[aeturnum]

wow - bootlicking! What boot am I licking? Atari has the rights to the original TTD and they could be so, so much less friendly to the OpenTTD project under our current legal system. That system sucks - I hate it and think we should dismantle it and build a better social / legal system for IP management, but it's what we are dealing with right now and we have to make the best of it.

[Suppafly]

>and they could be so, so much less friendly to the OpenTTD project under our current legal system

Explain how? Beyond the idea that anyone can sue anyone else for anything and cause some minor trouble, what actual cause of action do you think Atari has against the OpenTTD project?

[aeturnum]

You insult me and then you turn around and ask me to do your research? Some nerve.

That said, I encourage you to look into the blizzard lawsuit against WoW server emulator makers[1] or the Nintendo lawsuit against Switch emulators[2]. Both cases where teams have built software equivalent to copyrighted products without the direct use of copyrighted assets, but who were nevertheless found to have violated some aspect of IP law. I am not a lawyer and I can't say what would have happened if Atari were to bring such a suit against the OpenTTD project, but I can say with certainty that whatever the outcome it would have disrupted the project and cost an enormous amount. The combination of the IP laws in the US and the realities of our court system mean that the underlying truth often matters less than the burdens of defending yourself against accusations. Atari certainly could be dragging the OpenTTD project through court right now - but they are not and that's good for the project and all of us who have uninterrupted access to OpenTTD.

If you're interested in having an actual discussion please bring some effort to this exchange. What is preventing Atari from dragging OpenTTD through the courts? What is an example of a project fending off a lawsuit from an owner of related IP? How did they do it and why would the OpenTTD project be in that position as opposed to a position such as the ones I've outlined?

[1] https://www.tweaktown.com/news/107476/blizzard-sues-turtle-w...

[2] https://www.polygon.com/24090351/nintendo-2-4-million-yuzu-s...

[Suppafly]

None of those situations are comparable and if you don't understand why, you really shouldn't be commenting on this situation at all.

[aeturnum]

I suppose we will have to agree to disagree.

Edit: I am genuinely interested in why you think I am a bootlicker but we can't dig into it if you won't actually talk about the particulars of this situation.