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[Matteobin]

Hi GoldenEye: Source team, the game is beatifull and I usually play it very much with my dad and my friends.

But I have a question for you: how can you make a James Bond game with the GoldenEye name and all the Bond stuffs inside... I mean... isn't there a copyright for 007?

Do you have an agreement with MGM? If you don't have one, could anyone create his own James Bond game (a no profit one of course)?

[Wake[of]theBunT]

GoldenEye is a very specific and unique piece of james bond property.

On a technical level we are on thin ice using the property without permission.

However, on the business architecture side, we are working around a perfect storm of conditions that can't or don't threaten us with action.

I would not advise making other james bond games as activision owns present and future rights to making james bond universe games. They just don't own backwards rights with goldeneye (only).

[Matteobin]

I don't understand Activision remade GoldenEye for Wii and it doesn't own the GoldenEye rights?

How could it be possible?

[Jonathon [SSL]]

Activision owns the rights to the James Bond franchise, they can do whatever they want with it. However, you'll notice Goldeneye Wii is barely anything like Goldeneye 007, that's because a lot of things like level and gamplay design are copyrights of Rare/Nintendo or some giant copyright mumblyjumbly thing like that.

The way we function is we're a massive piece of fanart; this game is by fans of the original, for fans of the original. The people who call themselves a part of the development team for this mod are just people who love the game so much that they work for free out of their own love for modding and the original game that they work to recreate it with modern graphics to keep the spirit of the fun and fantastic gameplay alive. We don't make any money at all off our work, we don't even accept donations. We just work, develop, test, and play internally, release to the public every so often, and have fun, that's all it's about.

[Mangley]

It's quite simple really:

Activision currenlty holds the license to produce James Bond games, this means only they can legally produce James Bond games for profit at this time.

This license does not grant them ownership of the title 'Goldeneye' or of the character 'James Bond'.

Non-profit projects like GE:S do not require a license as they are not making money off of James Bond franchising. Using 'James Bond' as a character name in the mod is perfectly fine, just as writing a fan-fiction of James Bond would be fine.

In summary, as Nintendo actually owns rights to nothing, Activision doesn't own backwards rights to the original game or rights to the title, it's actually only Rareware, who as developers of the original game own the concept of the game, and as GE:S is all original content I don't believe they have any legal grounds or reason to 'stop' the mod.

[Proxie]

Well put manglue

[Rodney 1.666]

As I recall, Rare was contacted to some degree a few years ago. I don't think an answer was received but the general feeling in the air was "Don't sell it and we won't care". (as KM said)

[Matteobin]

Ok I got it.

Anyway GoldenEye: Source is really better than 007 GoldenEye for Wii. In my opinion this game is the most beatifull freeware FPS. I think it's better than CoD series too. Continue creating it... you guys are wonderfull!

[Jonathan [Spider]]

Nintendo published the original game, for rare, so they both have a stake in the game GE64 as an IP.
Microsoft now owns rare so it also no has a stake in the GE64 IP

In order for a GE64 game to come out, rare, MS and Nintendo would all have to come together on an agreement which is Extremely hard to do, especially since they tried (completed an HD remake for 360 similar to PD) once, it failed as nintendo wanted it to be a wii exclusive.

Lets say MS, rare, and nintendo COULD get an agrement, they now have a new hurdle, they gotta talk to activision since they are the only ones who can currently make money off of the bond IP in video games right now... activision would want a slice of that pie thats already getting split up quite a bit.

its a case of legal grid lock no one is going to be able to remake and release a remake of goldeneye 64 and make money off of it. thats why the Goldeneye on wii was sort of a reimagining rather than a straight remake. and thats why we are sort of in the eye of a legal hurricane relatively safe, but still in a tricky situation if the huricane changes course, or  we step to far in any one direction hehe.