What You Don’t Know About Mario Bros. and Copyright

2014-01-06

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WHATYOUDON’TKNOWABOUTMARIOBROS.ANDCOPYRIGHT

JEAN-FRANÇOISJOURNAULT&JEAN-SEBASTIENRODRIGUEZ-PAQUETTE*
ROBIC,LLP
LAWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

Today,itisdifficulttoquestiontheartisticcharacterofvideogames.Amixtureof
audiovisualworksandtechnologicalprowess,thecontemporaryvideogamediffers
fromtraditionalcomputerprogramsandassertsitselfmorethaneverasanartistic
workinitsownright.However,duetothecomplexandtransdisciplinarynatureof
thismedium,itmaybedifficulttocharacterizeitsnaturefromthecopyright
perspective.
Inthisregard,theWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization(WIPO)publishedthis
summeracomparativeanalysisofdifferentnationalapproachesconcerningthe
determinationofthelegalstatusofvideogames.Inthisdocument,WIPOexamines
thelegislationofadozencountries,includingCanada,tohighlightthelegislative
distinctionsrelatingtothequalificationoftheworkandthedeterminationofthe
identityofthecopyrightowner.
FullWIPOstudyisavailableonlineat
http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/copyright/en/activities/pdf/comparative_analysis
_on_video_games.pdf.
TheSituationinCanada

InCanada,thereisnoconsensusontheclassificationofvideogamesunderthe
CopyrightAct(the”Act”).Indeed,sincethecourtshavenotruledontheissue,itisup
totheauthorsandthepractitionerstoprovidepossibleinterpretations.

Fromthestart,itisclearthatvideogamescanbeclassifiedas”computerprograms”
duetothefactthattheyaim”tobeuseddirectlyorindirectlyinacomputerinorderto
bringaspecificresult”.Underthisclassification,itisthesourcecodeofvideogames
thatwouldbeprotected.Indeed,itwouldbeincludedinthecategoryof”literary
works”undertheAct.

©CIPS,2013.*FromROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheWinter2013(Vol.17,no.3)Newsletterofthefirm.Publication068.168E.

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However,thisinterpretationprovidesonlypartialprotectiontocreators.Indeed,video
gamesare,bytheirnature,verydifferentfromfunctionalcomputersoftware
programssuchaswordprocessingsoftwares,sincetheyalsoareanamalgamof
variousworks.Thus,inadditiontothesourcecode,manyotherelementspresentin
avideogamecouldbeprotectedthroughcopyright.Theseincludemusic,film
sequences,characters,narrationanduserinterfaces.

InthecaseNintendoofAmericaInc.c.CamericaCorp,(1991)34C.P.R.(3d)193,
theCourtfoundthatitwascertainlyplausiblethattheActprovidesprotectionfor
audiovisualelementsofavideogame,buttheargumentsagainstthisnotionwere
alsodefendable.TheCourtthereforestatedthatitwasaseriousissuetoberesolved
attrial[Louis-PierreGravelleetJean-FrançoisJOURNAULT,«Protectiondesjeux
vidéo:Lapropriétéintellectuelleenmodemultijoueur»,Développementsrécentsen
propriétéintellectuelle,2012,p.421].

Inadditiontobenefitingfromindividualprotection[InthecaseRe:Sonnec.
FédérationdesassociationsdepropriétairesdecinémaduCanada,theSupreme
Courtstatedthattheinclusionofanexistingrecordingofamusicalperformanceina
filmhadtheeffectofbringingthisbenefitwithinthescopeoftheterm”soundtrack”.It
remainstodeterminewhetherthisinterpretationcouldbeimplementedforvideo
game],thevariouscomponentsofavideogamemayalsobeprotectedasa
“compilation”.Indeed,theActdefines”compilation”as
(a)aworkresultingfromtheselectionorarrangementofliterary,dramatic,
musicalorartisticworksorofpartsthereof;and/or
(b)aworkresultingfromtheselectionorarrangementofdata;
adefinitionthatsuitswelltherealityofvideogames.

Withregardtotheidentityofthecopyrightowner,therearetwocompeting
interpretations.Ononehand,whentheworkisconductedbyamultidisciplinary
team,itcouldbedescribedasa”workofjointauthorship”,ora”workconductedby
thecollaborationofworkproducedbythecollaborationoftwoormoreauthorsin
whichthecontributionofoneauthorisnotdistinctfromthecontributionoftheother
authororauthors[WIPO,TheLegalStatusofVideoGames:ComparativeAnalysis
inNationalApproches,2013,par.54].”

Ontheotherhand,totheextentthatthegameinquestionwascreatedbya
compartmentalizedteam,itmightratherbecalleda”collectivework”,whichterm
includes”anyworkwrittenindistinctpartsbydifferentauthors,orinwhichworksor
partsofworksofdifferentauthorsareincorporated”.However,duetothefactthat
theseparateelementsintegratedinthevideogamearenecessarilyunitedinits
sourcecode,somearguethatthisclassificationshouldnotbeapplied.

Finally,becausevideogamesareinteractivebynature,someauthorsfocusonthe
contributionoftheuserandtheprotectionthatcouldbenefitthecontentgenerated
therefrom.

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Foradetailedanalysisoftheissue,notethatlawyersLouis-PierreGravelleandJean
-FrançoisJournaultofthelawfirmRobicLLPpublishedin2012acomprehensive
articleentitled“Protectiondesjeuxvidéo:Lapropriétéintellectuelleenmode
multijoueur”.Inthistext,available(inFrench)at
http:/.com/admin/pdf/1069/421F-LPG-2012.pdf,theauthorsfocusonthe
differentprotectableelementsofvideogamesunderCanadianlawincluding
copyright,trademarks,patentsandindustrialdesigns.

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oforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,neighbouringrights;computer,
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