under copyright information I found something like this: c copyright limited 2004-2008. or copyright limited 2006. or something like that. I am asking you this since you have been in a game industry so you should be familliar with this "limited copyright" can you help me understend this better because as far as I understand it the copyright has expired in 2006 or so. therefore I can maybe use something without perrmission (or not). however I just asking A short explanation what is this mean when its say LIMITED COPYRIGHT.

Can you provide a link to something that says this "limited copyright"?

I'm not sure you read what you think you read.

The typical form is: Copyright {years of authorship} {creator} The years indicate the years of authorship, not the expiration of copyright. The creator is the name of the person or company who created it.

So you might have seen something like: Copyright 2004-2008 Foobar Limited

Alternatively, you might have seen a limited copyright license. That is, it is a limited license granted to someone to use copyrighted material. A limited copyright license might be an agreement between a photographer and a magazine, limited to up to 500,000 prints of the photograph at 1/4 page size in a specific magazine in a specific time window.

Can you provide a link to something that says this "limited copyright"? I'm not sure you read what you think you read.

there is some examples:

Rome total war EULA:

Total War Software © 2002 - 2004 The Creative Assembly Limited. Total War, Rome:Total War and the Total War logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Creative Assembly Limited in the United Kingdom and/or other countries. Published by Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions utilize Microsoft Windows Media Technologies. Copyright (c) 1999-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved This product contains software technology licensed from GameSpy Industries, Inc. (c) 1999-2003 GameSpy Industries, Inc. GameSpy and the "Powered by GameSpy" design are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, Inc. All rights reserved

SWAT 4 EULA:

Copyright (c)2004 Sierra Entertainment, Inc.

but why it says "limited" than?

I am not sure what this years mean I thought that it means expiration of copyright but when I read on wikipedia I saw that the copyright protects the product as long as author lives and about 70 years after.

It depends on the country's laws and who created it. For businesses it is generally based on the year the content was created or published. For people depending on country it can be by date or by years past the author's death.

but why it says "limited" than?

Limited is part of the legal name of the company.

Total War Software © 2002 - 2004 The Creative Assembly Limited.

This means the company "The Creative Assembly Limited" claims to have worked on those parts from 2002 to 2004 as far as copyright law is concerned. For laws are based on the starting date then 2002 should apply, for laws based on latest publication then 2004 should apply.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm -- Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2008.

Similarly, a statement that a company "Games Workshop Limited" is claiming the year of 2008 for copyright purposes.

Copyright ©2004 Sierra Entertainment, Inc.

As above, a company "Sierra Entertainment, Inc." is claiming the year 2004 for copyright purposes.

I don't know if this applyes to games or not but basicly this applyes to books and movies.

As for not knowing what it means, copyright protects rights for anything in a fixed medium like artwork, books, videos, audio recordings, computer software, and so on. That includes video game software.

Copyright protect's the property owner's rights to:

* make copies of the work

* distribute copies of the work

* create derivative works, such as sequels set in the same thematic world

* perform the work publicly

They also protect the authors rights to:

* Claim ownership of the work (getting credit)

* Prevent attribution to works not created (someone stating you made something that you didn't)

* Preserve the integrity of their name and the work

* etc.

The first set of rights are protected for a limited number of years. That's why the year in the copyright statement is important. The second set of rights can be protected indefinitely, usually the life of the author or their estate.

So the line: Copyright ©2004 Sierra Entertainment, Inc. means that the company "Sierra Entertainment, Inc." is claiming ownership rights as of 2004. In nations where the copyright term is 70 years, they claim those rights until 2074. If the company is sold or broken up those rights can be transferred or sold, but they are still claimed.

It is a warning. Do not make unauthorized copies, do not distribute unauthorized copies, do not create unauthorized derivative works, and do not publicly perform the work without authorization. That warning is in effect for the duration, in countries with a 70 year limit don't do it until 2074 except under risk of lawsuit.

Derivative works are something that comes up quite often. Some elements are not covered, such as standard locations or standard scenes, or game mechanics in general. Other elements are covered, such as distinctive places or distinctive unique thematic elements. Creating a work with wizards and witches flying on broomsticks is not an issue. Creating a work that includes a game based on the Harry Potter's Quidditch game and rules is probably a derivative work. I write "probably" because ultimately it is up to the courts to determine if a work is derivative or not.

Fan fiction and fan games are typically considered a derivative work when the issue is challenged. Even if you don't use content that is covered under trademark, it can still be a derivative work if you use enough material that someone thinks they're in the same fiction world.

That gets back too the root replies: Make up your own stuff, use your own worlds, build your own ideas. If you want to use someone else's stuff you need to get their permission.

so limited is a part of the company name and it doesn't mean anything about copyright.

thanks

That gets back too the root replies: Make up your own stuff, use your own worlds, build your own ideas. If you want to use someone else's stuff you need to get their permission.

I know that, I will make my own movie when I get all those permissions from other companies.

however I just asking A short explanation what is this mean when its say LIMITED COPYRIGHT.

To answer you question the copyright did not expire in 2006. The copyright started in 2006. Copyright last for about 70 years. When there is a copyright notice that is a range e.g. 2004-2008. It means there are multiple publications contained on that site, with the oldest being published in 2004 and the newest being in 2008.

I want to ask you one more question related to trademark.ž

I know that I need permission for using sometning that is already someones property that include trademark terms like names, logos, etc.

But what if let's say company changed it's name or logo about five years ago, does it still own trademark rights on their old name or logo?

if yes than for how long, is there any fixed perriod of time for trademark? like 70 years for copyright?

or does the company decides when they will give up their trademark right on old name or logo?

bassicly: How long trademark protect something?