Source Code Stolen
Video game concept
At some point, someone illegally acquired the source code to these games.
54
games
18platforms
N64 1996-11-01
N64 1998-11-23
SNES 1992
N64 2001-04-09
ARCD 1999-09
WIN 2004-11-15
DOS 1999
SNES 1992-09-11
DOS 1989
SNES 1993-03
SNES 1995
SNES 1991-11-21
This can be devastating for a proprietary project. As the stolen code can be used to undermine the profit potential of the typical proprietary software business model and possibly be a costly and time consuming legal entanglement for the rightful owner to stop this illegal activity, many victims make the decision to orphan the work. Even in cases where they do not know the thief's intention to take action to undermine the profit potential. And even in cases where the thief's stated intention will not undermine the profit potential and may in fact increase profit potential (porting to other platforms and offering the improved derivative code to the rightful owner of the original work, for instance).
Note, only a creditable accusation or claim need be publicly stated for this tag to apply. Any legal proceedings, or lack thereof, that prove or disprove theft are irrelevant. The statement of the accusation implies the creator will be choosing actions as if the theft is factual. Also, if source is accidently released to the public, actions will be taken as if theft has occured.
US copyright law, the DMCA, rights granted to 3rd parties, and accuasations of theft, can sometimes interact in such a way that ligitement rights to source code are invalidated for all parties. That is to say, no one, not even the copyright holder can't legally use the code. Such is the case with System Shock 2.
Stolen source can also violate privacy. Many developers write their code under the assumption that it will never been scrutinised by anyone but themselves. Also, source code is not typically stored by itself. Hard drives and other mass storage in paticular tend to have emails, all kinds of documents, web history, and pretty much anything a person might put on their computer. But even just the source code files may reveal dumb ideas, foul language, and deeply personal information that were never intended to be seen.
Note, only a creditable accusation or claim need be publicly stated for this tag to apply. Any legal proceedings, or lack thereof, that prove or disprove theft are irrelevant. The statement of the accusation implies the creator will be choosing actions as if the theft is factual. Also, if source is accidently released to the public, actions will be taken as if theft has occured.
US copyright law, the DMCA, rights granted to 3rd parties, and accuasations of theft, can sometimes interact in such a way that ligitement rights to source code are invalidated for all parties. That is to say, no one, not even the copyright holder can't legally use the code. Such is the case with System Shock 2.
Stolen source can also violate privacy. Many developers write their code under the assumption that it will never been scrutinised by anyone but themselves. Also, source code is not typically stored by itself. Hard drives and other mass storage in paticular tend to have emails, all kinds of documents, web history, and pretty much anything a person might put on their computer. But even just the source code files may reveal dumb ideas, foul language, and deeply personal information that were never intended to be seen.
Popular tags
arenashooter famitsugoty fzero mario mario-universe mariokart pokemon pokemon-universe quake-series racinggame scrollingshooter starfox supermariobros systemshock zelda zelda-universe zeldalikeParent group
Child groups
Games by year
The first Source Code Stolen video game was released in 1983.