[UPDATE] I'm being informed that the e-mail I saw from a lawyer to The Protomen is most likely a fake. We are in the Internet age, I suppose. I'm still feeling depressed. What does this say about Capcom that I so readily believed it?
[ORIGINAL STORY] You know, I gave all of this a pass. Frankly, I haven't bought a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 yet. I wasn't planning on it. The Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D stuff didn't really bother me either. Mega Man Legends 3 getting canceled… OK, I was a little miffed because any time someone says, "Sorry, this is a game you won't be able to buy for your 3DS, but we know you were looking forward to giving us your money, but no we're just not going to take it, you'll have to play more Nintendo games, I know you were going to do that already but now you're going to have to do that even harder, also we just don't want your money because we're stupid"… I get kind of pissed.
Now I'm really upset. Longtime fanboy rock-and-roll group The Protomen, known for covering Mega Man songs and like, totally rocking sh** out and probably making absolutely sh** money have been ordered to "Cease and Desist" by Capcom. Mega Man level boss "Lawyer Man" Derek K Yu sent the following to The Protomen:
CEASE AND DESIST DEMAND
Pursuant to Title 17 of the United States CodeFebruary 20, 2011
Derek K. Yu
400 S. El Camino Real, Suite 600
San Mateo, CA, 94402Dear Mr. Weller
This law firm represents Capcom U.S.A. Inc., Henceforth referred to as "Capcom" If you are represented by legal counsel, please direct this letter to your attorney immediately and have your attorney notify us of such representation.
We are writing to notify you that the unlawful copying of the "Mega Man" video game franchise (henceforth referred to as "Mega Man") by the band consisting of yourself, Alan Shacklock, Raul Panther, Scartoe Gleason, Doug Mesich, Andy Sproe, Mike Martel, Derek Haight, Robert Hawkins, and Greg Costa henceforth referred to as "The Protomen," infringes upon our client's exclusive copyrights. Accordingly, you are herby directed to
CEASE AND DESIST ALL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
Capcom is the owner of a copyright in various aspects of Mega Man. Under United States copyright law, Capcom's copyrights have been in effect since the date that Mega Man was created. All copyrightable aspects of Mega Man are copyrighted under United States copyright law.
The letter goes on to detail the startling amounts of money Capcom would sue The Protomen for should they continue making their music, doing their thing, otherwise rocking sh** out while also paying tribute to Mega Man.
The Protomen have stated that they will fight the good fight, but ultimately I'm feeling more depressed than ever with Capcom. I'm going to go check my rights to make sure Capcom can't sue me should I have anything bad to say about them. I'll let you know what I find. Please use the anonymity of our comments section to share your thoughts.
I'll just say… if you rock sh** out and like Mega Man, you'd better stop right now.
[Source]
