Greetings all, my question is a bit complicated, so please bear with me.
There are technically three companies involved in this. I am building a mod (or modification) of an existing computer game (Neverwinter Nights, by Bioware, published by Atari). The game was made with a built in Toolset for the strict purpose of creating mods, and is thus clearly allowed, so long as no profit is made. This part is clear.
The mod I wish to build is based off of another RPG, called Earthdawn, owned by a separate company Living Room Games (called LRG). At one time, the copyright was owned by FASA, but was sold to LRG a few years ago. I have written to LRG, and they have stated that they are fine with this, and are excited to see the final mod, but I may need to get permission from the third company.
While the Earthdawn rights were owned by FASA, the rights to create any computer games based on FASA products (including Mechwarrior and Shadowrun) were sold to FASA Interactive, a subsidiary of Microsoft. I have contacted FASA Interactive, and have yet to receive a reply.
Basically, my question now is, what obligation do I have to this company in regards to this mod? Do I need their consent, as they have the sole rights to create computer games based off of lore from another company from whom I already have permission? And if so, what effect does failure to respond to me have? Should I assume one way or the other on their consent? I should make it known, that while FASA Interactive has used the rights to publish games on Mechwarrior and Shadowrun, Earthdawn has been neglected for the better part of ten years. Due to it's waning popularity, I see no reason why they would start to do so, when they never have used these rights. Does this alter the answers above any?
Thanks for your time, and any answers/insight you may be able to provide. |
