If you are trying to obtain the files or artwork to make a VMK remake, then that's illegal:
Images created by Disney for VMK are copyrighted. They are automatically protected by copyright law when they are published in a fixed medium, and an online game counts as a fixed medium. So for the cloners to take images from VMK, edit them and republish them for their own gain, financial or not, is a violation of the law. The images from VMK meet the requirements for copyright protection as explained on this page, as they are original creations made by Disney, they have been published in a fixed form (meaning a highly visible and publicly available website), and they are definded as a "literary work" in that they are part of a software program. The vmk cloners don't understand this, or do understand, and don't care. They are just setting themselves up for quite a rude awakening, especially when the 800 pound gorillas from the Legal Department at Disney smash down their front doors. The cloners will just say "I'm a kid, and Disney won't sue a kid." You might tell them, 'Well, you have parents dont you? Disney might not sue you, but they will sue your parents, as they are your legal guardians and legally responsible for your actions, and the damages in a copyright case can go into the tens of thousands of dollars, if not more." So is it worth losing your home and everything you own, just for a computer game? I hardly think so.
Taking any or all of the copyrighted images from VMK, and making them into something else, is called a DERIVATIVE WORK (look it up on the .gov page). You have to have permission from the original copyright holder, to make something like that. In this case, it's Disney. And we all know you don't have any sort of permission. So it's still ILLEGAL.
The VMK Artwork is
COPYRIGHTED, and the idea for VMK and trademarks are
PATENTED.
Even though VMK is closed, it's artwork is still under copyright. A copyright lasts for the lifetime of the creator, plus 70 years after that.
Proof/Evidence:
(taken from the gov. site)
a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:
(1)
literary works;
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) sound recordings; and
(8) architectural works.
And to clarify:
Images created by Disney for VMK are copyrighted. They are automatically protected by copyright law when they are published in a fixed medium, and an online game counts as a fixed medium. The images from VMK meet the requirements for copyright protection as explained on this page, as they are original creations made by Disney, they have been published in a fixed form (meaning a highly visible and publicly available website), and they are definded as a "literary work" in that they are part of a software program.
Sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_work
http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/obtaining.html
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#102
And don't forget that the names of the lands in VMK are registered trademarks. You can find this information on the patent page of VMK:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parse...=7,396,281
"Disney, Main Street USA,
Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Virtual Magic Kingdom, Tomorrow land, Fantasyland are Trademarks of Disney Inc."
This means that nobody else can use these specific terms without permission from Disney. Notice that the cloners have been using the VMK name and logo in their "games". This is also a violation of the law.
Read this page, it explains trademark law:
http://www.trademark.iastate.edu/basics/
The cloners have said, "VMK doesn't mean anything, and we can do whatever we want with it". WRONG. The law says that things can have the same name, and still be trademarked, but they have to be very different kinds of things, so that nobody gets them confused. So Disney can have the VMK name on their online game, and someone else can have a brand of shoes called VMK, or someone could have a brand of underwear called VMK. Each of these is a very different thing, and nobody would confuse underwear with a computer game (though i suppose one might be able to play VMK while wearing your VMK brand underwear). So when the cloners come along and use the same name of VMK to describe their "game", and use the same logo Disney used, it causes confusion. This is known as TRADEMARK DILUTION:
http://www.bitlaw.com/trademark/dilution.html
"Under the Dilution Act, famous marks are protected against the dilution of the distinctive nature of the mark. There is no need to prove a likelihood of confusion, nor is there any need to show competition between the goods of the plaintiff and the defendant. Therefore, it is possible to use a dilution cause of action against users of the same mark even when the defendant's goods and services bears no relation to the goods or services of the famous mark.
Dilution causes of action are normally brought when the defendant's use of the mark causes either
"Blurring", by which the connection in consumers' minds between the plaintiff's mark and the plaintiff's goods or services is weakened; or
"Tarnishment", which means that the defendant's use is unsavory or unwholesome, or the mark is used in connection with inferior products. "
The cloners are taking the original work that Disney made in VMK (and also taking the incredible reputation that the original VMK had) and are using it for their own personal gain. This is a violation of the law as well, and Disney can sue the cloners for even more. The law says: "if the plaintiff can show that the defendant willfully sought to "trade on the owner's reputation or to cause dilution of the mark," attorneys fees, monetary damages, and even treble damages would be available."
Want to know what treble damages are?
"Treble damages, in law, is a term that indicates that a statute permits a court to triple the amount of the actual/compensatory damages to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff, generally in order to punish the losing party for willful conduct. Treble damages are a multiple of, and not an addition to, actual damages. Thus, where a person received an award of $100 for an injury, a court applying treble damages would raise the award to $300.[1] The ability to award treble damages is a typical feature in legislation that recognizes the potentially willful nature of the prohibited acts. For example, such damages may be awarded by a court in the United States for willful violation of the antitrust laws, for willful patent infringement, for trademark counterfeiting, and under the RICO statute"
This means, that because the cloners have intentionally made a counterfeit game, the court can award Disney TRIPLE the amount in damages. So if and when Disney sues the cloners, and the court awards Disney one million dollars in damages, because the cloners did everything on purpose, the judge can award Disney THREE million dollars!
So as simple as possible, the cloners have stolen Disney's work and reputation, and have republished it for their own gain. Whether or not the cloners make money doesn't matter. Disney takes NO PRISONERS when it comes to protecting its copyrights.
And one other thing, the cloners might throw the "fair use" argument at you. The law says you can use someone's trademark when you refer to it in the news, or on a parody (like when Weird Al makes a funny version of a song), or when you are criticizing it. Some other sites have the name VMK in their URL, but since they are referring to the Disney original, it's fair use to use the VMK name. The difference is, the cloners are using the VMK name and images for their own personal gain, and not telling anyone that they are different from the Disney original. So let's run the grand tally of all the things the cloners are guilty of:
Copyright infringement
Patent infringement
Trademark infringement
Trademark Dilution
Unfair competition
Software piracy
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And if you're not making a VMK remake, then I'm sorry for making you read all this. Out of curiosity, why do you want the VMK files?
