star citizen – Techdirt (original) (raw)

It Kind Of Looks Like Crytek Sued Star Citizen Developer By Pretending Its Engine License Says Something It Doesn't

from the fake-it-until-you-make-it dept

We see all kinds of crazy copyright disputes and lawsuits around here. It is, after all, kind of our thing. Still, occasionally you come across a copyright lawsuit so completely head-scratching as to make you question reality. Thus is the case with the lawsuit Crytek filed against CIG, makers of the long-anticipated Star Citzen game, for both breaking a licensing agreement between both parties and copyright infringement. Strangely, if you read the complaint, all of this centers around CIG choosing not to use the Crytek engine.

Crytek’s lawsuit alleged that CIG broke a CryEngine licensing agreement and infringed on Crytek’s copyrights by switching from CryEngine to Amazon’s Lumberyard platform in late 2016. But CIG contends that Crytek’s complaint selectively and misleadingly quotes from the full Game License Agreement signed by both parties.

CIG’s response, as highlighted in its motion to dismiss looks really bad for Crytek. Essentially, CIG contends that Crytek either doesn’t know how to read its own licensing agreement, or is selecting portions of the agreement to make it seem like it says something it simply doesn’t. As an example, Crytek’s suit claims the licensing agreement isn’t supposed to extend to a spinoff game CIG is developing, Squardron 42, except that the full licensing agreement CIG put before the court specifically covers Squadron 42 by name.

And if that sort of gaff isn’t enough to get your head shaking, CIG also points out that the licensing agreement, while providing exclusivity to the engine to CIG, doesn’t actually require the company to use the engine at all.

CIG also argues that the “exclusive rights” to CryEngine granted in the license agreement do not extend to a requirement to use that engine. “The plain language of the GLA where the grant of rights to CIG appears, plus the well-established concept of an exclusive license, instead establish that the word ‘exclusively’ simply means that CIG’s right to use the Engine in the Game is exclusive to CIG and Crytek may not give that right to anyone else,” the company writes.

“No provision in the GLA states that CIG ‘shall not’ embed any other engine or third-party software in the Game,” the response continues.

That covers the contract dispute portion of this. The claim of copyright infringement brought by Crytek appears to center on CIG’s failure to post Crytek’s copyright notices for the game engine it is no longer using.

By extension, the requirement to list Crytek’s copyright notices only applies when CryEngine was being used, CIG argues. Furthermore, CIG argues, the original agreement bars either party from seeking damages, as Crytek is attempting with its lawsuit. And Roberts Space Industries, which is named in the original Crytek complaint, didn’t actually sign the agreement in question, CIG contends.

At face value, it’s difficult to describe this whole situation as something other than Crytek’s legal team stepping directly into a bucket of shit, comically hopping up and down while shaking its fist for a moment, and then simply falling over backwards. I’m hard-pressed to think of a bigger loser of a suit than this, assuming CIG’s documentation is correct.

Filed Under: engine, exclusivity, licensing, squadron 42, star citizen, video games
Companies: cig, crytek

Crowd Funding: Also A Method For Proving Marketability To Investors

from the in-the-pudding dept

As crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter continue to be a rising trend in content production, there's an important lesson that both successful and failed attempts can teach us all. That lesson is that the turnout for such a project tells the producer everything they need to know about the combination of the saleability of their project and their ability to properly market it. In fact, Mark Cuban recently came out in strong support of crowd funding, going so far as to suggest that every startup should be required to do a Kickstarter campaign.

“It's a way for you create demand and sell the product without giving up any equity. That is a compliment to what an investor might do. In terms of PE (price to equity), there are strategic investors and then there's just money. I'm not a big fan of money investors, which is what most angel investors turn out to be, because they just want their money back. I try to be very strategic, I try to add value, or I don't make the investment.”

It's a great way to look at things, but I wonder if we can take it a step further. There is no reason that a Kickstarter project cannot also woo more traditional investors. This is all the moreso if the Kickstarter campaign takes off like a rocket. Why wouldn't an investor want to back a project that has shown it is both in-demand and managed by competent business folks? Serving as one example of the ability to do this, not to mention the leverage such an approach provides content creators, is Chris Roberts, developer of the Star Citizen game, which was wildly popular on Kickstarter.

“We’re still doing investment,” Roberts explained to RPS, “but I’m going to be a bit more picky in choosing it, and I’m getting to dictate the terms better. I’m saying, ‘You guys have to realize about making the game as good as possible. No forcing us to go public or to sell out.’”

Far from well-known conditions of corporate or investor interests forcing an early release of a game, or nixing important but difficult to create aspects of one (ahem, Mass Effect 3), this diversification of backing dollars protects the creator and his or her vision for their creation. There are still going to be stipulations under which an investor may hand over their cash, but the control over the creator is mitigated by the other sources of funds.

Beyond that, Chris explains how crowd funding can be a great proving ground to current or new investors.

“It’s actually funny. Everyone I lined up is basically over the moon. Your big risk as an investor is, “I’m backing this thing. Does anyone really want it?” At this point there’s no question that people want it, and maybe a lot more than anyone was expecting.”

What does this mean in practical terms? Well, far from the the caution some issue that crowd-funded projects will naturally be lower-budget cousins to their corporate largers, being able to attract money from multiple sources, including a wider internet public, could make for huge budgets in games, films, and music. I would suggest creators heed Mark Cuban's words: crowdfund, both for the money you can generate for your product, but also to prove to traditional investors that you're going to be successful.

Filed Under: attracting investors, chris roberts, crowdfunding, entrepreneurs, mark cuban, market research, star citizen, validation