jwhite@SRC.Honeywell.COM (Jim White) (11/22/89)
This message is on behalf of a talented high school student. He has written a very nice version of PENTE for the Mac, and is considering selling it. What's the best way to break into the Mac software business? Should he send his program to big name software companies for evaluation? If so, what should he do to protect his rights? Are there organizations that specialize in handling the distribution of software? Who are they? What percentage do they expect? What about shareware? What response have shareware authors received? What other issues should this beginner consider? James A. White Phone: (612) 782-7355 Research Fellow Fax: (612) 782-7438 Honeywell Systems and Research Center Mail Stop MN65-2100 3660 Technology Drive Internet: jwhite@src.honeywell.com Minneapolis, MN 55418. James A. White Phone: (612) 782-7355 Research Fellow Fax: (612) 782-7438 Honeywell Systems and Research Center Mail Stop MN65-2100 3660 Technology Drive Internet: jwhite@src.honeywell.com Minneapolis, MN 55418.
keir@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Rick Keir, MACC) (11/23/89)
>This message is on behalf of a talented high school student. >He has written a very nice version of PENTE for the Mac and Sad but true: the first thing he should do is find out whether PENTE is owned by someone else, and if so, whether just the name is owned, or the actual rules. (For example, although I can't copyright a game based on Nim, I could certainly trademark a name for my distribution.) I believe PENTE is protected for both name and rules, as it doesn't seem to be in any "boardgames of the world" type anthology I've seen. People writing computer versions of "Risk" and "OGRE" have had troubles, in the past. Anyone attempting a version of Monopoly or Scrabble would have great trouble, as the owners of these two games have a long history of successfully suing anyone who makes a version of them that isn't authorized. On the other hand, maybe the owners of "PENTE" will decide to make money selling a computer version, and will pay your friend for his implementation. One can always hope.