Olympic Web Site Features Pirated Content

An anonymous reader writes "Despite all the emphasis on protecting Olympic copyrights in China this year, the official web site of the Beijing Olympics features a Flash game that is a blatant copy of one of the games developed at The Pencil Farm. Compare the game on the Olympic site with 'Snow Day' at The Pencil Farm."

The Chinese version doesn't even make sense

[Ma8thew]

Why is the character in the Chinese version 'Fighting winter' by making the clouds snow?

Actually, It works EXACTLY like that.

[Anonymous Coward]

Disregard that the games is similar. The reality is that the music, the clouds, the ice cubes, etc were STOLEN straight out from it. Not a bit changed. This is akin to somebody lifting 100 pages out of 120 page book. Copyright is designed to prevent just that. How did you get modded up?

Don't get mad, get even

[Alain Williams]

Mail the Olympic committee, tell them what they are doing, demand that they take it down until a license is negotiated; demand payment for the use that they have already had; demand a reply within 7 days. State that unless they come to an agreement that you will extract compensation by using copyrighted Olympic material for your business. Put in a court claim in your country.

The chances are that the Chinese will ignore the mail and the court claim.

Put up some copyrighted Olympic stuff to the advantage of your business, have a link explaining what you are doing.

If they sue in China: ignore them.

If they sue in your home country then join your court claim to theirs.

Heavy Handed Hypocrisy

[Riturno]

This is especially ironic since many of the Olympic Committees sue anyone using the word 'Olympic' or press governments for legislation protecting their precious name. For instance a few link samples:
US: http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=15360 [dvorak.org]
CA: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1777/125/ [michaelgeist.ca]
UK: http://blogs.reuters.com/uknews/2008/02/06/olympic-tussle-over-a-name/ [reuters.com]
Given the IOC and each local Olympic committee's approach trademark ownership, they should have no problem removing the game.
This is unlikely because, they will not treat other's work the same as they want theirs enforces. Hypocrisy at its finest.

Re:sympathy for the devil

[Anonymous Coward]

You have posted nearly half the comments to this article. All in defense of the Olympics. Was it you that developed this for them?

Re:It is NOT fair use, or even close to it.

[pipatron]

From your link:

Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law

This is China. Not United States. If you post a relevant link to the Chinese copyright laws and their notion of fair use, that would be informative and interesting.

Re:Chinese copies?

[Alsee]

(1) an idea they like and make an imitation of it? Shock, horror

(2) Unless they actually copied exact content then there's no copyright issue I can see, just lack of creativity.

Mod score +Five Insightful for the two individual concepts.

Mod score -TwelveBazillion Didn'tReadTheFuckingArticle.

-

In other news...

[Chapter80]

In other news, Chinese hackers finally figured out a way to get tech savvy people to "click that link", without sending a fake greeting card, ad for prescription meds, or an important fake announcement from Bank of America or Paypal. Make it a copyright issue and get it posted onto Slashdot.

I hope there are no vulnerabilities in Flash.

Re:Probably off-topic but what the hell...

[Harold Halloway]

What a strange comment.

First of all, it's a friend of my father-in-law's, not his brother. Secondly, I have never met this chap and have never been in his hotel, although I have seen it. Thirdly, I didn't say where this hotel is. I have no interest in promoting his hotel, nor can anything in my post be taken as such. It was just an example of the IOC's zeal in enforcing its trademark.

The second paragraph was a mild piece of self-indulgence, making the point that whatever charges of plagiarism, copyright theft, etc which can be made against the IOC, it is as nothing compared to the hundreds, possible thousands of lives ruined in Beijing in pursuit of these Olympics.

Re:So let me get this straight

[Anonymous Coward]

No, copyright is always ridiculous. The GPL is only necessary while copyright law exists. I have no problem with you violating the GPL so long as you don't EVER enforce copyrights or expect anyone else to abide by copyrights.