[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#14917) Patch: martian.ruleset

["Vasco Alexandre da Silva Costa" <vasco.costa@xxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=14917 >

On 1/3/06, Peter Schaefer <peter.schaefer@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> <URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=14917 >
>
> On 1/2/06, Daniel Markstedt <himasaram@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > <URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=14917 >
> >
> > Well, he [Marvin] of course deserves to be leader of the Martians more than 
> > any
> > Earthling who never sat his foot in space. =)
> >
> > But in the end, I think we'd rather avoid adding (any more) trademarked
> > fictional content to the game...
>
> Sorry if this leads me to rollback to some earlier point of the
> trademark discussion, but:
>
> Marvin is a common name, IMHO you would only violate the content of a
> computer game or story if you copied a distinctive part of it - when I
> hear "Marvin", I think of tHhGttG, but not that Marvin was ruler of
> Mars, so it is not recognizable.
>
> I also see no problem with using even a trademarked name inside the
> game, as long as it is not the name of the game (or maybe a game mod)
> itself. For example, there may be tardemarks for "Andromeda", but you
> sure could still name your characters "Andromeda" if you wanted to.
>
> (It is still wise not to use LOTR names since because the names are
> invented, any one of them is distinctive)
>
> Your collection of SciFi-writers, especially Isaac Asimov, would make
> great leaders for a nation named "Foundation". I am not sure there
> would be any memorable Martian leaders though who were non-fictional.

Given that no human has actually even been there, it is hard for it to have
been ruled by any.

Although, I suppose, we could use robotic Mars probe names for the
rulers. :-)

Express, Mariner, Pathfinder, Phobos, Sojourner, Viking, etc.

--
Vasco Alexandre da Silva Costa