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We want to buy Baldur's Gate copyrights.

KovanKovan Member Posts: 8
in Off-Topic
Hello, we are some old players from BG, a group of old players back to the first version of BG. Today we are software developers. We want to make our own BG's projects and we are looking for informations.

We want in easy words develop a game based on BG's engine, but we are looking for informations about copyrights, who to contact and the costs.

Since the franchising have changed many companies, we would like to know who should we contact in order to acquire the copyright to develop our own game.

While we might not use the Baldur's Gate name, we still want to use the engine and the graphic it has. Could someone give the contacts to the company that detains the copyright and eventually show them our project and have an agreement. As said, the game will use the Baldur's gate engine and the grapich, however the name will be different. Thanks in advice.

Comments

  • KovanKovan Member Posts: 8
    We just want to avoid the design part, we don't want to create any sequel. Kinda like modding but beside a similar graphic nothing in common. But it' been almost 20 years since BG was released, and to tracert the companies that have the copyright it is not immediate. Name of the game, classes, they will be all different, we would like to release a fully version online only. What we need is an engine and to be sure no copirights troubles.
  • AmmarAmmar Member Posts: 1,297
    You seem to underestimate how deeply the D&D 2nd edition rules are embedded in the engine. If you are not going to use them, you might as well start from scratch.

    Also since you mention graphics, please be aware that many of the monsters in the game are also part of the license (i.e. Beholders).
  • Dev6Dev6 Member Posts: 721
    edited November 2017
    So basically what you want is full access to the infinity engine, so you can create a non-D&D game.

    Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

    And honestly if you were actual developers this isn't how you would go about trying to contact the people that hold the rights to the license, not even by a long shot.
  • Contemplative_HamsterContemplative_Hamster Member Posts: 844
    edited November 2017
    .... and if you were professionals, you'd be significantly better at English, too, or you'd hire somebody who was. Sorry, I don't mean this as a personal attack, but really, your grammar, spelling, glossary, and use of idioms are all over the place.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    For what it's worth, as a native English speaker, I don't see any spelling errors in this thread, or poor word choice, and the only grammar errors are some optional commas and a comma that should be a semicolon--none of which impair communication, honestly.

    Normally, if you wanted to reach a business deal of some sort with a corporation, you would contact them via the traditional route. No one here has the power to grant this request, and these kind of negotiations would never take place in a public forum.
  • Contemplative_HamsterContemplative_Hamster Member Posts: 844
    edited November 2017
    @semiticgod ,

    FWIW, as a non-native speaker who teaches advanced English ESL, works as a translator, etc., I see a number of errors, to wit:

    Incorrect use of the genitive: own *BG's projects
    Incorrect pluralization: *informations."
    Idiom (probably a foreign language transfer): *in easy words
    Infinitive marker missing: we want *develop a game
    Incorrect pluralization: *informations about copyrights, who to contact and the costs.
    Concord error - this is a 3rd person singular: *have changed
    Idiom or missing word: *many companies,
    Word order (or, alternatively, the lack of a semicolon): we would like to know who *should we contact
    Missing plural marker: the *graphic it has.
    Glossary error: retains/*detains
    Glossary error: probably "reach"/ *have an agreement.
    Spelling error: *grapich,
    Glossary error: Thanks in *advice."

    And, as you say, a number of optional (Oxford) commas.
    Post edited by Contemplative_Hamster on
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    edited November 2017
    semiticgod said:

    For what it's worth, as a native English speaker, I don't see any spelling errors in this thread, or poor word choice, and the only grammar errors are some optional commas and a comma that should be a semicolon--none of which impair communication, honestly.

    Normally, if you wanted to reach a business deal of some sort with a corporation, you would contact them via the traditional route. No one here has the power to grant this request, and these kind of negotiations would never take place in a public forum.

    No, @rrchristensen is absolutely correct, the OP is riddled with grammatical errors, e.g. inappropriate possessive "BG's", inappropriate pluralisation "informations" and so on. They are fairly typical for someone for whom English is not their first language, and is not fully fluent.

    My impression is this is someone - possibly in Eastern Europe - who would like to be a computer game developer but has little idea of what it actually involves.

    Edit, sorry, I was gazumped over the grammar.
  • KovanKovan Member Posts: 8
    Thanks but english grammar and programming are 2 different entities, as far as i know english programmers are the worse ones you find out there. Best programmers are Japaneses, Indians, Italians, Spanish, French, Germans, Romanians.

    This was a request for a contact because so far we have no clue who to contact, in easy words the company owning the copyright is? In case you didn't get it we have no interess in BG, that's not what we want. And everything has a price so it's not impossible. Regards.
  • lolienlolien Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,108
    I think that it would be easier and cheaper to build similar engine and graphic (with searching and paying the appropriate programmers and artist). But of course everything is possible and it's opposite too, as my father use to say.

    With an e-mail to support@beamdog.com you may find contact with a developer faster.
  • Dev6Dev6 Member Posts: 721
    Kovan said:

    Thanks but english grammar and programming are 2 different entities, as far as i know english programmers are the worse ones you find out there. Best programmers are Japaneses, Indians, Italians, Spanish, French, Germans, Romanians.

    As someone who's an actual programmer, let me enlighten you a little bit.
    The only reason anyone would employ either Indian or Romanian programmers is because they cost 10 times less than programmers from actual developed countries. Trust me, I've worked with both.
    As far as the rest go, sure. They're as good as their education was, meaning they can either be very good or very bad.

    And yes, english grammar and programming are two different things, but you can't expect to be a programmer in the global market if you don't know english.

    My advice? Learn from this thread. Try to be more professional next time. And if you still don't see where you did wrong then I'm sorry but there's really no hope for you.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    IIRC:

    The EE infinity engine IP is held by Beamdog. EA/Bioware may still have a small chunk of it though.

    The IP is held by WotC (Hasbro). As mentioned earlier, second D&D rules are very much imbedded in the IE game. It is best to start with them.
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    bob_veng said:

    this thread is really unpleasant to look at. the guy asked the most matter-of-fact question in the world "who do i ask about copyright" and he's got everything but that. i think it should be erased and restarted. it's completely inappropriate to doubt whether he's a developer (keep it to yourselves, i mean), to debate him on stupid points like from which countries come the best programmers, and give him unrelated advice about professionalism and english usage

    The question was answered, to the extent that anyone can: the licences are so murky that it would take an expensive lawyer years to unravel, and it would be considerably easier and cheaper to start from scratch.
  • bob_vengbob_veng Member Posts: 2,308
    that's not a fair answer, that's mostly a supposition. we don't know what the legal end of things looks like in 2017. a fair answer would be "i don't know", but then why post that at all.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    I'm closing this thread to prevent further abuse. Even if you state that your comment is not a personal attack and then proceed with a personal off-topic comment, it's still not permitted according to the Site rules.

    If you look at the bottom of the page, you'll see the following:

    "BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp."

    The same is stated at https://www.bioware.ru/articles/bioware/other_stuff/copyrights_amp_trademarks.html

    It's beyond my paygrade to comment on the property of the Infinity Engine.
This discussion has been closed.

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