Mighty No. 9 - Keiji Inafune / comcept kicksarter project

[Damm64]

so what are the odds that Capcom could potentially but the kibbosh on this? I think they have a pretty good argument that this is very, very damn close to Mega Man and that it infringes on copyright. I think they could likely shut it down if they were so inclined...

I can't imagine Capcom trying to shut this down unless they were planning some Mega Man stuff of their own that this would actively compete with. Even then, all shutting this down would really do is piss off the very fans they'd want to win over if they were to put out future Mega Man titles, and I doubt they want that.

If they don't have any real plans for Mega Man, I don't see what they'd have to gain from going after this at all.

I'm sure Inafune and co. considered this stuff before even starting the project anyway, and have probably done their homework.

The only way that capcom can shut this project is if the developers are LITERALLY using megaman in any way, the design/name. The design of the character is similar but diferent enough to tell that is not megaman (also is made by the same guy so the style WILL be similar), and they can't shut down a game for using similar megaman like gameplay (if thats the case then hundreds of games will be shut it down).

[dsheinem]

The only way that capcom can shut this project is if the developers are LITERALLY using megaman in any way, the design/name.

I don't think this is true. I think that a threshold exists for "reasonable likeness" that Capcom could argue as a grounds to sue, but I am not sure who the arbiter of that claim would be. prfsnl_gmr, our resident lawyer, can you point us in the right direction here?

[Damm64]

The only way that capcom can shut this project is if the developers are LITERALLY using megaman in any way, the design/name.

I don't think this is true. I think that a threshold exists for "reasonable likeness" that Capcom could argue as a grounds to sue, but I am not sure who the arbiter of that claim would be. prfsnl_gmr, our resident lawyer, can you point us in the right direction here?

Maybe, but still they will gain so much hate if they shut this down

[ZeroAX]

I don't think this is true. I think that a threshold exists for "reasonable likeness" that Capcom could argue as a grounds to sue, but I am not sure who the arbiter of that claim would be. prfsnl_gmr, our resident lawyer, can you point us in the right direction here?

As others have said, I don't think you can copyright gameplay mechanics so easily. Otherwise some company would have copyrighted "Capture the Flag" already

Yeah it is similar to Megaman, just like Mickey Mouse was similar to Oswald the Rabbit, so I think they can't sue them for making a spiritual successor. It's not like they use the same exact characters.


And since this is in Japan (different copyright laws from the US), I would say with the mainstream manga industry writers stealing ideas from one another so blatantly, Inafune is probably safe

[Cronozilla]

It depends on how Japanese law works in this regard, but in general:
You can't copyright gameplay mechanics at all. It's not a tangible thing, you can only copyright an actual piece of work.

You can patent a technique, but gameplay techniques are so abstract and almost all could be considered derivative works of previous games, that it wouldn't hold up.

The only real ground they could have is arguing that Mighty No 9 is derivative work to Mega Man. However, all they have right now is a design of a character that is somewhat similar, and a ballpark similarity in proposed game style. Until there's an actual game to compare them to, it doesn't really matter. And the fact that he's the original creator would hold weight as well. He does have a point in saying it looks similar because he created both.

In general, I don't think there'd be very much they could do about it, legally. The worst they could probably do is just force them to go to court and cost them money they don't have.

But, I imagine that would be the sort of final nail a lot of gamers would need to boycott Capcom, so I doubt they'd do something like that.

But ... the Japanese laws about this stuff could be entirely different.

[ZeroAX]

The worst they could probably do is just force them to go to court and cost them money they don't have.

Kickstarter campaign to hire a lawyer to counter-sue Crapcom meets its target goal in less than 12 hours

[Gunstar Green]

I don't know anything about Japanese copyright law but given how immensely derivative a lot of Japanese manga, anime and video game works are from one another I can only imagine it's not terribly different or maybe even more lax.

[BogusMeatFactory]

From what I have gathered from various interviews with Keiji Inafune the game is drastically different than megaman. The way the powers work are different and you can gain powers from normal enemies as well. I do think that the game will be very different than Megaman, but you will clearly see the influences. This is very much like a Bayonetta comparison to Devil May Cry with Hideki Kamiya. There are very similar game mechanics; the comparisons in gameplay are far too similar, but it is not going to cross that line where it is the same game.

Game developers are smart people. They have lawyers who are trained to know when they can and can not do something.

EDIT: Also...only $400,000 away from console releases. It is almost assured considering the time left on the kickstarter.

[ZeroAX]

From what I have gathered from various interviews with Keiji Inafune the game is drastically different than megaman. The way the powers work are different and you can gain powers from normal enemies as well. I

That sounds like Kirby.....might work out great actually . I was always too stingy in Megaman, using the X-Buster for everything but the bosses, and so I ended up not enjoying myself with all the different weapons. This could solve that for me

[Cronozilla]

The worst they could probably do is just force them to go to court and cost them money they don't have.

Kickstarter campaign to hire a lawyer to counter-sue Crapcom meets its target goal in less than 12 hours

A special thanks to all the backers that allowed us to reach stretch goal number 2 to file a class action lawsuit