The Wild World of TB!

So I've always wondered... how many promoters actually go out and pay for the necessary licensing fees to use other peoples intellectual property? I have to wonder, because people are sue-happy when you even attempt to use somebody's rule set. People, at the minimum, expect a phone call. I am the same way. Don't use my personal creations to make money without asking me first.

...but how does that apply to story lines and themes? Well, in some cases, it's perfectly legal. In other cases, if the IP owner found out, it could result in major legal issues. Some companies like Games Workshop even have a team to do nothing but search the Internet and legally attack sites using any of their IP. People always run around crying "OH NOES! 3 KIDS ON VID WITH GUNZ^&!@# END OF PAINTBAL(*!@#&" You're confused. Paintball can't really be killed. The industry is too big... however, individual promoters have been, can be, and will be involved in this type of lawsuit on multiple occasions. This is what can kill your local fun, and what you should be concerned about. If you don't believe me, just go peruse a history of MPAA and RIAA lawsuits. It's not pretty.

So lets scan some sites, and see what's out there...

Aliens vs Predators @ Cousins - Probably legal, it's a charity game.

Mission Impossible @ Playp8ntball.com - Likely illegal.

Clone War @ Pendleton last May - Likely illegal. Star Wars has open IP, but iirc, it does not apply to for-profit ventures. It is primarily for fan sites, fan movies, etc.

Battlefield 2010 @ Realms of Ruin - Likely illegal.

Planet of the Apes @ LVP South - Likely illegal.

LL3 Return of Blues Brothers - Probably legal, since the title seems to suggest an extension of the story, which could be considered Parody.

Avatar @ Fox PB Chicago - I'll shit myself if it's legal. It even uses movie artwork. Blatant IP theft on the website.

Spaceballz III @ Fort Knox - Probably legal, parody.

Attack of the Necromongers @ First Strike - Probably illegal, it's all Pitch Black.

Black Hawk Down @ EAS - Probably illegal.

Command & Conquer @ Fort Knox - Probably illegal.

Battle for Gotham - Uhm, pretty sure DC didn't license out Batman, Joker, or Gotham City.

We Were Soldiers @ Tactical - Probably illegal.

Holy Grail @ everywhere - It'd be worth checking into on that one, considering how many different fields and promoters have run this event. I'm willing to bet illegal.

G.I. Joe @ everywhere - Pretty confident Hasbro has already threatened some promoters for that one, and will happily sue others they find.

Risk @ Sherwood - Risk is owned by Hasbro, see above.

Hangover @ Worcester Wolfpack - Might be legal, it's for a scholarship fund.

That's just from a quick scan of 2 pages of PBNation. All of the events I saw that were actually unique... weren't very unique. Anybody out there actually run games that don't have anything to do with ww2 or some middle eastern shit hole? Probably not, because fake military adventures sell, no question about it. Look at D-Days numbers... which of course brings up another question, why is it so common for so much of the scenario industry to steal IP from other entertainment industries, when you don't have to?

Now before people start screaming fair use... don't even bother.

One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.

Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

Now here's fair use.

revision: Apologies to Paintball NY. I had mistaken their Clone Army game, which is a custom script, with the Clone Wars run at Pendleton last year.