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AustinLeachFirstPaper 9 - 06 Jan 2012 - Main.AustinLeach
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="FirstPaper" |
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| | | Innovation, Public Good, and Resolution for the Consumer | |
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< | As it can be difficult to separate the copyrighted elements from trademarked elements in media such as videogames, a combined copyright/trademark regime that lasts only 10 years with renewals upon use of the protected content will better promote the arts and increase the public good. Current videogame development cycles—the start of development until release date—are about two years. A copyright/trademark regime that gives parent developers and companies 10 years from the release date of a game to make a new franchise-related game is plenty of time for developers to continue to cash in on a franchise. Such a regime is better for innovation and the public good because new developers could create new content with expired franchises. This regime also accurately reflects the decreased economic value of a franchise years after its creation. Developers of popular franchises recognize the decreased value of a franchise, and so they continually capitalize on them by releasing sequels as soon as possible—normally within two or three years—after a game’s initial launch. The cycle would reset each time the parent developer released a new game, and this would exclude ports of old games or downloadable content to existing games. If the parent decides to let the franchise die in those 10 years, a new developer/company could develop their own game in the franchise. This would essentially be a free license. Should the parent want the franchise back, they need only release a new game, and the 10-year clock is reset. | >
> | As it can be difficult to separate the copyrighted elements from trademarked elements in media such as videogames, a combined copyright/trademark regime that lasts only 10 years with renewals upon use of the protected content will better promote the arts and increase the public good. Current videogame development cycles—the start of development until release date—are about two years. A copyright/trademark regime that protects parent developers and companies for 10 years from the release date of a game to make a new franchise-related game is plenty of time to continue to cash in on a franchise. Such a regime is better for innovation and the public good because new developers could create new content with expired franchises. This regime also accurately reflects the decreased economic value of a franchise years after its initial creation. Developers of popular franchises recognize the decreased value of their franchise, and so they continually capitalize on them by releasing sequels as soon as possible—normally within two or three years—after a game’s initial launch. The cycle would reset each time the parent developer released a new game, and this would exclude ports of old games or downloadable content to existing games. If the parent decides to let the franchise die by not producing new content in those 10 years, a new developer/company could develop their own game in the franchise. This would essentially be a free license. Should the parent want the franchise back, they need only release a new game, and the 10-year clock is reset. | | |
A 10 year copyright/trademark regime would allow companies to keep their franchises as long as they developed for them, and it would only really affect forgotten franchises. Such a regime gives new developers a chance to breathe life into old games and continue bringing new content to the market. In this way, the nerd rage over pulling Streets of Rage Remake could be alleviated. |
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