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IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

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Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#51

Post by gmueckl »

Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

This is a tough one. The main culprit here is that trademwark law forces the trademark owner into an active defense posture to avoid losing the trademwark. This is very different from patents or copyright. So, in a way, IKEA was forced to write that nasty letter to the developer. Still, it's obvious fromo the published game footage that the developer was trying to walk a line between referencing IKEA and calling them out directly.

I kind of wish that lawyers could settle these things more amicably than by opening with outright threats. The game is clearly taking SCP 3008 as its inspiration and that is a a quite satirical horror story take on IKEA stores. A part of me wishes that companies would be a bit more relaxed about obviously comedic or satirical uses of their identity. What would IKEA lose by approaching the developers in a more supportive manner initially? Say, by offering some more constructive suggestions to steer them away from the particular elements they take offense at.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#52

Post by drayfield »

walrus01 wrote: post #38

One of the known bugs in skyrim that will likely never be patched is that you realistically can't fill a room with cheese wheels, cabbage, bottles of wine or any other static objects (in a cell that persists items, like in an owned house). It's already hard enough to put an object on a table or shelf and expect to not find it on the floor if you leave and come back. Add enough objects to keep track of and it'll crash…

You've reminded me of a story from the Witcher 3 devs where during an earlier build items would randomly disappear. Horses, weapons, tankards, even NPCs... you name it, on certain conditions they would vanish before the player's eyes. Turns out they weren't just disappearing, they were "teleporting" by effectively respawning at a single point in the dead centre of the map. When they investigated the location there was an innocuous looking dwelling that was packed to the rafters with all the vanished assets. Spending too long in the place would crash the game, presumably because the collection detection on that number of cheeses, sheep, and grunting Nilfgaardian soldiers was just too much.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#53

Post by srdjanr »

Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

My (very) naive take:

Was it important part of the game that the store looks just like IKEA?

If yes, that probably makes it more likely that it was a trademark infringement and that IKEA was justified. If no, it shouldn't be a big deal to change the colors, just to avoid potential confusion.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#54

Post by SXX »

post-it wrote: post #48
Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

I don't believe in intellectual property, but to the extent that we live in a world where IP exists, the original game as described is pretty clearly using IKEA's trade dress.

It's still bad when mega-corporations attack small guy. Its certainly worth to shame companies for doing this kind of stuff.

And almost as comical as Nintendo buying rights to a porn movie to prevent their distribution:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Hornio_Brothers

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#55

Post by SXX »

boredpudding wrote: post #50
Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

Yeah sorry man, that's clearly IKEA so it's obvious they had to act on it. Can't sell IKEA-branded games without their permission. Even on their Steam trailer, the first second is clearly IKEA. Just changing the name is not enough. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593010/The_Store_is_Clos... Sometimes it's not that deep. Sometimes the cute little indie dev just made a mistake. The game is also not out yet, even th…

Do you know what parody is?

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#56

Post by david-gpu »

SXX wrote: post #55
boredpudding wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah sorry man, that's clearly IKEA so it's obvious they had to act on it. Can't sell IKEA-branded games without their permission. Even on their Steam trailer, the first second is clearly IKEA. Just changing the name is not enough. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593010/The_Store_is_Clos... Sometimes it's not that deep. Sometimes the cute little indie dev just made a mistake. The game is also not out yet, even th…

Do you know what parody is?

Trademarks are lost when they are not defended. That is entirely separate from fair use in copyright law.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#57

Post by srdjanr »

gmueckl wrote: post #51
Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

This is a tough one. The main culprit here is that trademwark law forces the trademark owner into an active defense posture to avoid losing the trademwark. This is very different from patents or copyright. So, in a way, IKEA was forced to write that nasty letter to the developer. Still, it's obvious fromo the published game footage that the developer was trying to walk a line between referencing IKEA and calling them…

It sounds like they mostly did something like that:

> The lawyers then tell the developer, “You can of course easily make a video game set in a furniture store that does not look like, or suggest, an IKEA store.” The presumed game development experts go on to explain, “You can easily make changes to your game to avoid these problems, especially since you do not plan to release the game until 2024.”

(from https://kotaku.com/ikea-furniture-horror-game-store-is-close..., linked in the article)

They also listed exactly what they think infringes their trademark.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#58

Post by Y-bar »

david-gpu wrote: post #56
SXX wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know what parody is?

Trademarks are lost when they are not defended. That is entirely separate from fair use in copyright law.

This explains why Apple has sued The Onion a dozen or so times for all the parodies that infringed on trademarks belonging to the corporation.

https://theonion.com/apple-introduces-revolutionary-new-lapt...

https://theonion.com/new-ipad-offers-3-months-of-something-c...

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#60

Post by SXX »

david-gpu wrote: post #56
SXX wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know what parody is?

Trademarks are lost when they are not defended. That is entirely separate from fair use in copyright law.

Just waiting for The Coca Cola company to sue Bethesda for having Nuka Cola.
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