(Topic ID: 193875)

Who is "wildcard amusement"? highjacked my website...

By cfh

6 years ago


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  • Latest reply 6 years ago by spfxted
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    There are 465 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 10.
    #151 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    So it's only stealing if the owner notices the theft?

    Well legally, with respect to an avatar on a forum, copyright law in the USA has a provision called Fair Use that certain kinds of people, especially copyright enforcement attorneys, don't want us to know about.

    The person referenced in the thread doesn't seem to have a case for Fair Use.

    #152 6 years ago

    Don't even THINK about stealing my avatar image! I made it myself! With Photoshop. And stuff.

    At least my website doesn't use a comic font.

    #153 6 years ago
    Quoted from Brijam:

    Well legally, with respect to an avatar on a forum, copyright law in the USA has a provision called Fair Use that certain kinds of people, especially copyright enforcement attorneys, don't want us to know about

    Back in law school, they said a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work.

    That does not really apply to stealing an avatar for a pinball forum.

    #154 6 years ago

    https://www.wildcardamusements.com/wca-repair-institute

    Looks like he set up a donation paywall.Screenshot_2017-07-21-20-17-25-1 (resized).pngScreenshot_2017-07-21-20-17-25-1 (resized).pngScreenshot_2017-07-21-20-17-32-1 (resized).pngScreenshot_2017-07-21-20-17-32-1 (resized).png

    #155 6 years ago

    Very, very strange:

    7. What if I wish to remain anonymous?
    That's entirely fine! If you wish to not be featured on our Supporters page, simply leave the "Name" field blank on the form above. Your donation will still be greatly appreciated!

    I'm wondering is absolutely *everything* is ripped off from other sites.
    Because there IS NOT 'name' field above. There's no form at all - just a paypal button. And there's no way to make an 'anonymous' paypal payment.

    #157 6 years ago
    Quoted from dsuperbee:

    Funny that everyone is up in arms about this guy stealing content for his own personal gain, but don't give two shits if someone or a company does the same thing making unlicensed parts/art/etc...

    Anyone can make just about any pinball part they want for older machines and sell them too without licensing anything. The patents on all this stuff (if they ever were patented) have long-expired. Patents are good for 17 years.

    The only pinball parts that require any licensing are newer parts that are still covered by patents and/or anything that has copyrighted artwork.

    #158 6 years ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Looks like he set up a donation paywall.

    Glad I downloaded everything this morning.

    #159 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    Glad I downloaded everything this morning.

    I just don't think you needed any of that info. Remember I have read and followed your repair and update info here on pinside.
    -Mike

    #160 6 years ago
    Quoted from Gatecrasher:

    Anyone can make just about any pinball part they want for older machines and sell them too without licensing anything. The patents on all this stuff (if they ever were patented) have long-expired.

    I have to think any part that has a company logo on it would still require a license no matter how old except in the case of long abandoned companies.

    #161 6 years ago

    If it matters I found this on www.thoughtco.com
    Question: How long does patent protection last? (As of year 2005)

    Answer: Utility and plant patents are granted for a term which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date the applications were filed. You must make the timely payment of the appropriate maintenance fees.

    Design patents last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. No maintenance fees are required for design patents.

    -Mike

    33
    #162 6 years ago

    Success!

    Wix Support <[email protected]>
    4:43 PM (2 hours ago)

    to abuse
    ---Please reply above this line---
    Image 1
    Ed (Wix Support)
    July 21, 2017 11:45:05 PM UTC
    Hi,

    Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. The website has been disabled and your complaint has been forwarded in accordance with DMCA procedure.

    Regards,
    Ed

    #163 6 years ago

    Randy:

    I used the website history in my Firefox browser and the website is still operating (right now) and your big blue content is still there.

    #164 6 years ago
    Quoted from mcluvin:

    Maybe the guy has a disability or something? Yes, the copyrighted stuff should come down, but the public skewering seems a bit extreme given none of you have even interacted with him. What if he read this shi* and killed himself?

    Are you serious? Do you REALLY believe that a disability excuses illegal behavior?

    #165 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    So it's only stealing if the owner notices the theft?

    I'd be happy to give Nick Cave more of my money.

    #166 6 years ago

    There used to be a Mark Mentzer who was big in the 2000's here in PA - just about same area - the guy had a horrible reputation - had an enormous warehouse filled with games one of the typical PA 'junk dealers' then BAM disappeared forever.

    11
    #167 6 years ago

    I rarely, probably never post on anything controversial. However, as I sit here recovering from heart surgery I just don't have anything better to do. I've said this before and hopefully I am not upsetting anyone or stepping on any toes. I got into Pinball machines about 9 or 10 years ago. I do not recall if I found Clay's repair guides or someone pointed me to them, but I do recall thinking how cool it was that someone would take the time to consolidate that info and put it out there for the community. The Clay guides were such a tremendous treasure trove of information. The knowledge I gained from them certainly increased my interest in this hobby and who knows whether I would still be here had I not found them....

    So I'm sorry for whatever happened to cloud that, but I sure want to say thanks to Cliff for all he did. I have not seen his stuff for several years now but do recall him giving credit to many contributors. He even gave me some credit for advice making ramps recently.

    Anyway, this info is golden and hope it remains available to the community... But I do find what Wild Amusements did totally unethical. I will never raise a finger to help him.....well maybe the middle finger...

    #168 6 years ago

    In theory the use of the PayPal donate button is supposed to be for nonprofits only. I think it gets used in this manner quite often, but you would run the risk of getting your PayPal account shut down.

    #169 6 years ago
    Quoted from Freeplay40:

    However, as I sit here recovering from heart surgery I just don't have anything better to do.

    You too huh????? It's a special club we're in.

    #170 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    Back in law school, they said a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work.
    That does not really apply to stealing an avatar for a pinball forum.

    I stand corrected. Odd that copyright holders don't pursue it, though. Glad I made my own avatar.

    #171 6 years ago

    i made my own avatar as well, but I took elements of copyrighted material.

    -3
    #172 6 years ago
    Quoted from randyfromm:

    Are you serious? Do you REALLY believe that a disability excuses illegal behavior?

    If you read what I wrote, I very clearly didn't say that. I think poking fun at the guy is cruel and unnecessary. I've been to a few shows. It seems a bit ironic, pinball guys making fun of someone else's appearance.

    Do any of you really believe he's getting donations to that website? You think he lives on a yacht, at least when he's not off on some great adventure with the Disney Dive Quest Team?

    #173 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    Remember building the "ONTV" decrambler boxes before there was cable?

    It was the perfect way to learn how 555 Timers worked.

    Quoted from vid1900:

    Remember turning Gauntlet into Gauntlet II for $10 in parts (a $2300 savings)?

    The better one was turning Galaxians, which were dying off revenue-wise, into Pac Man. Cabinet stencils were available too. The biggest PITA was finding the orange T-Molding.

    Of course, once the US Marshall's started hauling them out of locations, the fun & games were over.

    Rinse, lather, repeat for "Crazy Kong". Operators actually thought that since Nintendo was just some piss-ant Japanese company, they wouldn't be able to enforce any of their rights. How wrong they were.

    #174 6 years ago
    Quoted from mcluvin:

    If you read what I wrote, I very clearly didn't say that. I think poking fun at the guy is cruel and unnecessary. I've been to a few shows. It seems a bit ironic, pinball guys making fun of someone else's appearance.
    Do any of you really believe he's getting donations to that website? You think he lives on a yacht, at least when he's not off on some great adventure with the Disney Dive Quest Team?

    Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya.....

    tree hugger (resized).jpgtree hugger (resized).jpg

    #175 6 years ago
    Quoted from randyfromm:

    Success!
    Wix Support <[email protected]>
    4:43 PM (2 hours ago)
    to abuse
    ---Please reply above this line---
    Image 1
    Ed (Wix Support)
    July 21, 2017 11:45:05 PM UTC
    Hi,
    Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. The website has been disabled and your complaint has been forwarded in accordance with DMCA procedure.
    Regards,
    Ed

    Looks like you got lucky. All the digital content I create is stolen by the tens of millions daily world wide and there is nothing I can do about it. DMCA notices are a joke because normally thieves just use webservers hosted in countries that just ignore them. In this case it looks like he's an amateur at the digital content theft game so you got lucky. It's a really shitty situation but the reality is there is no protection for digital content theft. Even trademarks are worthless. The only way you stand a chance is if you have a legal team on retainer, and even then you will typically lose. Once someone figures out how easy it is to steal our digital content they will do it with impunity, and all you can do is sit back and watch. The law is simply ineffectual because it's decades behind and has no way of coping with world wide theft, and for the most part the public at large does not consider taking someones digital content as theft because they are merely duplicating it and not taking it.

    #176 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    I love stolen content.
    Remember building the "ONTV" decrambler boxes before there was cable?
    Remember copying the EPROMs from Atari 2600 cartridges, so you could " have every game"?
    Remember turning Gauntlet into Gauntlet II for $10 in parts (a $2300 savings)?
    Remember your phreaker box that could make free long distance calls from any pay-phone?
    Remember sneaking DAT recorders into concerts? One guy took in the mike, one guy the recorder, one guy the blanks....
    Stealing from The Man is cool

    Wow, talking about bringing back memories. I got my first taste of phreaking boxes back 85/86 if I recall correctly. I was 12 years old. If only my parents knew what I was doing back then.

    #177 6 years ago

    If f I were OP, I'd send someone to Baltimore to teach this Mensa how to properly swim with the dolphins.

    #178 6 years ago

    This part cracked me up...

    "We place an amusement machine, titles (themes taylored to your venue) at no cost to you!". Thinking about Stern's recent themes and wondering what kind of business would cater to zombies, trekkies, medieval realists or ghosts?

    #179 6 years ago
    Quoted from Reality_Studio:

    All the digital content I create is stolen by the tens of millions daily world wide and there is nothing I can do about it. DMCA notices are a joke because normally thieves just use webservers hosted in countries that just ignore them.

    That's why I give all my IP away for free.

    No stress on my soul every time someone copies it, and my material gets into even wider distribution.

    Win/win

    #180 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    Copyright infringement is stealing.
    No way around it.

    Yes, but there are those of us who have experienced doing something out of a good motive while also being ignorant of the legal side of things. Case in point, I found PinSide with the purchase of my first pin fairly recently. I was amazed at all of the knowledge and customizations I saw, and appreciated all of the help I received from everyone. I have some Photoshop skills, so I designed several customized touches for my own pin, and out of pure motives posted these for others to download for free to make their own, or charged an extremely nominal amount for me to make them. Again, seeing everything that I did, I never even knew to consider copywrites, especially for a pin that was 25 years old whos manufacture was out of business long ago. Well, it didn't take long for me to be "educated" by the powers that be. I had some "conversations" back and forth to determine legal stance, and when I was said and done what I learned is that I was "allowed" to do just about anything for my own pin, but I am not allowed to distribute such materials (free or otherwise). Again, pure motive to use my skills to give back to the community that supported me so much, but obviously ignorant of the rules.

    Vid, I've even seen all kinds of posts in your threads about making decals, etc. to restore pins. Logic would tell me that it's okay to do this and to even share them with others who don't have the ability to make their own. However, others holding the copyright on these materials may disagree. Not saying that you have ever done or promoted anything unlawful, but to the novice/uneducated these areas can be very gray and confusing, if it even registers to think about it at all.

    With that stated, I'm not saying that this guy is ignorant of the rules/laws, but if that is the case he should be given the opportunity to remove whatever he has done and apologize. Now, if he is obviously willfully, maliciously, and defiantly performing these actions, then a more serious approach to remedy the situation is obviously in order.

    #181 6 years ago
    Quoted from MrBally:

    It was the perfect way to learn how 555 Timers worked.

    The better one was turning Galaxians, which were dying off revenue-wise, into Pac Man. Cabinet stencils were available too. The biggest PITA was finding the orange T-Molding.
    Of course, once the US Marshall's started hauling them out of locations, the fun & games were over.
    Rinse, lather, repeat for "Crazy Kong". Operators actually thought that since Nintendo was just some piss-ant Japanese company, they wouldn't be able to enforce any of their rights. How wrong they were.

    Why would marshalls start hauling out arcade cabinets? Was it for some reason illegal to update them?

    #182 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    That's why I give all my IP away for free.
    No stress on my soul every time someone copies it, and my material gets into even wider distribution.
    Win/win

    Yep, if you want to get all fancy and formal about it:

    https://creativecommons.org

    Bottom line #1: If you put it on the internet, it will get stolen and misused.

    Bottom line #2: Its almost impossible to make any decent amount of money from your content on the web, even if its really pretty good and useful.

    Here is a video I came across recently, maybe some of you here have wandered over to the EEVblog and forums which are pretty good.

    This guy as 400,000+ subscribers and more than 80 million views, and makes about $40,000 a year or so. You have to get tons and tons of subscribers, views and hits to make anything at all. Heck I have Adwords on some webpages where my page was the #1 result on a search term for years, and I didn't even make a hundred bucks.

    #183 6 years ago
    Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:

    Vid, I've even seen all kinds of posts in your threads about making decals, etc. to restore pins. Logic would tell me that it's okay to do this and to even share them with others who don't have the ability to make their own. However, others holding the copyright on these materials may disagree. Not saying that you have ever done or promoted anything unlawful, but to the novice/uneducated these areas can be very gray and confusing, if it even registers to think about it at all.

    You are allowed to do whatever you want to a pin that you own, or are restoring for someone.

    When you take your Mustang to get it repainted, the body shop will recreate the decals that run along bottom of the fenders and doors.

    Ford can't harass the body shop because they are restoring something that already was bought and owned. Ford already got paid once.

    Now if the body shop tries to sell the decals, they are going to get shut down by Ford's legal team; because the shop is selling Ford's IP

    #184 6 years ago

    Going back to the memory train for a bit: Anyone remember a time back in the day where if you took something that was copyrighted, like basically any book, into a copy shop they would not let you make any photocopies of it? They would even kick you off the self serve machine if you tried to do it, and there were signs everywhere to this effect. That didn't last too long, but it was a thing for a while.

    #185 6 years ago
    Quoted from randyfromm:

    This guy bought my "Package Deal" of book and DVDs (including a PDF copy of my copyrighted "Big Blue Book")

    I tried searching, what's a big blue book?
    is it similar to the blue book for auto or something

    #186 6 years ago
    Quoted from hocuslocus:

    I tried searching, what's a big blue book?
    is it similar to the blue book for auto or something

    Go to Randy Fromm's website for details.

    #187 6 years ago
    Quoted from EvanDickson:

    Why would marshalls start hauling out arcade cabinets? Was it for some reason illegal to update them?

    They were being CONfiscated for Copyright infringement of the video game graphics and game play programs.

    #188 6 years ago
    Quoted from EvanDickson:

    Why would marshalls start hauling out arcade cabinets? Was it for some reason illegal to update them?

    They really were aggressive about it if the FBI logo was in there. The video game manufacturers didn't get much help until they got permission to use the FBI logo along with the don't do drugs on the screen. The FBI's interest picked up when their logo was being copied.

    LTG : )

    #189 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    That's why I give all my IP away for free.
    No stress on my soul every time someone copies it, and my material gets into even wider distribution.
    Win/win

    The Tesla Motors approach.

    #190 6 years ago
    Quoted from djreddog:

    Wow, talking about bringing back memories. I got my first taste of phreaking boxes back 85/86 if I recall correctly. I was 12 years old. If only my parents knew what I was doing back then.

    The 'Red Box' was my favorite. Amazing what some knowledge gotten from the old c64 and a trip to radio shack could get you.... Damn out of band signaling!

    #191 6 years ago
    Quoted from Gatecrasher:

    Anyone can make just about any pinball part they want for older machines and sell them too without licensing anything. The patents on all this stuff (if they ever were patented) have long-expired. Patents are good for 17 years.
    The only pinball parts that require any licensing are newer parts that are still covered by patents and/or anything that has copyrighted artwork.

    FYI, copyrights last for 70 years BEYOND the death of the copyright holder.

    #192 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    That's why I give all my IP away for free.
    No stress on my soul every time someone copies it, and my material gets into even wider distribution.
    Win/win

    Quoted from jahbarron:

    The Tesla Motors approach.

    HOLY SHIT YOU MADE THE CONNECTION

    Could Vid actually be super genius Elon Musk? .......

    #193 6 years ago
    Quoted from tslayer71:

    The 'Red Box' was my favorite. Amazing what some knowledge gotten from the old c64 and a trip to radio shack could get you.... Damn out of band signaling!

    I always wanted a Chrome Box I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and they still have 2600 magazine on the shelf. I used to read that religiously...

    #194 6 years ago
    Quoted from LTG:

    They really were aggressive about it if the FBI logo was in there. The video game manufacturers didn't get much help until they got permission to use the FBI logo along with the don't do drugs on the screen. The FBI's interest picked up when their logo was being copied.
    LTG : )

    FYI, there was much more to it than a simple copyright notice. The ubiquitous copying of Street Fighter PCBs prompted the formation of AAMA ( the Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association). They hired an ex FBI director to lead the charge. They busted many pirates. They basically shut down operations in Mexico for a while as it was virtually 100% pirated Street Fighter machines.

    #195 6 years ago
    Quoted from vdojaq:

    Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya.....

    Nah, you don't want to hear me sing. I just don't think hiding behind a sort of anonymous account and making fun of this guy is cool. It's not like he took thousands from you and jerked you around for a couple years.

    #196 6 years ago
    Quoted from xsvtoys:

    I always wanted a Chrome Box I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and they still have 2600 magazine on the shelf. I used to read that religiously...

    Sure would make getting across town a hell of a lot easier

    #197 6 years ago

    It's funny that today, the bootleg version of Pacman called Popeye, is worth more that a real Pacman.

    Popeye Pacman (resized).jpgPopeye Pacman (resized).jpg

    #198 6 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    You are allowed to do whatever you want to a pin that you own, or are restoring for someone.

    So if I put a decal that I design and produce that resembles the original on a someone else's pin (whether they pay me or not), then it's okay. However, if I give that same decal to them to put on themselves or if I give them the file to print and put on their own machine then that's a problem? This is pretty much how it has been communicated to me by the powers that be in some pinball circles, which quite honestly whether is the legal way to do things or not, is ridiculous to me on a practical level.

    FYI, I am not arguing with you, after all, you're an "expletive treasure" according to the recent thread. I understand the desire/right to protect one's IP, but much of this seems petty to me. The owner of the 25 year old IP now does not and will not ever produce the decals/parts/etc., nor make them available in any way, yet I'm not allowed to share a homemade DIY replacement or themed mod that too closely resembles some of the artwork on the pin?

    Enough of me, as this is not really the same situation, so it seems. Just expressing a little frustration, but regardless, I am doing my best to follow the rules. Also, Vid, I have nothing but respect for you, your experience, and your pinball knowledge. Please don't take anything I say as a criticism to you, as their is absolutely no intent (sometimes hard to convey expression in a short post). Can't tell you how much I have learned from you and your various PinSide "Vid's guides to everything you ever wanted to know about every single detail of pinball".

    #199 6 years ago
    Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:

    So if I put a decal that I design and produce that resembles the original on a someone else's pin (whether they pay me or not), then it's okay. However, if I give that same decal to them to put on themselves or if I give them the file to print and put on their own machine then that's a problem?

    If you use it to restore their machine, you KNOW it went into an existing game.

    If you sell it, someone may use it to decorate their lunchbox. And that's a no no.

    #200 6 years ago
    Quoted from randyfromm:

    FYI, copyrights last for 70 years BEYOND the death of the copyright holder.

    That doesn't matter to me because none of the parts I manufacture involve any copyrights. That was the entire point of my post.

    There are 465 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 10.

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