Hello,

Yesterday (01.29.09), the iSktech server seemed to be down for a while.

Among the commentaries that i read at the bottom of the home page, some said that it was down because of a copyright complaint by Pictionary...

Is there anything true in this ?

Should we fear this ?

Berne (from France)

Please use easy English for your answer :smile:

Sometimes we get a "Server Full" message when there are many players on. Or it could have been a Server Reset ( You'll get a message during the game... "Sorry for the interruption.... etc etc )

Copyright issues? If you mean the messages from the Google Friend Connect window down there.. you can safely ignore them.

Does iSketch have copyright problems?

No. It has been around for 10 years.

Don't believe anything you read on the Internet, unless someone can supply you links to reliable source(s) about it. (That does not include Wikipedia :twisted: - unless you review the history of a page to confirm the current page hasn't been vandalized for comedic value.)


PS Server was down, due to the elastic band snapping and not being replaceable, for a short time. ;-)

Thanks Guys !

Yes I read this on the Google Friend Connect window.
As I didn't find the information elsewhere I thought of a kind of "legend"
but I prefered to get reliable information here !

Sorry for the inconvenience

Berne

"There is Nothing New Under the Sun"

The International Copyright Act is at best confusing even appearing in parts ambigious to the every day 'lay' person. I think even Copyright Lawyers have trouble applying the act in some circumstances.

As a Portrait Artist I have had continual reason to study the Act as I am often accused of breaching copyright when i draw people from Photos.

There is an allowance in the copyright act for the morphing of a subject/service/ or product. By this I mean - it allows for a percentage of deviation from the original concept - to the point where the 'new' concept becomes a new entity and thus the creator of this becomes the copyright holder of that entity.

Let me illustrate if I may - If an artist takes a Walt Disney character - let's say for arguments sake - Pocahontas - and did a 'Micheal Jackson' makeover on her ... she is no longer the Pocahontas the world recognises but a new and 'improved (?)' version. Of course I am not here suggesting that iSketch melts under exposed light.

If one ever had the chance to talk to Mr. Pictionary - (or Ms as the case may be) - you will possibly find that the board game concept was inspired by someone else's basic idea - hence my opening statement - there is nothing new under the sun. In fact, who knows? He may have interpreted the beautifully carved heirglyphs in the tombs of ancient Egyptian Pharoahs to be a primitive form of his board game!

Lets just take a nameless site - that takes inspiration from a board game ... (IF indeed it has as many board games as mentioned in my previous paragraph are inspired from other games - that may have even had it's origins in Aboriginal tribes) ... what the board game is - is a tangible product designed by make money from the sales of the said product. When the concept is taken from a board game status into a virtual site - and if a player has to pay for that game - they are not paying for a product but rather the right to play the game at chosen times. This gives the game a perfect foundation to 'morph' into a completely new entity that provides different facets of the previously known game - which of course means different rules - different themes and the potential of vastly increased variants.

Once a concept takes on a new life or entity then copyright is applied to the variant not the original. Any challenge to from the original concept would not hold up according to the variant allowance in the Copyright Act - although ultimately only a Court of Law could determine if the variant has 'morphed' enough to be separate from the original.

So has Pictionary morphed enough from other previously known drawing games to claim copyright on their board game - of course it has! Has iSketch morphed enough from conventional boardgames to form an entity powerful enough to have its own copyright. I say emphatically of course it has.

If you answer a no to this - then consider this:

Anyone who has an inheritance to Thomas Edison's legacy - could then claim copyright ownership of any variant of lampshade or lightbulbs that are on the market today.

Anyone who could prove they have the 'caveman' gene could claim copyright rights to every firestone tyre (Tire for you US guys n gals).

Remember too as my last point - copyright is not indefinite - it only lasts a certain period of time according to the type of copyright it is. The Mona Lisa, although now privately owned - is considered public property as far as copying goes because the copyright on her lasted only for fifty years after the death of the artist.

It is indeed an interesting topic that intrigues me ... at the end of the day ... iSketch is unique in format, in variations and provides a platform for a lot of fun, friends and the chance to improve art skills. For this alone - I thank Rob.

PS Server was down, due to the elastic band snapping and not being replaceable, for a short time. ;-)

Don't forget the hamster that spun the fans also had a stroke.


i hate when i miss these...

The hamster!? xD lmao!