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program. Is that a Legend of Zelda reference in the middle of the Pac Man maze? Clever way to combine the dungeon mazes of one game into the maze of another game.
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