Why Is It Illegal To...

[Civrules]

If you have mailed Firaxis something you know you automatically get back a FAQ from their web. I read it and here is the bad news. This is from their FAQ.


"Q) I have a cool game idea I want to tell you about!
A) As much as we'd like to, we can't accept unsolicited game ideas from fans. The legal implications of accepting such ideas are quite serious. This policy protects YOU and your ideas. Any unsolicited materials will be deleted or destroyed immediately. "

Dose this mean they will not apply new ideas for their games from us? I know there was a person from Firaxis here reading. Will he take those ideas and is he allowed to? Or am I wrong and you just cannot Email them ideas?

 

[bladester]

I think that is there to protect Firaxis from someone giving them an idea that may have already been taken and perhaps patented or something similar.

However, it makes you wonder why they don't just check with their legal department if an idea is "safe" or not.

 

[CivCube]

Oh well, they still check on this forum for ideas.

 

[Louis XXIV]

I wonder if that is completely in regard to a new game, or ideas to improve an existing one.

I think they accepted ideas for Civ3

 

[superslug]

Copyright and patent litigation has gotten quite complicated. I'm of the opinion that it may take a generation before it catches up with the complexities recent technology has presented. It's best for everyone if they don't get sued (possibly out of business) and just get their ideas from us covertly by reading our boards.

If Sid himself isn't reading here at least once a week, he's not a true fan of Civ3...

 

[Catt]

I think their concerns center on accepting suggestions from individuals which are made privately -- i.e., in an email or other direct submission. If we share ideas on the forum we have shared the ideas publicly and openly, without restriction, and have no (or very, very limited) claim to an ownership interest in the idea or concept - meaning that we would almost certainly be prevented from enforcing a claim that some such item was "ours" and that we could prevent others from using it. If submitted in an email, the sender would at least have a colorable claim that he/she wasn't just offering up ideas for free, but was sharing an idea with some expectation of payment / credit/ etc. By imposing a policy of "no acceptance of unsolicited ideas," Firaxis puts itself in the best position to avoid and ultimately defend against any unpleasant situations / claims / fights / lawsuits etc.

They do (or used to) read the forums regularly, and several ideas posted here publicly have subsequently been incoporated directly into the game (the "*" elite implementation being the most striking example I recall). So continue to share ideas and concepts here publicly! Just don't ecpect to get anywhere by sending ideas to them directly.

 

[farting bob]

they put graphic mods by people here into PTW, so they must accept new ideas for game improvments, but mayebnot new games.

 

[Civrules]

They probably don't accept Emails thats all because someone might screw them up.

 

[wilbill]

It really doesn't have anything to do with whether it's a new game or a change in an existing one, or whether it's e-mail or federal express.
Catt pretty well summed it up. If they accept an idea from an individual in a private (e-mail, U.S. mail, etc.) communication, that person *could* later sue them for use of his intellectual property (the idea). He could possibly win the suit. If Firaxis uses an idea or concept from a CFC discussion (a public forum), contributed to and modified by many different peope, it would be virtually impossible for one person to claim that idea as his own.
As far as the graphics mods are concerned, I'm pretty sure that since they're based on Firaxis/Atari's copyrighted product, the modifications technically still belong to them. Please correct me if I'm mistaken about this.

 

[Civrules]

No, I think you are exactly right.

 

[Chieftess]

It's probably also so that someone doesn't send in X idea, and Firaxis just so happens to be working on X idea. The person could sue Firaxis and say it was their idea.

 

[Carver]

Yeah, Chieftess. It's the same rationale record companies use in not accepting tapes or CDs from struggling artists. They don't want to produce a song a year later and wind up getting sued saying they stole the idea for that song from someone's tape submission. ...which kind of sucks.

 

[scotland_no1]

people would give them ideas if they payed for it then they wouldnt sue

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Originally posted by scotland_no1
people would give them ideas if they payed for it then they wouldnt sue

How are you going to value such 'ideas'? What if the idea providers think it's too little?

It will just add to the operating costs - of potential law-suits, of having a few more people simply to evaluate 'ideas' etc.

You see - it's all quite messy, and any step might just open another can of worms...

 

[nmcul]

Many magazines, websites, contests, etc. that take submissions from the public simply write up a legal notice informing the senders that all the ideas that they submit automatically become property of said company, therefore prohibiting later legal action. Why can't Firaxis simply do that? Has no one there ever read a magazine or drunk soda? This is not an uncommon practice.

 

[stormbind]

The copyright is held by the individual who owns the oldest physical copy.

You will note that in the terms and conditions of any forum, anything you post in it automatically becomes the property of the administrator - which is why you aren't allowed to post copyrighted material

However, when you send a suggestion to any company, they cannot actually know who has the oldest copy. You could say it is your idea and give them permission to use it, but if you lied or if another had the same idea before you then that company is at risk of being sued.

So you see, it is dangerous to accept suggestions from the public - especially those suggestions that could be considered intelectual property.

I have sent a suggestion to Firaxis and recieved no FAQ reply so was not aware of their policy. It is not a policy common to all companies: Microsoft, for example, is willing to consider and use suggestions.

 

[stormbind]

Cheap and cheerful means to protect your ideas: Print it off, stick it in an envelope and mail it to yourself. Do not open the letter as the date stamp and seal is the proof and will probably hold up in court - but not guaranteed.

Proper method of protecting your idea: Take it to a specialist lawyer who will charge $$$ to date stamp it for you.

Evil means of stealing another's copyright: See cheap and cheerful method. Now send yourself a letter leaving the flap of the envelope unsealed. Keep the envelope until a nice idea drops into your lap, print it off... stick it in your envelope and seal it. You are now right up there with Geroge Washington and other backstabbing little weasels!

Super evil means of stealing another's idea: Find a corrupt lawyer. You won't have to look very far.

 

[wilbill]

Originally posted by nmcul
Many magazines, websites, contests, etc. that take submissions from the public simply write up a legal notice informing the senders that all the ideas that they submit automatically become property of said company, therefore prohibiting later legal action. Why can't Firaxis simply do that? Has no one there ever read a magazine or drunk soda? This is not an uncommon practice.

That's pretty unlikely to stand up to a legal challenge in a lot of cases.
Ever see the sign on a coatrack in a restaurant that says "not responsible for items left unattended"? In some states, the restaurant is absolutely liable. But they keep putting the signs up because they know most people don't know the law and won't sue them over a missing raincoat. I suspect the notice you refer to falls into the same category.