Intro without Nietzsche
karet
Member Posts: 2
Greetings,
I have a question, which is quite important to me.
Why did you remove the Nietzsche quote from the intro?
What was the reason to do that? Same could go for removing the baalspawn_goes_snitch line.
Thanks for an honest answer.
Karet
I have a question, which is quite important to me.
Why did you remove the Nietzsche quote from the intro?
What was the reason to do that? Same could go for removing the baalspawn_goes_snitch line.
Thanks for an honest answer.
Karet
8
Comments
Btw, is the "you must gather your party before venturing forth" phrase missing or is it just me?
It's possible the quote was lifted from a recent translation, which may be governed by a copyright issued to the translator.
However, Helen Zimmern's 1906 English translation of Beyond Good and Evil is in the public domain, and thus is her translation of the quote:
146. He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby
become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will
also gaze into thee.
I'm just a gullible hamster. ;(
Or the Hobbit. It came out in 1937, so unless laws have already changed, it should be public domain this year, or the next. But do you really think it will be?
I don't remember exactly how many works passed into public domain this year, but it was depressingly few.
All sorts of loopholes and gimmicks to prolong copyright nowadays. According to my edition of The Annotated Hobbit, The Hobbit had its copyright renewed again in 1994 by Christopher Tolkien and his siblings, then in 1997 it was assigned to "The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust".
Good fun!
Like I said, if anyone comes up with a mod to add it back in, I will definitely install that mod.
As for the quote, it's possible (I'm not sure) that the specific translation they use is from a more recent translation that might be under copyright belonging to the translator, as can be the case for translations of a public domain source. (Translations of a source still under copyright protection are derivative works and must be authorized by the copyright holder, and the translation's copyright would be assigned to the original copyright holder as a work-for-hire.)
I don't claim to be a copyright lawyer or expert.
I think they shouldn't not only retained the quote, but expanded upon it by turning the entire Baldur's Gate intro into a six-minute long death metal power ballad about monsters and abysses and the staring into thereof, filmed from a live stage performance by Sarevok and the Iron Throne.
PS. In the USA the copyright expires in some cases within 28 years after death unless renewed. If renewed or in other cases it may last up to 90 years if not expired before 1998. Tolkiens works will be in copyright until 2063 in the USA, and 2043 in the EU.
Or is there maybe even an extra law for that?
It took the U.S. 102 years to get around to joining the Convention.
The 50 year figure is a minimum, by the by. Longer terms can be agreed upon.
So a German (or Prussian) work may be under copyright in Germany and not in China or vice versa. A creator may be protected under USA law, but his copyright may have expired in the EU, and so on.
The law is similar in most countries because of the Bern Convention (and other treaties that followed, which provides minimum protection, but not identical. If you sell via inernet, which means internationally, you risk being found in breach of this national legislation or the other. So it makes good sense to include as few references to other works as possible.
It is an extremely complex situation, and I hesitate to give any specific answers. Even the meaning and content of "copyright" differs from one legal tradition to the other. And this is not a legal forum.
I understand the sentiment, although id' put it more mildly. Intelectual property law (and that includes patents as well as copyright) was meant to protect creators and fuel innovation. Nowadays it has begun to be a hindrance. I' m all for creative commons.