In a fascinating discovery, a rare VHS tape dating back to the early 1990s has been unearthed, providing new insights into the legal battle between Data East and Capcom, specifically regarding the game Fighter’s History.
The trial was resolved in 1994 with a ruling that favored Data East, determining that there were no copyright infringements due to the generic nature of the similarities between their work and Capcom’s Street Fighter II. This case significantly shaped future interpretations of copyright law for video games, highlighting what can be legally protected versus merely generic game mechanics.
The VHS tape reportedly contains side-by-side comparisons of characters from both games, showcasing both similarities and differences in design, moves, and backstories.
Good news / bad news. Good is that I’ve captured the 16-minute segment comparing seven of Fighter’s History’s characters to those Capcom said Data East copied from SF2, Bad is that I thought the second part—the special moves comparison—was also on this tape, but it isn’t.
How do you believe this outcome changed the landscape of video game copyright law, and what implications might similar cases have today?
I love the use of the word “unearthed”. It evokes imagery of someone with a potted plant digging in their backyard when suddenly they discover a relic of copyright law on VHS tape!
Compare to excavation of the Atari video game burial:
Remnants of E.T. and other Atari games were discovered in the early hours of the excavation, as reported by Microsoft’s Larry Hryb.[48][49] A team of archaeologists was present to examine and document the Atari material unearthed by excavation machinery… Only about 1300 cartridges of the estimated 700,000 were removed from the burial, as the remaining materials were deeper than expected, which made them more difficult to access, according to Alamogordo mayor Susie Galea.[51] The cartridges found were from 59 different games, the majority of which were for the Atari 2600; six were Atari 5200 titles. Atari hardware was also excavated.[52] The burial was refilled following this event.
