Valve versus Sierra [Sep 20, 2004, 11:34 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Valve vs.
Vivendi Universal dogfight heats up in US District Court on GameSpot (thanks
Democritus) reveals some details of a behind-the-scenes legal battle between
Valve and Sierra (now part of VU Games) over Half-Life and Half-Life 2 that's
been brewing for several years now. The article picks through details of a
recent court filing by Valve that reveals the current state of the litigation,
which has its next court date on October 8, though an actual trial is not
scheduled until March 21, 2005. Included are disputes over what
role Steam is to take in the game's distribution and who actually holds rights
to the Half-Life intellectual property. Here's a segment that summarizes some of
this:
In court filings, Sierra/VUG says that the current distribution of Half-Life 2 via Steam exceeds the scope of the current software publishing agreement between the two parties. It is apparently seeking the court's assistance in compelling Valve not to use Steam as an avenue of distribution.
On Friday, when asked if Valve was remained intent on making Half-Life 2 available to gamers via Steam, regardless of what was determined on October 8, Lombardi replied, "Yes."
Interestingly, and in spite of the ongoing legal dispute, Sierra/VUG still wants to work with Valve in the future and is asking the court via filings to force Valve to work with it on whatever is next in the development pipeline. It asks the court, in filings, "for a declaration that Sierra and VUG have the right to a fourth engine license pursuant to the terms of...the 2001 Agreement."
According to Lombardi, "We're going to meet the obligations of our current agreement."
LIMITED USE SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR DAIKATANA II
This Limited Use Software License Agreement for Daikatana II (this "Agreement") is a legal agreement between you, the end-user, and Ion Storm Software, Inc. ("Ion Storm").
BY CONTINUING THE DOWNLOAD OR INSTALLATION OF THIS GAME PROGRAM ENTITLED DAIKATANA II (THE "SOFTWARE"), BY LOADING OR RUNNING THE SOFTWARE, OR BY PLACING OR COPYING THE SOFTWARE ONTO YOUR COMPUTER HARD DRIVE, COMPUTER RAM, OR OTHER STORAGE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. OH AND BTW THE JOKE IS ON YOU. WE KNOW YOU DON'T READ THESE DAMN THINGS ANYWAY. YOU EITHER SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OR JUST HIT "I ACCEPT" LIKE THE SHEEP THAT YOU ARE BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE'S EYES GLAZE OVER WHEN CONFRONTED WITH LARGE BLOCKS OF LEGAL JARGON TYPED ALL IN UPPERCASE. HELL, WE CAN USE YOUR LEET ASS BOX FOR A PORN SERVER IF WE WANTED! HA, HA AND HA.
1. SUCK IT DOWN
By accepting this agreement, you are allowing permission of yourself (THE "BITCH") to be manhandled by John Romero (THE "MAN") in any way he sees fit. This may include:
a) being pimpslapped,
b) being punched in the nutsack,
c) emptying your wallet and forking over your money to us, along with all your bank account information (THE "BLING") and your social security number.
Thank you for purchasing Daikatana II!
Do you accept this agreement?
[] YES
[] NO
---------------------------------------------
[No pixels were harmed in the making of this post.]
Vote Toothpick Spreader Party in 2004!
This Limited Use Software License Agreement for Daikatana II (this "Agreement") is a legal agreement between you, the end-user, and Ion Storm Software, Inc. ("Ion Storm").
BY CONTINUING THE DOWNLOAD OR INSTALLATION OF THIS GAME PROGRAM ENTITLED DAIKATANA II (THE "SOFTWARE"), BY LOADING OR RUNNING THE SOFTWARE, OR BY PLACING OR COPYING THE SOFTWARE ONTO YOUR COMPUTER HARD DRIVE, COMPUTER RAM, OR OTHER STORAGE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. OH AND BTW THE JOKE IS ON YOU. WE KNOW YOU DON'T READ THESE DAMN THINGS ANYWAY. YOU EITHER SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OR JUST HIT "I ACCEPT" LIKE THE SHEEP THAT YOU ARE BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE'S EYES GLAZE OVER WHEN CONFRONTED WITH LARGE BLOCKS OF LEGAL JARGON TYPED ALL IN UPPERCASE. HELL, WE CAN USE YOUR LEET ASS BOX FOR A PORN SERVER IF WE WANTED! HA, HA AND HA.
1. SUCK IT DOWN
By accepting this agreement, you are allowing permission of yourself (THE "BITCH") to be manhandled by John Romero (THE "MAN") in any way he sees fit. This may include:
a) being pimpslapped,
b) being punched in the nutsack,
c) emptying your wallet and forking over your money to us, along with all your bank account information (THE "BLING") and your social security number.
Thank you for purchasing Daikatana II!
Do you accept this agreement?
[] YES
[] NO
---------------------------------------------
[No pixels were harmed in the making of this post.]
Vote Toothpick Spreader Party in 2004!
--------
BOOBIES Filter Greasemonkey script:
http://camaro76.web.aplus.net/BOOBIES_filter.user.js
Punk Buster (Ignore Trolls) Greasemonkey script:
http://camaro76.web.aplus.net/punkbuster.user.js
BOOBIES Filter Greasemonkey script:
http://camaro76.web.aplus.net/BOOBIES_filter.user.js
Punk Buster (Ignore Trolls) Greasemonkey script:
http://camaro76.web.aplus.net/punkbuster.user.js
Date
Subject
Author
Copyright © 1996-2025 Stephen Heaslip. All rights reserved.
All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Privacy Policy. Manage Cookie Settings.
News CGI copyright © 1999-2025 James "furn" Furness & Blue's News. All rights reserved.
Chatbear v1.5.0/blue++: Page generated 17 June 2025, 10:30.