Kinvarus

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May 23, 2020
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At this point there is no point in trying to understand what the hell is up with this dev...
Yeah I saw it posted on Steam just now and my first thought was "Didn't the Dev abandon this?" Then saw the reviews of people saying that he hadn't picked it up again and that someone else has posted it and selling it on Steam.

Seems odd that he's warned people about it here but not done anything to have the game removed on Steam cos someone is making money off of his game and it's unfinished on top of that. Very odd.
 
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Tremonia

Justice for Finnabair!
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Jun 14, 2020
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Seems odd that he's warned people about it here but not done anything to have the game removed on Steam cos someone is making money off of his game and it's unfinished on top of that. Very odd.
There are three possibilities: 1. it's his game and he sells it himself, but then why warn people here?
2. there were two people who made the game. They fell out and the project fell apart. One of them put it on Steam, the other had access to the account here and tried to spit in the soup.
3. it's actually his game, but he can't prove anything to Steam because he would have to provide proof of copyright. But he can't because he didn't pay anything for assets, music, etc. The other party who put it on Steam did, however.

Let me put it this way: Steam is very sensitive when it comes to copyright infringements, as they themselves are also partly liable. Should the rightful copyright holder have reported the infringement of their rights to Steam, there is no way that the game would still be available on Steam. However, anyone who makes the claim to Steam will also be asked by Steam to provide proof of this. An affidavit notarized by a lawyer is sufficient for this purpose. Steam would then immediately contact the party that placed the game on the platform and “ask” for proof of legality.

To make a long story short: I don't believe the “someone else is selling my game” story. My bet is on option 2 from my list.
 

DuckDairyDip

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Feb 21, 2018
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How exactly would an indie dev like this even go about getting their game removed from Steam posted by someone else? I assume many who are much smaller don't even register as a business depending on the circumstance or have anything copyrighted or the like. So even if they wanted to, does Steam have an avenue to even prove they are the true owner of the game?
 

Tremonia

Justice for Finnabair!
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Jun 14, 2020
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How exactly would an indie dev like this even go about getting their game removed from Steam posted by someone else?
They contact Steam's legal department.
I assume many who are much smaller don't even register as a business depending on the circumstance or have anything copyrighted or the like.
They don't need to have a company to sell a game on Steam. They also don't need a company to claim their legal interests regarding copyright infringement.
So even if they wanted to, does Steam have an avenue to even prove they are the true owner of the game?
Of course Steam has that. They would be stupid if they didn't. As a retailer, Steam is also liable to a certain extent if they allow copyright infringement. This is also one of the reasons why Steam checks the content before every release and, especially in the case of music, asks for proof that it is licensed music or its own creations. There are many ways to prove that you own the copyright to your own product. Assume that Steam, with the mass of products they offer, knows very well what ways there are and uses them accordingly.
 
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Mar 5, 2020
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How exactly would an indie dev like this even go about getting their game removed from Steam posted by someone else? I assume many who are much smaller don't even register as a business depending on the circumstance or have anything copyrighted or the like. So even if they wanted to, does Steam have an avenue to even prove they are the true owner of the game?
I don't know the exact process, but what I know is that if someone is sending Steam a DMCA takedown notice, they have to take the game down for 30 days to give both parties the time to prove their claim (I have seen it happening ~6 years ago to a game called Farmer's Dynasty).
 

DuckDairyDip

Well-Known Member
Feb 21, 2018
1,059
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They contact Steam's legal department.
They don't need to have a company to sell a game on Steam. They also don't need a company to claim their legal interests regarding copyright infringement.
Of course Steam has that. They would be stupid if they didn't. As a retailer, Steam is also liable to a certain extent if they allow copyright infringement. This is also one of the reasons why Steam checks the content before every release and, especially in the case of music, asks for proof that it is licensed music or its own creations. There are many ways to prove that you own the copyright to your own product. Assume that Steam, with the mass of products they offer, knows very well what ways there are and uses them accordingly.
Makes sense Steam has those things in place for as big as they are and how long they've been around. Of course a storefront would have a way to combat copyright infringement. Just curious since I imagine many devs especially those who have not prepped for a Steam release may not have things copyrighted or any legal ties to the game outside of maybe their Patreon payments and the like. So if things aren't properly copyrighted or something that could be used as a legal substitute, how would they prove it?
I don't know the exact process, but what I know is that if someone is sending Steam a DMCA takedown notice, they have to take the game down for 30 days to give both parties the time to prove their claim (I have seen it happening ~6 years ago to a game called Farmer's Dynasty).
Yeah, I remember that situation. Was just curious how they would go about a DMCA and the like if they did not have a registered company, copyright, and/or trademark to anything and what that process would likely look like. Like would the Patreon page no longer being up and very little social media presence work against them? Would providing proper builds including old builds of the game be sufficient?
 
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