Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjack
The article mentions EA licenses it cars for their "need for speed" franchise as they are the main protagonists in that series,
wouldn't you say the airplanes are some kind central game element in il2 
I dont think anything would change regarding il2 if they are permitted to depict 3 Bell helicopters
in Battlefield 3 where there are much more vehicles players can choose from. |
It does not matter which role in a game take an object. Even if you use it's model as a 3rd plan scene prop - you still have to license it, if it is recognizable model/type.
Consumer goods (like cars), however, are different from military goods in terms of copyright. Because, development of consumer goods in most cases is paid by it's producer. Development of the military goods, in most cases, is paid by government=taxes=taxpayers=people of the country. Which, though arguably, puts copyright of mil.goods to public domain of the country, which paid for development thereof.
Well, something like this...
Anyways, if EA wins, it may lift the Grumman ban from future flight sims. But as for the IL-2 - I wouldn't be so sure, because of that agreement between UBi, 1C and NG.
Regarding older sims: this issue first struck IL-2. Previous developers were not affected. Approximately at the same time, toy and plastic kit manufacturers also encountered the same copyright problems.