The History of Time

Chapter 12 The History of Time

"Okay, enough small talk, let's get straight to the point."

After inviting Ethan and Evelyn to sit down, Barbara Babcock glanced at her watch, and the time on it made her smile as she said, "It's 8:05 now. I have a class at 9:00, so you have fifty minutes to get to the point."

Ethan nodded slightly at Ethan's crisp and clear words.

Glancing at Evelyn, and seeing the girl's signal for him to speak up, Ethan said earnestly, "Ms. Barbara, we've come here today mainly to consult you about copyright issues related to video games. Does this emerging industry enjoy copyright protection? If so, how should we use the law to protect ourselves?"

That's right, Ethan came here today specifically for this.

Seemingly realizing that his question was somewhat unprofessional, or even a bit idiotic, Ethan added, "Professor Barbara, please forgive my ignorance, because my greatest understanding of the law is that it is subject to lag."

"It's okay."

Attorney Barbara gave a soft snort, rested her elbow on the table, and gestured, "Ethan, I understand what you mean. You don't need to be so reserved. Actually, Evelyn already told me about Milova and Atari..."

At this point, Attorney Barbara thought for a moment, then said, "It must have been about two years ago? When Nolan Bushnell's plagiarism scandal had just come to light? Yes, that's when she consulted us."

"What?"

Ethan was somewhat surprised and turned to look at Evelyn.

The girl leaning back on the sofa remained calm and said, "I thought you would need legal aid."

She shrugged and said, "If Milrohua really sues you, we'll have to fight back with even more thuggish tactics for this kind of shady behavior, and those trashy lawyers on the market don't have that ability."

This fact really surprised Ethan.

He never expected that Evelyn, who had always disliked Ethan for the past three years, had already helped him find people.

"Thank you." Ethan was touched.

But this thank you...

This book was first published on 2020s.com, providing you with a reading experience free of errors and disordered chapters.

He was speaking on behalf of the original Ethan Jones.

Because now that we look at it, the guy who died is even more unlucky!

"Hey! Evelyn! Who are you calling a hooligan?"

Barbara overheard Ethan and Evelyn's conversation.

She immediately straightened her face when she heard the word "hooligan".

Evelyn wasn't scared at all. She stuck out her tongue, leaned closer, took her arm, and said sweetly, "Oh, Ms. Barbara, I'm just praising how amazing you are!"

"Hmph!" Barbara glared at Evelyn, then couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. "Alright, alright, stop shaking us. We're not wasting any more time."

Amidst a burst of jokes, the atmosphere became very relaxed.

With a kind smile, Barbara answered Ethan's question: "Ethan, your question is actually very simple. Video games are protected by law."

"However, I need to make a special point about this matter."

"The copyright protection law currently used in our country was enacted in 1909. Since there were no video games at that time, video games could not be included in the categories of copyright registration."

"Of course, people had already thought about similar issues when making the law, so when drafting the legal provisions, there were catch-all provisions. For example, our 1909 Copyright Act states that the objects protected by copyright law include novels, music, plays, films, and other published or unpublished works."

"Therefore, the general consensus in our industry is that video games are classified as other works. In other words, if someone copies the content of a video game, the 1909 copyright law applies."

"I see?"

Barbara's explanation was very clear, and Ethan understood it perfectly.

But precisely because he understood, he was even more confused.

Frowning, she said, "Professor Barbara, since video game content is also protected by copyright law, how did Atari dare to plagiarize Milrova's games in the first place?"

That's right, that's the key reason why Ethan wants to find a lawyer!

Because in his memory, American copyright protection laws were extremely strict!

Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a ridiculous joke as drawing a mouse on a deserted island and then being saved!

However, after he arrived in this era, the copyright lawsuit between Milrova and Atari made him lose confidence.

Because, in the original owner's memory, the plagiarism by Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, occurred in 1972, and Milrova knew about it as early as 1973, but it was not until last year, in 1974, that they officially filed a lawsuit!

Anyone with eyes can see there's something wrong with this!

After all, no company can stand idly by while its competitors copy its work!

Especially when competitors are making huge profits by plagiarizing works!

Ethan's question made lawyer Barbara raise an eyebrow, take a sip of her coffee, and smile as she said, "Ethan, please don't be confused. When I first heard your story, I was also puzzled. So I did some research and discovered that Atari's plagiarism of Milova was a problem with the American Copyright Office."

"???"

Evelyn was very interested in this answer.

"Ms. Barbara, are you talking about the staff...?"

"No, no, no..."

Before Evelyn could finish speaking, Barbara interrupted, "Evelyn, it's not what you think."

"As I just mentioned, our current copyright protection law was enacted in 1909. Back then, there was no category for video games. However, it also stipulated something very interesting: when all works want to register for copyright with the copyright office, they need to fill out the corresponding application form according to the type of the work."

"We can now define video games as other genres, but when Milroyal applied, the people in charge of the review felt that video games could be classified as music, images, or even movies, and they thought these things should be registered separately."

"Milohua felt that their game was a whole and could not be registered separately. If it was infringed upon by someone else under separate registration, it would be very troublesome to protect their rights. So the registration was at a standstill at that time."

"In the end, because the dispute could not be resolved, Milrova only registered a patent for the Odyssey game console, but did not register a copyright for the game content."

"???"

"What?"

Ethan was shocked!

This answer left him speechless!

Because it sounds...

This is absolutely ridiculous!

His incredulous expression made Barbara say definitively, "That's outrageous, isn't it?"

"There's nothing we can do about it; that's reality. Only in reality do things that don't require logic happen."

She also shrugged and said, "However, I haven't finished talking about this yet. The rest is actually even funnier. You know, there was another key reason why Mirowa didn't register the game's copyright at the time. That is, the copyright bureau has a service called expedited service."

"You may not have heard of this product, but I know it very well because I've used it."

"According to the 1909 Copyright Act, works are protected by law regardless of whether they are registered for copyright, but to protect one's rights, one must register with the copyright office."

"This may sound like a paradox, because if I don't register the copyright, I can't determine when the copyright protection will take effect. If I can't determine when the copyright protection will take effect, I can't protect my rights."

"But with expedited service, everything becomes simple."

"Once an unregistered work is infringed upon, the victim can apply to the copyright bureau for expedited service. The copyright bureau will review and issue a copyright registration certificate within a certain period of time. The back of this registration certificate will note when the copyright protection for this work will take effect."

"For example, if I apply for copyright today, but my work was created ten years ago, the copyright office will set the date as 1965. It is because of this compensation method that when Mirova and the copyright office disagreed, even if the two sides did not reach an agreement, Mirova did not care. And their indifference gave Atari an opportunity."

At this point, lawyer Barbara laughed.

A playful glint appeared in his curved eyes.

"Now that I've said all that, you should understand what I mean, right?"

"Since Milrova hasn't registered the copyright, why doesn't Nolan Bushnell dare to copy it?"

She raised her voice and said, "Because only when they successfully copy us and make a fortune will Mirova apply for expedited legal action against them! And by that stage, Atari has already succeeded!"

"MiloVa first has to prove to the copyright office when their game was made before the copyright office can determine the duration of the rights. During this awkward evidence-gathering period, they simply have no way to protect their rights!"

"Furthermore, you should also note that Pong wasn't Nolan Bushnell's first arcade game! He made other games before Pong!"

"It just didn't work out, and the original copyright holder had no idea about it, so they just ignored it."

Ok!

It turns out that Mirova relied on the copyright office's ability to record history to allow Atari to win everything!

Ethan was somewhat moved.

Although he found what lawyer Barbara said somewhat ridiculous, but...

Well, that's definitely a traditional American skill.

After all, there have been bizarre incidents in this country where refugees have been sent from one place to another.

After Ethan, living in the 21st century, had seen countless laughs...

Milrohua's jokes can hardly be called jokes; they're more like a big joke.

"Okay, Ms. Barbara, thank you very much for your answer."

Ethan suppressed a laugh and said in a serious tone.

However, to be honest, he felt much more relaxed at that moment.

Because he understood the true cause of the problem that the original owner of the body was struggling with, he also learned that in 1975, in this primitive era, video games were also protected by law.

In that case...

If you register the copyright for "Snake", you can sell it, right?

And if he sells it, wouldn't he have money?

Once you have money...

Beach! Beautiful women! Bikini Bottom!

Hey!

Thinking of this, Ethan couldn't wait to ask again:

"So, Ms. Barbara, if I go to register the copyright now, can I enter 'video game'?"

"I hope I won't be rejected by the copyright office like Milrova?"

"Of course not!"

Barbara, the lawyer, laughed and said, "Actually, after Milrova officially sued Atari last year, the Copyright Office had already opened up this area for registration. You can register your content as copyrighted under the name of video games."

Ethan was very satisfied with this answer.

However, just as he was about to thank them and follow the registration process,

Attorney Barbara, however, added, "However, I don't recommend that you register now."

"???"

Ethan didn't quite understand what this meant.

Evelyn was also somewhat surprised. "Why? Ms. Barbara?"

The two's confusion made Barbara laugh. "The reason is simple..."

"My darlings! You're very lucky. The fifty-six-year restriction is about to be overthrown by those capitalists!"

Note: ① The copyright bureau joke mentioned in the article is true. Expedited service, also known as special treatment, is only available when there is a risk of copyright infringement, customs matters, or when a contract or publication deadline requires expedited certificate issuance. After acceptance, the copyright registration certificate is generally reviewed and issued within 5 business days. This service has truly harmed many people because it's often impossible to confirm the specific copyright date. And this isn't the only copyright protection joke. Those interested can look into Richard Prince, the famous American appropriation artist. He removed the text from someone else's work, re-photographed it, and claimed it as original, which was even recognized by the copyright bureau. The bureau said his re-creation met the "some originality" requirements for copyright registration—this is utterly absurd. Even more absurd is Marlboro's case, because Marlboro paid for a commercial photo shoot, and he simply pointed a camera at it and took a picture, claiming it as original.

(End of this chapter)