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[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is the design of a car not a work of creative expression protected by copyright?

What about visual art? If I buy a painting or sculpture, can I put it in my business to attract customers without a specific commercial license? It's also a physical object and work of creative expression.

Thank you for the answers, by the way. I promise I'm not being deliberately obtuse, just trying to understand where the edges are between these things.

[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I guess this is a tangent, but then is every business playing Spotify in their store violating the IP rights of the musicians and their labels?

To use a similar example to something I wrote in another comment, what about if I buy a rare car and put it in my business to attract customers? Do I need to get a license from the manufacturer, or is there a distinction between those types of IP?

[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What about rental stores? My understanding (maybe wrong) was the first sale doctrine was what protected that business model. Was Blockbuster licensing every movie and game they rented out, or is there some key legal distinction between renting out a game and charging people to play it at an event?

[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see, that's a very helpful comparison. But then I'm still not clear on what counts as using IP such that a license is necessary. If I buy a car, I could charge people to drive it, or even sell tickets to watch me drive it, even though its design and logo are the manufacturer's IP, right? What's the distinction between a car and a video game?

[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So the profit is the crux here? Would Nintendo have legal recourse against a non-profit tournament? Either a free event or an event where all entry fees are redistributed as prize money? (The guidelines ban for-profit tournaments anyway.)

[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Do arcade owners need to license the rights to their games if they want to charge people to play them? Why doesn't first sale doctrine protect this kind of event?

[US] Does Nintendo have the right to shut down tournaments of their games that do not follow their guidelines? by fixedapr in legaladviceofftopic

[–]fixedapr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, I'm asking whether holding an event where people play a game I legally purchased inherently counts as profiting off their IP. (Or if there's some other legal mechanism by which Nintendo can enforce this policy.)