[corradojeff]

Originally Posted by Itchybottom [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I keep seeing this, but it's quite false. I'm not a lawyer, but I've read a few cases where the plaintiff has been successful at shutting down a resource, or suing the person for copyright violation.

Intellectual property such as EverQuest and World of Warcraft emulated servers fall under derivative work clauses in copyright law. You can borrow quite a few things (ideas) from something like EverQuest or WoW lore, but there isn't really a clean cut and dry definition of law on fictional characters, lore, worlds, and names that have clear copyrights in such an environment. This grey area is a real bear to tackle and will get you screwed if anything ever gets as far as a court date. When it comes to infringing on a copyright, the plaintiff just needs to prove that the work in question has been based upon the original copyrighted work. The rulings of note usually stipulate "Translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form which a work may be recast, transformed or adapted." Clearly, Project 1999 falls into this category.

Like the actual lawyer that posted on this forum though, I'm not worried.

Rogean has already replied to a post similar to one with these same points:

Originally Posted by Rogean [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yes it is legal, because A) We do not distribute copyrighted files, B) We do not charge people to play, therefor we are not making any sort of money or profit off of the intellectual property of SOE, and C) SOE Grants, in their user agreement, a license to utilize Everquest names and art, to all accounts in good standing:



Some say that it is not legal due to the following clause in the user agreement:



However, statements like these in a user agreement do not constitute legality, they merely serve as a guideline that if broken can terminate your usage of their services.