Do NOT get your hopes up yet

And here is what one EXPERIENCED software developer said:

Being a software developer myself, I've had keen interest in ownership rights for a couple of decades and keep up with the tides of public law with respect to copyrights and ownership... at least in some regard.

A work such as VMK has many legal facts about it; branding, sounds, source code, gameplay concepts, and so-on. Each of these are elements that have some sort of ownership claim. For example, the likenesses of the characters are artwork in the legal sense, and although they may be incorporated into the game, they are still works of art that in and of themselves can carry copyright and ownership protections.

So, therefore, it becomes a problem if one were to create their own work (a web game, in this case) and use these pieces of artwork without permission. A complete change of artwork would be necessary... an expensive proposition. It's not impossible... the owner has many options to allow the use of their creations; licensing, royalty agreements, or even agreements for royalty-free use. But, that is up to the creator of the work.

Then there's the issue of look and feel. This is an area I can say that I am somewhat of an authority on due to a lawsuit that the company I work for got involved in... in fact, it set legal a number of precedents for creating look and feel in commercial software. The bottom line was the ruling in Federal court was that look and feel was considered a created work and that public display of the look and feel did not constitute a submission into the public domain. It would then be quite risky (in the legal sense) to create a work that is substantially based on the look and feel of another work, especially when there are references to that fact in either private design documents or public discussion.

Now, all of this came into question in 2006 when the Library of Congress (who is tasked for research for Congress, and thus the decisions of the Patent and Trademark Office) decided that they would make an exception to copyright claims for what they termed "abandonware", which was loosely defined as software that was created and protected under copyright, but which was not actively being produced or marketted anymore. Their decision allowed for the archival (copying) of the software, but did not go so far as to declare the software (including the elements of the software such as images, sounds, and look and feel) as public domain. This was a very loose decision, but the spirit of it was basically to allow enthusiasts and collectors the ability to circumvent copy protection and avoid licensing restrictions, but only in the capacity of preserving it... not for redistribution or sale.

So, what does all of this mean in relation to VMK?

Basically, VMK is still the property of the Walt Disney Company (or whomever they licensed it from... I'm not up on that aspect of it). They still own the likenesses... they still own the look and feel... they still own the source code. So at a minimum, to avoid a legal issue, agreements would have to be made between them and potential new developers for use of those elements individually. And while VMK might very well fall under the "abandonware" category, it would be in the sense of the work as a whole (executable code and all), which is not likely in the hands of anyone outside of the organization. And even if it were, to create a new usable version of the site wouldn't fall under the "preservation" decision of the Library of Congress.

Therefore, it appears, that unless the Walt Disney Company entered into agreements for the continued development and marketing of the site, it is highly unlikely this will happen. And if it does, the developers are easily setting themselves up for legal struggles... and those don't come cheap.

StarGirl215 wrote:Thanks you for the information. I am still hopeful though it does seem like a prank. People are making up thier own VMKU maps, thier own trailers, and their own stories of how it came together. Why are there not any direct link to this from the VMKU homepage? I have herd about how some teenagers made it but look what I found:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BSUfHNrpmo Please watch the entire video. "VMK_Mocha" is claiming she is helping with VMKU. Right now all I see is a red vmk logo when I go there. How are people getting all these extra link like to hyperspace, and falling star productions does not even have their website done! They still have alot to do! Also when disney got rid of VMK didn't they drop all the copy rights? If not where is the proof of where they are because the sight is no longer up?
Is it all a scam? Or is one story just false?
Good Luck!
StarGirl215

StarGirl215 wrote:Only my last question was really for you, since you dont believe in VMKU anyway, but where is the copyright proof, like where can I see it? I dont mean to argue. You didnt answer any of my other question though...
StargGirl215

LittleSmartJazz wrote:you guys can listen to him , but why would you??? he's not the owner of VMKU! He knows nothing, so far all i've seen about him is he's a big LOSER that has way too much time on his hands. He keeps on trying to get info on VMKU, and the truth is we can't!! there IS NONE. He also says he knows so much about it because he looked it up, well really?? if ANYTHING was gonna HAPPEN Dont u think it would of happened by now or we'd at least hear SOMETHING. The truth is he knows NOTHING. None of us do, other than the stuff they've showed us. So how could he know so much???

P.S ADAM you be posting here, if you don't believe in the game. Don't post in the forums at all.

P.S.S Guys remember everyone doing this with vfk??? before magic closed everyone assumed that vfk WOULD never happen, but look now, it DID. I was one of those ppl who didnt care if it happened or not so i signed up in beta 1, but i think if you guys think this game is a FRAUD, DON'T come to the site!!

ADAM: i dont care if u got some developer, how do we know you really did?? all u did was copy and paste, why dont you really show us some proof like make a youtube video with a REAL developer and give us his info so we can CONTACT him, and see if your actually telling the truth, like im gonna listen to some kid who's only YEARS older than me.

LittleSmartJazz wrote:dito your telling me not to tell you, well you can't tell me. And actually i wasn't trying tot be RUDE. i'm telling you my opinion if you don't like it, LEAVE.