PMBD

I think I'm dreaming... please don't wake me.

http://www.insimenator.net/showpost.php?p=736760&postcount=25

Seems EA has gotten straight to the point.  :D
The full letter is posted at SFV in the legal section.

Who were EA actually speaking to when they wrote that?

Yup! I found it on SFV: that's great!  :D

The thread is here: http://www.simsfilevault.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2745

If someone don't want to register at SFV just to have a look, I hope it wouldn't hurt if I quote here the two complete answers from EA:

Please please please let EA do something about paysites.  If they do, I won't even complain anymore about their craptastic H&M stuff pack.

Ok I joined up and read it now.  Nice to see EA finally making a decision.

So... where am I due to be banned from now?

Time to make a list then!

:shock:
:o
Now I need to change my underwear.

AA has done that.  :lol:

I need some serious shrink help. That turned me on.

Retribution is sexy.

who is this asshat Managerjosh, he needs to be slapped about the face several times. dont feel bad, i gotta little hot a work reading this too!  :lol:

I wish I could cut out the ending of Michael Jacksons's 'Thriller' and post it here. So appropriate!

:shock: Well I hope they'll actually do something now.

EA has gotten the list they asked for, along with other supporting documentation.

Stay tuned.

*wets herself*


Wooo! Even my mom thought that was great to hear  :lol:

Yarrr!!!!

This means you are not pirates! HAHHA!

...

CRAP!

I think H&M and their big logo bearing advertisement pack is more responsible for this than anything we have done.

EA can't allow a registered trademark like "H&M" to be resold by a third party.   H&M could either sue EA for infringement (not adequately protecting their trademark) or demand a cut of what the third party paysites made off their logos.

EA has to take some kind of stand at least 30 days before the H&M pack ships to cover their backsides.

I am sure H&M has some sort of KA-CHING deal right there. EA ain't stupid.
$$$

I'm just saying that no company is going to allow their logo to be sold by a third party.  It's one of the first clauses in the type of contract that grants the use of a trademark to another company (like EA).

I noticed that EA has taken an interesting stance on one of their other games. command and conquer tiberium wars. they have custom content in the form of maps and they have only just released a programme to make the maps with. last night while looking for some maps, my husband noticed a few paysites have already set up shop selling these maps  :evil:
however we were able to get some free maps off a website.

HERES THE CRACKER!!>>> I installed one of these maps and played online with my husband (who hadn't installed it) the game automatically detected he didnt have it, and then it auto file shared it!

hahaha the game is designed to auto transfer any custom content between players, this is going to be a hard knock for the wanna be paysites in that community, EA seem to be taking a stance of stopping the paysite problem before it starts, now all they need to do is stand by their guns and sort out this community.

ETA: at least we will never see thetiberiumwarsresource.com   :P

I hope that system somehow gets implemented in Sims 3  :shock:

:lol: YES! Now I don't need to feel guilty about downloading stuff from this site because it's pay content. I only need to feel guilty as always because my parents don't want me to download anything from the internet! YES! :lol:

I Really can't believe this. LOL
*happy happy joy joy dance*
I can't help but imagine Thomas, Heather and the prick from pandora (can't remember his name), getting their asses sued off. OH YES YES YESS :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

BTW could someone tell me why the I can't see the code when I try to register at SFV? I get a red x, and nothing helps. I emailed the board admin but haven't got a response yet.

I think we're all waiting with baited breath for EA to let us know what, if any, action they will be taking. They have a lot of sites and information to figure out, so I think it's going to take a bit of time.

I don't think SIH was online just now. I'm sure it will be straightened out quickly.

Sherrie, I love that!  :D

It's about time EA has said somthing about this I just hope EA Will end this paysite fiasco because paysites are being greedy. This is some awesome news to hear.

Hmm I wonder if PMBD won't be 'illegal' to mention anymore on certain sites.... :roll:

Actually I PM'ed HP on S2C about that. I haven't heard back yet.

I signed up just so I could be a pirate.  I always show up at the LAST minute.   I hope this doesn't mean we can't be pirates anymore.  :cry:

On the upside, I hope Thomas gets a chunk chewed out of his big floppy man-ass.  8)

Karma, paysites may die, but piracy is forever.

Welcome.

Arrr.

ROTF floppy man-ass
*dies from laughing* :lol:

Long live Piracy! (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/carmskarma/pirate2.gif)

Is there any evidence of this being a legitimate communication from EA?  (I tried registering for SFV but I'm still waiting for the confirmation.)  I'm all set to celebrate this news but it could just as easily be a fabrication.

What would be really cool is if EA made all the paysites pay back all the money they've made.  8)

Oh hell yes. Damn I missed a lot today. But that is freaking fantastic, and yes Nouk I agree on the "thriller" ending. Hell yeah.


Edited to include respnse to KarmaPirate: No we still get to be pirates, I don't think EA will go after them right away. Maybe they are hoping to just get the message out. Being a pirate is still greater than ever at a time like this. Arrrr!!

To Sherrie_Sim: Nice! My husband plays the new Command and Conquer, his gametag is Somthinsfishy if you have ever seen him. He plays Lost Planet a lot too. Not that you give a shit, :lol: , just thought it was kinda cool and wanted to comment.

Uhm yes? But it's all actually none which I'm gonna rub under your face. It's kept secret for some reason...as in "I don't know why we (the AA) couldn't just STFU until everything is sure". I don't like spreading the word without having any action from EA first.

Please if you doubt what i have written then contact EA yourself! Like i have said the only thing that has been edited was my name from that letter, that's all!  Why would i fabricate something like that?

IAWTC. I'm sorry, why would we do that, including making a large list of all paysites, just to send it EA even when they don't care. It doesn't make sense. So you won't find anything on SFV.

Why does it have to be kept secret?  It should all be out in the open so everyone knows what's going on.

Out of curiosity, is TSR US-based?  Because if so, I imagine once EA does the math (and they get serious about the problem) they'll be the first slapped with a Cease and Desist letter, while sites like Peggy and Rose could be tougher.

Thing is, it only needs EA to declare that certain named sites (eg) Peggy, Rose are in contravention of the EULA, and then I think large numbers of players that up till now have been anti-sharing will change sides, at least in respect of those named sites.   So even if EA do not find it useful to actually start legal action against sites, it won't harm them to name and shame certain ones.

Exactly! Most people buy that crap they spew about EA not caring about all the money they make.

do you really believe that EA will sue paysites ?? are you dumbs or what?!

Paysites are much more profitable to EA than you think! Fansites give more success to their game.. if players have to play only with original content of the game it wouldn’t be so popular!

And this is much true for paysites.. you can say what you want on them but you must admit that their custom content improves a lot the game.. people continue to play the sims 2 and continue to buy add on and other stuff... if EA was against paysites do you really think that they would wait your letter to do something  :roll:

paysites are doing money with EA, EA is doing money with paysites and everyone is happy!

Yeah but free sites MTS2 produce the same effect without breaking the law although I do agree that they have paysites on their fan listing so they must have known what was going on :evil:

TSR is based in sweden
http://www.dnstools.com/?lookup=on&wwwhois=on&arin=on&checkp=on&portNum=80&ping=on&all=on&target=thesimsresource.com&submit=Get+Info

I think the very least EA can do while they are concidering any action they may take, is to put up a disclaimer on their website, basically saying what was in that email, notifying people that paysites ARE ILLEGAL and urging people not open one or  give money to illegal sites. they should also stop advertising sites like TSR on their fansites list.

Does anyone have an email address for where that mail came from, as I would like to write and request this action.

Do you really think EA will shut down TSR ?:roll:   Their relationship goes way back and is obviously profitable to both parties.  And since EA won't touch TSR, they can't touch the other paysites either or they'll publically look like hypocrites.

I'm glad for the clarification about copyright, but I can't see anything happening on EA's end.

Why are they listed as a free site? http://thesims2.ea.com/community/fansites.php?category_id=1

Broom, WAAAAAAAAAY back in the beginning of TS1, TSR was free, and asked to be listed. Some Maxian credentialed them, and NO ONE has ever LOOKED again.

Well, no one with Maxis, anyway.

Remember that EA has now bought Maxis, and much of what we get from tech support/the BBS is Maxian. (Gotta love corporate mergers.) Howver, the EA guys - who haven't been hands-on with the fansites at all - have NO IDEA (or didn't, anyway) that this was so pervasive, or that TSR is so big.

We're providing them a wake-up call.

By the way...while EA is a US-based company, they have legal departments all over the world, in at least two dozen countries, including Sweden. I am confident that should action need to be taken, they have the necessary legal eagles around the world to deal with variations in copyright law.


And contrary to popular belief, EA does not see a PENNY from paysites. There is no conspiracy from EA's POV. (However, I wouldn't put it past some Maxians who are paysite supporters....there's something fishy abuot some of the answers about paysites we get from them.)

If paysites die...maybe we lose a little content...that which we don't already have in the booty...but when is the last time a paysite creator REALLY put out something we couldnt' live without? Maybe Caravan's Arcan set...or the Charmed men's set from confide at TSR....but there isn't much. (And if Buntah has to close, well wah-fucking-wah!)

Ahh...well the AA has collected all the info and sent it off...its only a matter of time *gets rum out ready and calmly sits down*

In the short time yes, but what will happen in the long run? Let's assume that all of the paysites are closed and all of the CCs are available freely, isn't that means that the Booty is no longer needed? And if there are no booties, will peoples still come to PMBD and/or join in?

Well, if paysites are destroyed I'd think that there is no reason for this forum/site to exist anymore, so I don't see why people should come and join here after all.

I'd assume SFV will stick around because it is much more a social forum, whereas this is more a place for venting, bitching and drama. :wink:

Oh, of course.  It's just that areas with stronger enforcement of intellectual property laws are going to go down more easily, and anything within the US will go down fastest.  (Although now that I think about it, are there ANY major US-based paysites?)  There's a reason Pescado chose a Malaysian host, after all.

I wondered if a bigger wake-up call to EA might be if paysites *were* hurting their bottom line.  What about organizing a boycott of the H&M Stuff Pack?  The Stuff Packs are closest content-wise to paysite materials, and they're obviously profitable, or the Maxians wouldn't keep churning them out.

There's always the very satisfying ritual neener-neener, "I told you so," "We were wrong, you were right," "Kiss my butt, you and your lame "ZOMFG Copyright Abuse!!" lawyer letters complaining about the copyrighted content you stole from EA that got bought from you and then shared," and the gloating and smugness.

Not that we would ever be so petty.

It might be nice to feel a TEENSY bit smug for being on the side of the angels, though, in compensation for some of the crappy attitudes and fucked-up attitudes paysite owners have had while trying to justify their theft (of intellectual property for personal commercial gain) all these years.

We can be a little smug for a while.

And make a big Graveyard full of pixel tombstones and dance on each grave, giving them all the attention they deserve, in proportion to how sucky they were. TSR would have a 67892 page thread; 11dots might luck out and get a few posts.

There's pirate movies to ARR! over, though that wouldn't last too long.

Maybe we can shift focus and go after Intellectual Property Thieves. You know, the REAL kind, the ones who steal original objects from people who made their stuff from scratch, not someone stealing from Poser or EA or another Sims 2 content creator and then whinging when someone steals their stolen items from them in return.

There'll be more Nouk's Hair Dun Got STOLED!!!eleventy-1EINZ10rz!!! posts, and the hate for TSR may never fully die out, but we probably won't be interested in poking at unimportant, crappy content providing small fry like [name goes here].

It won't be as busy, but that can be seen as a good thing.

Maybe Pes will turn it into a Dominions2 forum, or a forum specifically to host Peasantry content and MATYVILLE pix.

Who knows?

Maybe EAxis will do what it has always done, which is act outraged, do nothing, and then shuffle the papers into a circular file somewhere, and then act outraged again a few months later when the matter is brought to their attention again.

Bless 'em if they finally grew some legal beagle cojones and decided to protect their customers from scam artists, and themselves from copyright infringement.

Does it amuse anyone else that one of the reasons EA might be so hyper aware of the paysite issue is because of paysite owners and their lackeys bombarding them for the last few months about protecting their paysite content from us?

Yes indeed. I also think that for us to bombard them, other than providing them with up-to-date lists of paysites, won't be in our best interests. Pressuring other big fansites like MTS2 though, to allow links will help.

Personally, I don't care too much if EA will sue anybody, or whatever else will do or not; to me the important fact is that my (and most likely ours) opinion on the issue is officially supported.
I'll repeat: officially. Period.

Whatever will happen to TSR, Peggy, Rose or any other paysite will be an additional satisfactional bit, but not the core issue.
Same is for their products: give them for free, destroy them, stuck them up the ass, cry and moan and take toys home...

in short: they can go suck a rock. Enjoy.

I feel the warm fuzzy glow of righteousness.

I felt the warm fuzzy glow of....rock sucking

 :lol:


(in the voice of Homer Simpson)
mmmmmmmmm.....rock....sucking....
 :D

Im also worried what will happen next if all paysites are destroyed.

BECAUSE THATS OUR GOAL!

i think that will be a big blast! and  Im not worried about lacking of simmers that will join us here at PMBD. Because i will assure you guys that we pirates here are one of the most important people behind the burning of paysites.

So even if paysites are destroyed. I know that this site will be supported by millions of simmers.

How i wish i could post

"Oh that bald-headed rat Thomas was destroyed"
"Peggy's old fairy flash was changed to a burning fairy flash!"
"RoseSims died because of the lack of water!"
"Paysites URL was in a "Cannot find server mode"


Oh! time will tell... :)

Speak grown-up or STFU! (http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/fighting0071.gif)

You're basically saying that only paysites make awesome stuff. Which isn't true. Peggy's meshes have tons of gaps and holes. Ratproductions, simplystyling, Nouk,...many of the great sites are free. And better.

And that's why I think we should at some point post that letter from EA to the  PMBD front page. If EA doesn't do squat about paysites, we could at least use it as a proof that we are not the ones breaking the laws.

Not that my measly 100 bucks means much to EAxis, but I've yet to buy any stuff pack ever.  I can get better, more, quality, and variety for free or for far cheaper - at HolySimoly, for example (pre-Booty).  Or, great gods, all the free true game fixes from Pescado, et al.  And, overwhelmingly in my experience, user made CC doesn't fUxxor my game as some stuffpacks are rumored to do.

EAxis is good at hurting themselves, but really - a disapproving stance on paysites is a small thing that would ultimately behoove them, if only in a 'siding w/the community at large' kind of way.

[/lurk mode]

 :o I can't believe EA actually wrote that! I mean, come on, for the time it's been going on, you'd think they'd know about paysites... they make it sound like they had no clue.
This is awesome, though! Ha ha ha, there has to be something wrong in the world when the file-sharing pirates are the ones doing the right thing...  :wink: Down with paysites!

[lurk mode, ha ha ha]

I think the thing that we need to remember is that EA, Inc. is HUGE! The Sims is not their only game. Why would their corporate legal team care to even take a glace at a sims2 fan site or even visit the BBS.
Trust me, they don't have time to monitor every fan site for all of the games EA owns. They wont do anything unless we make sure they know about the problem and we wont stop until they fix it.

I remember when TSR was free, but when they put the link on the new TS2 website, why didn't anyone check it?  I reported it, but I have no idea if it will do any good. Maybe if everyone went over there and clicked report this site it might help too. :)

What I was asking is if there was anything undeniably official to end this war once and for all.  Why I ask is that I have been sitting on some pay files I've fixed for my own uses and want to share but I don't want the drama that traditionally goes with it until I know EA is on my side.  (My hoped contribution to the war effort:  Outdo the paysites by improving their own stuff.)

This aside, my primary concern isn't if EA sues the paysite owners or if they get nailed for tax dodging.  It would be fantastic if both of those things happened ... I'd love to see their bad karma bite them in their asses.  What matters most to me is restoring as much of the community spirit of friendship, sharing and respect that was prevalent during the first incarnation of the game as possible.

I created things for the original game.  I had my little site and found a group of other creators to make friends with.  It was about making art and having fun doing it back then.  It also felt good to get emails or have notes left in my guestbook like, "Thank you for sharing this.  It is just what I needed for my game."  Because just like with Christmas the fun comes from knowing your gifts are well received.  It was nice to be able to go to my favorite mesher and have him make something for me just because he liked sharing and helping people share too.  None of my old friends seem to be around anymore, (if they are then they don't use the same names anyway,) but I'm betting that they left the community and chose not to create for The Sims 2 for pretty much the same reason I don't share what I make anymore.  The community is at war and is a mockery of everything we did back then.

Whatever happened to the fileshare friendly banners everyone used to have on their sites?  It seems like a miracle to see those anymore and it makes me a little sad when I do see them because they are reminders of what has been lost.

I am thankful for PMBD for taking this stance in things.  Not only are paysites illegal but they have killed the spirit of creating to share.  All of these long drawn out TOS I see even on most free sites which prohibit mesh redistribution ... back in the day most of those sites would just peter out because skinners would choose a redistributable mesh over a non-redistributable one nine times out of ten and players wanted the most mileage out of their meshes as possible.  Paysites have bred a mentality of toy hording which has regrettably become acceptable.

Killing paysites is only the beginning.

People over at SFV had already been doing that.  If you're ready to release anything, that's an already-established outlet for you.

I know this is off topic, but I was sitting here thinking about the first time I ran into a paysite. It was TSR. I didn't know very many other places to get stuff and I was so sad. It went from upload all your stuff free for everyone, to now pay for all that stuff you uploaded. :evil:

I'd be very happy, warm and fuzzy if it was indeed a case, because it'd be  a tremendously, mind-bogglingly stupid thing to do - and paysites & stupid should belong together.   :twisted:

All I can say is, it's about fucking time!  I am so sick of seeing paysite lovers dodge the issue, and come down like a pack of rabid dogs when someone dares to hint that it's wrong to have a paysite.  Let's see how they dodge this one, eh?

I wonder, too, if this will cause people to STFU about file sharing in general.  I'm not saying it's ok to share without giving credit to the creator, or to claim someone else's stuff as your own.  It's not.  I do, however, get a little weary of hearing about people who take down their sites (or remove their creations from sites such as MTS2), and then, because of their no-sharing policy, you're not allowed in most places to publicly request having those items emailed to you.  I really don't see the problem in letting people continue to enjoy items that were previously available.  What's the harm in saying "share however you like... just let people know who made it"?

Back on topic:  If EA actually follows through and goes after paysites, I hope TSR is the first to fall.  That site has been a thorn in my side since I first joined the Sims community... seeing things I liked, only to realize it was inaccessible to freebies only members.  Fuckers.  I take great pleasure in plundering from the TSR booty.   :twisted:

Ah me too...would love for TSR to be the first to go.
And then Peggysims
And then WorldSims (I would like to see ManagerJosh dig his way out of that)
And then darling Carla Niven

Off topic: if they did go free magicly over night, would anyone download their stuff? I used to really want it...now after plundering the booty, I dont really want it...most of it is quite bad and I delete it  :?

There is quite a lot of stuff out there that is quite nice, but I see what you mean.  I feels cool to be using stuff from the site and saysing "Na Na Na Na Na" to the paysites.  :lol:

sorry to say it again but this topic is desesperating.. how can you be so naive..

please stop looking the world as bad and good ones.. EA are not angels! do they let us share our games?

Okay paysites are bad.. i'm here so this suppose that i'm agree with this.. (even if I think that they make better quality than free sites! off course some free sites are also very good but most of time they make too few updates)

but this not means that automatically I have to consider EA like heroes or poor victims! they are the kings of greediness!

do you find normal that add ons are so expensives! worst: do you see the price they ask for content stuff (glamour and others..) the base game is already enough expensive so they could offer additionnal content for free or at least for a reasonable price..

they're also robbers so I'll not cry for them if people use their content to make money.. and i'll not believe them when they say that they're against paysites.. they would do something before if it was the case.. they don't need us to inform them or to remember them that paysites exists they know it very well!

have you been invited to "fan day" celebration? all importants webmasters were there and their sites are not all free..!

Yeah, because paysites were not dangerous to them before. Now that H&M is coming, they could very well be.

and why would it be different with H&M??

Groovy.  I'm still waiting for my confirmation email from them but I'll look into it when it goes through.



lol  I'd guess that it would be easier to do something similar as an alternative than it would be to fix the mess that is Peggy hair.  But it sounds like you need to check out SFV too.



I love Cyclone Sue's industrial stuff.  What's the name of that gothy one ... Akiena Guinea?  I like some of that too.  Otherwise I don't care much for TSR.  Peggy is a waste of hard drive space, going free wouldn't make it better no matter how many times she touchs up her preview pics.  World Sims ... is that the site charging for free stuff by other people?  My fingers feel infected just typing Carla Niven.

I don't see it changing my download habits much.  It would be nice if Raonjen and Rose stuck around though.  I have some of their hair in my game.

Have you read the entire thread? I don't know who said it, but they were right. With two companies merging to make one product one of the clauses on the contract will most definitely be for third parties not to sell their stuff.\
ETA: Or H&M could demand a part of the profit that all big paysites make, which would actually be really funny.

How is this even the same thing?  Almost any software product that is commercially produced is not supposed to be shared.  That would be against the business that produced it.  They don't sell them, they don't make money, they go out of business.  No more product.   That is the way it works.   Fan sites are not supposed to be a business.  It is one thing to ask for donations to help keep a site going, it is another to ask for subscriptions to pay people to make stuff as a job.  There are already people who make stuff for the game as a job.  They are the EA games people.  



Well, you can think that all you want, but many people here would disagree.  I find the best stuff is at MTS2, Insim, PC-Sims, MATY all for free.  There are also free creators that make rocking stuff.  Many of whom are here.  Are you telling us that the free creators here (Nouk, calalily, etc) make things that are of lesser quality than Peggy or Buntah?



How? They are a business.  If you don't want to pay for their product then don't.  No one is saying this anyway.  I have not heard one person say "Oh poor EA games."



Again.  They are a business.  It is called supply and demand.  If people didn't buy it then they wouldn't sell it or would reduce the price.  Capitalism 101.  What would be a reasonable price to you?   Or you can just wait and eventually the price drops, especially as S3 gets closer.  You sound anti-capitalist.  




How are they robbers?  Are you completely insane?  As far as the rest of this statement, only time will tell.  



They invited the largest webmasters in the simsverse, free or otherwise.  I have no idea if they knew beforehand if some of these sites were pay.  It is looking like the Maxoids did, EA games did not.  There is obviously some kind of internal dispute as to what is OK and what is not. Hopefully, it will be sorted out one way or another soon.

EA Corporate people are involved as they have never been before. Remember, EA bought Maxis and some old Maxians came along to keep those games going...and so-called "maxoids" always seemed to be in favor of paysites (or at least willing to turn a blind eye). Now, we have EA's Legal department as well as others who are NOT former Maxis guys involved.

Also note: EA has a new CEO as of April 1, 2007, and everything I've read about him suggests he's both hands on (used to be chief operations officer) and ready to clean house. It's a transition time, as EA has aquired several smaller gaming companies, and there's any amount of dead weight, nonproductive tribal knowledge, etc. The fact that the legal department is now getting involved is a sign that EA's looking at their customer base and learning about them, which they hadn't done before.

Because if people were selling anything with their logo on it, without their knowledge there would be some serious bitching from their end, so EA will have to make sure this doesn't happen, otherwise they could loose alot of money if H&M decide to sue or pull out from doing it.

Speaking of the whole selling things with a logo, has any one ever sent letters to companies informing them that there are sim sites making money off their intellectual property?  

Exemn has several "teddy bears" of popular kids charters, Pooh, is Disney and they are notorious for copyright infringement (that day care thing).  Doesn't Sim Chic have things like D&G and other brand names that I cannot remember? LOL  Or Vita sims and their celebrity sims.  That one I've never felt was right. If you make it for free thats one thing, but to sell the likeness of a celebrity (or anyone) with out their permission just doesnt seem right.

I'm still a bit skeptic, but hopeful.  It would be so wonderful if EA took a firm stance on the whole pay site issue.  I don't think that EA would have to lay out any money, I think that the community will self police itself.  After all isn't that what this site and SVF are doing.  Evening the playing field?

And to bayrou get your head out of your ass...pay sites make better stuff because you have to pay for it...err...whatever! :evil:

There have been several paysets that had to be taken down because of copywrite. There have been two paysets at SimsConnection (Starbucks and Barh & Bodyworks) and one payset at Retailsims (Krispy Kreme).

Christ, I totally forgot about that! But then again, I don't have any of those in my game, especially NOT the Vita celebrity sims :oops:

Random information regarding my pet H&M conspiracy theory.

I'm not a lawyer or even one of those "internet lawyers" that turn up all the time on forums.  I do deal with clearances (copyrights and trademarks used in media) so I know a lot of about what companies let you do and don't do.

I emailed H&M corporate and asked a question about their trademark and reselling it and they told me to contact a company called MarkMonitor if I knew of any violations.  H&M is apparently very protective of their trademark and they pay MarkMonitor to troll the web and auction sites to make sure their name and merchandise isn't being counterfeited and resold.

Wonder what MarkMonitor would make of Carla Niven?

He'd probably want a gallon of bleach written into his contract to cleanise his brain :lol:

I think most big companies like H&M would get snotty if they saw someone bar themselves making profit out of their logo, which could make for some good reading when this expansion comes out :lol:

Actually, Disney has to be really careful with Pooh, as the characters are licensed from the estate of Milne still, and they got in trouble before for overzealous suing on behalf of the characters.  Since they aren't technically theirs to be suing about.

They sued a daycare, the estate found out, licensed the daycare to use the characters, and went all smackdown on Disney's ass.  Everything got sorted out, and I'm sure they wouldn't be as offended by suing in a case like this, but yeah.



I'm sure free artists would make more updates if they didn't, you know, work legitimate jobs but they're not dishonest scumbags.  Also, pay stuff isn't better, it's nearly all quantity above quality since they need to make MORE and MORE shit to sell.


Yes.  Ever buy expansions for another game?


I blame that on paysites.  I'm sure some little guy saw that places were charging and suggested selling just "stuff" to a higher up and bam.


It's not.


They do.


Expansions are pretty reasonable.  Do you even LOOK at other games ever?


WHAT THE FUCK?  NO.


They aren't robbers, and they make money legally whereas paysites don't.  And paysites also do stuff like ban people without a real reason and keep their money, TSR also holds artists' content hostage to keep their file count high.


Never underestimate the nebulousness or stupidity of a huge conglomorate corporation.  The right hand never knows what the left hand is doing, so this isn't out of line at all.

Besides, if you really fucking hate EA so much, then pirate their shit, too.

Peggysims banned me for a week cause I was downloading her stuff, when I bought an account, duh, thats why I bought an account, stupid girl or boy or whatever!  You never know these days  :lol:

I'm actually wondering how things would go down with Peggy and Rosesims. Both sites are based in China, a country not known for abiding by copyright laws. I realize national borders don't mean a hell of a lot to corporations these days, but I'm just curious as to how they'd accomplish any sort of legal action.

I probably would.  I spend more time downloading than actually playing, so it could easily be a month or more before I saw how an object, etc. looked in-game.  So yeah, I'd continue to download for a good while, most likely, before I realized I was downloading ugly shit from some sites.

I don't think the games are too expensive, nor the expansions/stuff packs.  The price is comparable to what other brand new, just released games are selling for, so I don't have a problem with the cost.  

As for the stuff packs, the price on those is more than reasonable.  If EA wanted to, they could charge $40-$50 for each one of those, but they don't.  I've ever seen one for more than $20 where I live.

Hell, Paladin's site SimWardrobe has had some of the best free stuff in a long time, IMHO. ARRRR........PAYSITES OFF THE PORT BOW! CAPTAIN.....THE SS EA IS PULLING UP BEHIND US..........LOOKS SHE MIGHT BE READYING HER CANNONS...........*pulls cork out of vodka bottle and takes a swig*

Delphy actually named PMBD.  Here's the quote "Not really - it (paysites must be destroyed, that is) is still an extremely small part of an otherwise huge community and people simply don't realise it's there."

Here's the link  http://forums.sims2community.com/showthread.php?p=889244#post889244.

I was surprised.  :shock:

Well, it's not like he can't say it.. No one is going to edit his posts, delete his posts, or ban him!

But I wonder, where's Paypal based on? I mean, if EA puts pressure enough, they could cancel Rose's and Peggy's accounts.
How would that little leeches make money then?
BTW, Ea Games should do that to all paysites. BAM! They're gone.
Next on my list of hated things: Cockroaches, sadly, they are a little more tricky to eliminate.

Of course people don't realize that PMBD is here. Anytime anybody has mentioned them (either on Insim, or MTS2) their post has been edited/deleted.
Small parts of large communities can make all the difference. Besides, If EA is on our side we can't be all that small, can we?

It helps when we contact people, to contact the proper sources. There are three phone numbers in the back of every book that comes with the game, EP's and stuff packs. All you have to do is call and ask to speak to someone in legal. Contact paypal and give them the merchants code with a note they are selling copyright/trademarked material illegally. In fact you can send them copies of the letters from Nouk's website or any of the earlier threads here and that would be enough for paypal. Paypal would then contact EA along with a record of profits made by the merchant which they have the right to do. They're the ones that shut down the companies illegally selling copies of movies and TV series from just one complaint. That would then let legal know how much these people are actually making...legal can then determine if it's for bandwidth as many claim, or to line their own pockets. We need to quit contacting tech support, tech support are not lawyers. If were all serious about doing something about paysites, we have to contact the proper source "EA Legal".

Oh and PS EA has a legal dept based in China. In fact they have a legal dept in over 25 different countries.