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News & Announcements / STOP SOPA/PIPA
« on: January 18, 2012, 11:46:49 AM »
Trainers,
We’re not usually inclined to comment on politics. We’re a group of fans who like Pokemon games, and making/playing games is just a whole lot more fun.
Called the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) in the House of Representatives and the "PROTECT IP Act" (PIPA) in the Senate, these bills are a misguided attempt to curb the illegal piracy of copyrighted content (like movies, music and games). Preventing piracy of copyrighted content is a laudable goal.
However, SOPA/PIPA goes far beyond simply addressing piracy. This proposed legislation actually threatens any website that features user-generated content. In effect, any copyright holder could file a claim that a website is hosting unauthorized content (such as the pokeballs in our logo, the "Pokemon" name anywhere on our website or maybe even the image you have as your avatar). Under the law, ad networks, payment providers and internet service providers are now potentially liable for their user’s infringement. These services could then be compelled to immediately remove these items from the website or face a costly legal battle – at a minimum cutting off financial means, and likely shutting off the site and project entirely.
How would SOPA/PIPA impact Pokemon Universe?
Since the Pokemon Universe project has always been in the dark zone looking at the usage of copyrighted content, there was always the possibility of us getting shutdown by Nintendo/GameFreak. We tried to minimize this chance as much as possible by creating original content instead of using ripped content from the original Pokemon games.
Due to SOPA/PIPA all our effort will to go waste because in the end we're still using the "Pokemon" name and individual Pokemon names, so there's a high possibility we will get cease and desist and have to stop the project.
You live in Europe, why do you care about some piracy act in the USA!
It's true that the SOPA/PIPA doesn't affect us right away. But in time our goverments will follow the example set in the USA and we will get our own SOPA/PIPA.
Furthermore, about 50% of our userbase is from the USA, so it's likly we want to host game servers in America. But with the SOPA/PIPA this will not be possible.
What can I do to prevent this?
Congress will reconvene at the end of January, and with a long roster of supporters on both sides of the aisle, SOPA/PIPA could actually pass. The likelihood is so great that technology giants including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter have gone so far as to publicly consider a simultaneous blackout in protest.
The Pokemon Universe project is opposed to SOPA/PIPA in their present form. While we do support efforts to prevent online piracy, the current form of this legislation comes at far too high a cost for us, our players, and online communities across the internet.
Help us take a stand. Write your congressperson today and voice your opposition to this misguided and harmful legislation:
http://americancensorship.org/
We’re not usually inclined to comment on politics. We’re a group of fans who like Pokemon games, and making/playing games is just a whole lot more fun.
Called the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) in the House of Representatives and the "PROTECT IP Act" (PIPA) in the Senate, these bills are a misguided attempt to curb the illegal piracy of copyrighted content (like movies, music and games). Preventing piracy of copyrighted content is a laudable goal.
However, SOPA/PIPA goes far beyond simply addressing piracy. This proposed legislation actually threatens any website that features user-generated content. In effect, any copyright holder could file a claim that a website is hosting unauthorized content (such as the pokeballs in our logo, the "Pokemon" name anywhere on our website or maybe even the image you have as your avatar). Under the law, ad networks, payment providers and internet service providers are now potentially liable for their user’s infringement. These services could then be compelled to immediately remove these items from the website or face a costly legal battle – at a minimum cutting off financial means, and likely shutting off the site and project entirely.
How would SOPA/PIPA impact Pokemon Universe?
Since the Pokemon Universe project has always been in the dark zone looking at the usage of copyrighted content, there was always the possibility of us getting shutdown by Nintendo/GameFreak. We tried to minimize this chance as much as possible by creating original content instead of using ripped content from the original Pokemon games.
Due to SOPA/PIPA all our effort will to go waste because in the end we're still using the "Pokemon" name and individual Pokemon names, so there's a high possibility we will get cease and desist and have to stop the project.
You live in Europe, why do you care about some piracy act in the USA!
It's true that the SOPA/PIPA doesn't affect us right away. But in time our goverments will follow the example set in the USA and we will get our own SOPA/PIPA.
Furthermore, about 50% of our userbase is from the USA, so it's likly we want to host game servers in America. But with the SOPA/PIPA this will not be possible.
What can I do to prevent this?
Congress will reconvene at the end of January, and with a long roster of supporters on both sides of the aisle, SOPA/PIPA could actually pass. The likelihood is so great that technology giants including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter have gone so far as to publicly consider a simultaneous blackout in protest.
The Pokemon Universe project is opposed to SOPA/PIPA in their present form. While we do support efforts to prevent online piracy, the current form of this legislation comes at far too high a cost for us, our players, and online communities across the internet.
Help us take a stand. Write your congressperson today and voice your opposition to this misguided and harmful legislation:
http://americancensorship.org/
But there is still hope, we're working hard to make it happen as soon as possible. 
