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Need legal help ASAP please - threats from Tetris Inc · **Released**: 06-26-2009

Hi,
I am running the ibProArcade on my gaming forum, and I have made several integrations into Facebook. I now have one of the largest Tetris applications on Facebook growing fast.

As we know ibProArcade has Tetris included among the 8 default games.

Today I have received a letter through Facebook from Tetris Inc that demands that I have to close down my Tetris application in Facebook and stop using Tetris on my site.

I have downloaded Tetris from vBulletin.org AND i have even paid the USD 50 license fee by PayPal as is suggested in the application.

Please give any help or provide any relevant link.
Do we have a license to use Tetris?
Do we have any rights at all?

Or will we just have to lay flat and stop using it.

Thanks for any advice.

MrZeropage · #2 07-05-2009, 06:59 AM

In former times Chris Kelly compiled those original games included in ibProArcade.
With ibProArcade v2.6.4+ we had to remove PACMAN from the archive, as the company having the rights for this game did not want this anymore.
I think you should remove Tetris from your site, and if you provide a copy of the letter I will contact them and ask if I should remove Tetris from the ibProArcade-archive and even the installations out there (with next update).

emailapphost · #3 07-08-2009, 03:20 PM

Thanks for that update.
I will send you their letter as a private message.

This saddens me deeply as Tetris and Pacman are what the users want to play.

Are there some good knockoffs of these games available?

WEBDosser · #4 07-08-2009, 05:28 PM

interesting

emailapphost · #5 07-09-2009, 05:18 AM

I have researched this.

It seems there was a wave of cease-and-desist letters in the 90ties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tetris_Company

The conclusion is that one can not use the word "Tetris", but one CAN provide Tetris-like games. One can use the generic term "Tetromino".

So we will have to remove the Tetris name, and replace it with Tetromino.

Is there anyone who is capable of removing any mention of Tetris in the actual game code?
I suggest a total "Replace" of all mentions of Tetris with "Tetromino", also in the image on the game.

So instead of removing it in the next update we can just replace Tetris with Tetromino.

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