I thought I'd weigh in on some of the legalities of a re-creation of SWR. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or in law school (yet). Please view my comments as suggestions, not statements of fact. I claim no responsibility for actions based on my input should it be faulty information. I provide links to websites for everything that I say below. My input is the subjective interpretation of the information contained on the links included. Having had no professional legal training, my input is valued no higher than anyone else's on this board or anywhere else. The only assured value of this post is the inherent value in the links provided. Having said that, I can weigh in on some of the copyright aspects of your project. The first question here is whether or not your project is a "derivative work" (as defined on http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.html#derivative of the original Star Wars: Rebellion. If it can be found that it is a "derivative work", then the rights to produce it are held by Cool Hand, Interactive (see a few paragraphs down). From the U.S. Copyright Office: Does your project "represent, as a whole, [star Wars: Rebellion]", i.e., does your project create a program that is identical to Star Wars: Rebellion?My answer: this project is not a derivative work. This project does not use any of the source code from Star Wars: Rebellion, but rather uses code developed independently of the original in an attempt to recreate the concept of the game. Copyrights do not apply to the idea of the game, but to the game itself (source code). Having found no registered patent for Star Wars: Rebellion, it can be safely assured that there is no dispute on the project as a whole. A reference page for the copyright issue can be found, too. I can't provide a link to the entry due to the nature of the site (URLs for entries are session-based) but search for Registration Number PA0000930410 on http://cocatalog.loc.gov and you will find the copyright record for the original game. This page says a lot about this topic, but pay attention to the lines that say "Authorship on Application", "Previous Registration", and "Basis of Claim". These lines say, respectively, "Who is allowed to make a 'derivative work, including computer programs & audio-visual materials'", "What pre-existing material is used in the making of this work", and "What this new copyright covers". Next: trademarks. Characters such as "Luke Skywalker" and "Darth Vader" are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm, and use of them can be infringement. However, in my honest opinion, two elements of the trademark test (Marketing channels used, Defendant's intent on selecting the mark) that I believe is used (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tmcases/amf.htm for precedent) jump at me as saying that you are allowed to use the marks for your project. Specifically: You are not marketing your good along the same or parallel channels as Lucasfilm marketed any of its products that bear similar marks, and your intent in using the marks is to provide a free game, not to exploit the marks for profitability of a commercial product (I assume ). There are other elements of the test that say that lead me to believe that your work does not infringe. Therefore, using the characters, ships, planets, etc. is acceptable without having us send "Emperor Plarpadine" to go on a recruitment mission on "Chorus Haunt" and come back with "Pthrawwn" In conclusion Your project does not violate copyright, trademark, or patent laws. Respectively, the source code is original, it does not seek commercial value, and as there is no patent registered to this software. Again, I am not a lawyer or law student. Interpret the information from the links that I provide as you will. My entire post should not be seen as legal advice, but rather as informative about the issues raised with a project such at this. I just wanted to add what I can to this project.
