Ha,

good on ya Wayno,

thx for chiming in !

hey where's my MM ?

That's awesome! All those movies were huge world wide, and I would certainly say the first one has a much larger cult following than thunderbirds. At least people know what you're talking about when you say it.

But, maybe it's just too expensive of a license or something, although I can't imagine it's anymore than predator.

JJP #3.... Mad max... how good would that be

Mad max iv is coming out next year so would think that would be expensive.

Unless mad max 1 is a separate license. But homepin stated he wanted a family friendly license.

Mad max 2 the road warrior would be a gem as well!

Or deathrace, those are two titles that I can't believe haven't been done yet. The theme and rule options are pretty deep for both, have massive appeal worldwide for pinballs demographic, and toy options are huge.

Anyway, back to Thunderbirds...I guess.

Sucks that a few people in this thread have done exactly what Mike has done by painting all Aussies with the same brush. The vast majority of Americans in our hobby are the nicest people you will meet, and the same goes for Aussies.

Back to the Thunderbirds discussion....

I honestly don't see the "lumping aussies into the same bucket" stuff.

I personally just think Homepin is nuts, not all aussies.

Yes, Keith is right

I transferred full ownership of 78 US patents i bought from WMS to PPS

WMS no longer owns them, and they cost a fortune to renew, about $4k each for the 12 year renewal.

So why would you let someone make something or use it in a game without paying a licensing Fee.

Don't do the shithouse Tina Turner Mad max, do the proper mad Max with Goose, Nightrider and Toecutter and the Pursuit Special, Interceptor and Big Bopper.

Makes sense, just hard to keep track sometimes of the nuances as an outsider to those kinds of agreements. Is it still true WMS still owns the copyrights on software and artwork, and PPS just administers those? I never had to deal with PPS about patent issues, just software licensing.

Either way, it still makes sense as a board maker to get licensed properly. For a small company, a single C&D can be a huge financial hit. There's money tied up in inventory and development, even worse if you end up paying back penalties too. Yet if the boards are that important to game owners, it would be a huge benefit to be on the good graces of somebody with a big distribution network that might be interested in re-selling them. Yeah it costs a few bucks and some time to properly handle getting licensed, but it's a much larger pain in the ass to get caught violating a patent.

Oh, and yeah, a Mad Max pin would kick ass.

-Hans

yes and a new Mad Max Fury Road movie is coming out as well in 2014

Never heard of Thunderbirds. Looks like a lame theme choice, but if it's a cool game when it's finished I'll be glad to play it.

Lebowski was a "culty" thing in the late 90's. I remember looks of confusion when I'd quote it and then explain to people they really needed see it. These days, past five years or so, it's become a phenomenon, and even the ESPN clowns and the hipsters quote the movie. It's not really cult anymore, but annoyingly mainstream.

There's an art gallery in Savannah, GA which is dedicated to Lebowski art. I purchased "Is this your homework, Larry?" when I visited. Couldn't help it.

Mad max iv is coming out next year

"Mad Max Beyond Thunderbird"

mel-gibson-drunk-driving1.jpg

Brilliant!

bump

You bet it was.

Technically he retracted his ban on american's; just says he's handling paypal different on website now, which is consistent with what his original complaint was. So, yeah he probably realized he overreacted.. prob cause everyone was shitting on the Thunderbirds pin. How would the Predator guys of handled themselves if everyone here said it was a horrible idea.

I think the calls for recreating all his boards to put him out of business is a bit too far. His boards work, better than original.. nobody has come forward to say otherwise.. so let that speak for itself. Plenty of abrasive people out there that produce good stuff (even others within this hobby).

I'd buy THAT one.

If he said he would have an original pinball with a theme with space rockets, fly mobiles, secret agency in some sort of muppet way....

I think more would be interested i think. Cause that is what this is. This theme has so much potential in modes, toys, lay out. I think it will be great.

Many want original themes, and now we read its not good that they never heard of it, wont work, sucks when they dont know it..... Bla bla bla....

This theme rocks!

And not Hankin?

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?mfgid=2&searchtype=advanced

I don't remember seeing much info/hype about Metallica prior to the release. I look at this thread & the Predator thread, and now I see why.

Comparing marionettes to metallica and predator? Not really the same in my book, but hope it goes well for them!

I'm talking moreso not about the pin itself, but the hype around it prior to release. Any pre-release discussion turns into shitstorm of drama, arguing, and people trying to buy/sell/flip something that hasn't been created yet.

Hey so, will your MM's be done by then?

What about the Steve Irwin game? I still have a C&D from WAY-NO You should be banned as well lol.

I had never heard of Thunderbirds until I saw this post. Looks like a strange little show. I'll have to check it out.

It is so odd that it is cool. Creepy, but cool.

Yeah, and they used real fire and blew things up!

Vamos a nuevos pernos MALO Pinatas piden Jefe y yo liarte amigo.
¿Escuchaste lo que dije?
Vamos hacia abajo.
Hablo Inglés

Vamos a nuevos pernos MALO Pinatas piden Jefe y yo liarte amigo.
¿Escuchaste lo que dije?
Vamos hacia abajo.
Hablo Inglés treasureofthesierramadre.jpg

Hans ... as far as Patents go, the patents that are assigned to us are OURS, not WMS, that is how patents work. IPB has a few patents and we have a bunch of patents. It is our responsibility to take care of our patents and usually try to work something out, flipper opto board are an active patent that costs thousands of $ to maintain ... I believe it's US Patent #5357104 that is the flipper opto patent. It's always helpful to put stuff in the public record ... lol

Anyways for those who have dealt with us, it's usually pretty easy to get things going (usually) unless it's something we are making or requires 3rd party license, etc ... there is alot of stuff that has been coming out from many different suppliers ... doesn't matter even whether there has been some 'bad' blood before as well as there are several where things did not start out so good and now are helping bring out parts approved thru the license.

rick

I believe that your flipper opto patent expired in June. If it expired then the public essentially owns the invention from then on.

Screw patents! We need Thunderbirds pinball!

thunderbirds-go-a.jpg

Patents expiring could lead to better pinball machines.

And then some! th.jpeg

Innovation and originality could lead to better pinball machines too.

Yeah, looks like it expired a couple weeks ago.

I wonder if there's like a 30 day grace period for renewal?

I assume you're joking?

If not, patent terms are limited to 20 years from date of application (1995 onwards; prior to that also 17 years from date of issue, whichever is longer, which actually does extend some of them).

Looks like a whole bunch of fun Williams patents are expiring this year and next... some good ideas in there!

Out of interest, Viagras medical patent just expired ... Be prepared for some STIFF competition to evolve ...

rd.

Yeah, that stuffs all I need. I have enough trouble hitting the toilet in the morning.

I always have issues with my knob dangling in the water.

But anyway ...

rd.

Splish splash.

LOL

Definitely appreciate the info, and I apologize for putting bad info up in the first place. I'm not looking into newer era stuff any time soon for my own lineup, but you never know what the future holds. I am working on a few things that may need software licensing again, but those are a long ways off at the moment.

-Hans

A patent has a maximum term of 20 years (with the exception of extensions because of delays by the Patent office in the process of examining a particular case). This one patent has expired to become public domain. A patent owner cannot own their invention forever. They have the 20 years to make their money.

Most of the Williams patents either have expired or are going to expire in the next 12 months or so.
PPS has very little in terms of the 90's pinball patents to hang their hats on anymore.

If that is the case, then perhaps someone should make a list of what has expired and is now public domain. This would help those who could develop new products/hardware for pinball machines.

Naturally any new products would be sure NOT to include any Williams logos, trademarks, or copyrighted works.

According to this website, the flipper opto patent is still in force:

http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/5357104

I'm really hesitant to chime in at all in this thread because I love my Aussie friends and I love everyone making pinball products. But the question is burning in my mind enough to take the leap and ask. Are the patents international or just enforceable in the US?

If they aren't international then could this be the real reason we're not going to see these for sale in the US?