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KS-Backed "Chroma Squad" Getting Legal Trouble from Saban Brands

B

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
Post at the KS page

Picture for non-backers.
10526043_776299912415138_8259910581782554056_n.jpg
Click to expand...

What the hell Saban? There is no legal standing here.
First of all, the developer is in Brazil.
Second, they're a tiny indie company, are you really that desperate for money? Is Power Rangers doing so poorly that you need bully small companies?
Third, why not sue all the big companies doing Sentai teams? Why not sue Nintendo for the Axem Rangers or The Wonderful 101? NIS for the Prism Rangers? Atlus for Featherman R?
 
S

Snaku

Banned
Isn't this the game about filming a super sentai tv show? How could Saban possibly believe he has any right to royalties from this game? He's never filmed super sentai action for tv before. Chopped up pre-existing footage, sure.
 
L

LurkerPrime

Member
Disgusting.

I presume Saban would go after Chroma Squad over the other properties listed simply because they can. As CS devs said, they'd rather work under Saban than go to court... so it's basically free money for Saban, so long as they send a couple of letters.
 
B

BTA

Member
I'm pretty disgusted by this, especially as a backer. I'm afraid the "win-win negotiation" might be them getting bullied into having it be PR branded or something close to that, and since I backed it because of Sentai/toku and not PR, that's really not the game I was funding.
 
N

Nanashrew

Banned
BatDan said:
Post at the KS page

Picture for non-backers.


What the hell Saban? There is no legal standing here.
First of all, the developer is in Brazil.
Second, they're a tiny indie company, are you really that desperate for money? Is Power Rangers doing so poorly that you need bully small companies?
Third, why not sue all the big companies doing Sentai teams? Why not sue Nintendo for the Axem Rangers or The Wonderful 101? NIS for the Prism Rangers? Atlus for Featherman R?
Click to expand...

Don't forget the Ginyu Force!
3728898-9532769797-TheGi.png
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Scumbag Saban. Trying to strongarm an indie dev into giving them money because they know that even though they'd lose in court, the dev doesn't have the money to stand up to Saban's army of lawyers. Fuck off.
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
This sets a horrible precedent.

So Saban knew they were going to do this, they just waited until the Kickstarter was over and the money was gone. Thus forcing these guys to play ball with their ridiculous ultimatum.
 
S

Shizuka

Member
Seraphis Cain said:
Scumbag Saban. Trying to strongarm an indie dev into giving them money because they know that even though they'd lose in court, the dev doesn't have the money to stand up to Saban's army of lawyers. Fuck off.
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If I was already a lawyer here in Brazil, I'd contact the Kickstarter team and try to give some legal advice, maybe help them through the process, potentially facing a lawsuit. It's a shame, really.
 
O

origamipirate

Member
BTA said:
I'm pretty disgusted by this, especially as a backer. I'm afraid the "win-win negotiation" might be them getting bullied into having it be PR branded or something close to that, and since I backed it because of Sentai/toku and not PR, that's really not the game I was funding.
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This is how I feel as well. Fellow backer, not really here for Power Rangers BS. I feel bad for the guys making it though, this has gotta be a scary position to be in...
 
Z

Zukuu

Banned
It's a valid claim imo. That said, they should just add some pauldrons and boots and a different color scheme and show them the finger tho.
 
Zomba13

Zomba13

Member
Shizuka said:
It's not like it raised a lot of money through Kickstarter either, why are they doing this?
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Because the little sprite men are wearing colourful spandex and are part of a team.

And they are a small dev that is easy to push around.
 
N

Nairume

Banned
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
 
L

LurkerPrime

Member
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they may have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

...Oh dear.

For some reason I thought they looked different somehow, like lower-res sprites or something.
 
N

Nanashrew

Banned
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

What can be done with low res sprites though? they seem to want to keep the tradition of the super sentai look and that is the most common look for every super sentai show baring a few. Could make them look like bugs but then we'd be going into Kamen Rider territory.
 
B

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

Or it could be Goggle V, Dynaman, Maskman, Turboranger, Fiveman, or any other team that uses the Red/Black/Blue/Yellow/Pink combo. Zyuranger wasn't the first or only one to do it.
 
J

jwk94

Member
Snaku said:
Isn't this the game about filming a super sentai tv show? How could Saban possibly believe he has any right to royalties from this game? He's never filmed super sentai action for tv before. Chopped up pre-existing footage, sure.
Click to expand...

Power Rangers has original footage in there too...
 
J

JPeeples83

Member
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's way too close for a parody argument.
 
X

XANDER CAGE

Member
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

Yyyyyyeah, as shitty as this is on Saban's part that's pretty direct.
 
Z

ZeroX03

Banned
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

If I saw just those sprites without any context, I'd probably assume it was Power Rangers. That looks really similar to me. Guess the whole sprite thing makes it a whole harder to distinguish yourself as something unique.
 
N

Nairume

Banned
Nanashrew said:
What can be done with low res sprites though? they seem to want to keep the tradition of the super sentai look and that is the most common look for every super sentai show baring a few. Could make them look like bugs but then we'd be going into Kamen Rider territory.
Click to expand...
That's definitely a problem, but even with the detail that is there, they look crazy close enough to the specific costumes used by Sentai team that is the most globally well known incarnation of Sentai/PR to where it could easily be mistaken on a quick glance by somebody who wouldn't immediately recognize the very minor differences that are there to distinguish those costumes from the Zyuranger costumes.
 
N

Nairume

Banned
BatDan said:
Or it could be Goggle V, Dynaman, Maskman, Turboranger, Fiveman, or any other team that uses the Red/Black/Blue/Yellow/Pink combo. Zyuranger wasn't the first or only one to do it.
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It's not just the color combination (though that could have easily thrown Saban off if they had change them).

Like, yeah, I know that there are very small details that set those costumes a part from the Zyuranger costumes (like how there's no central ^ on the torso of the costume like there is on the Zyuranger costumes, or the lack of those similar spikes on the boots), but there are people in this very thread who probably wouldn't catch that.
 
V

vareon

Member
Nairume said:
That's definitely a problem, but even with the detail that is there, they look crazy close enough to the specific costumes used by Sentai team that is the most globally well known incarnation of Sentai/PR to where it could easily be mistaken on a quick glance by somebody who wouldn't immediately recognize the very minor differences that are there to distinguish those costumes from the Zyuranger costumes.
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Problem is, when any Sentai of the same colors got pixelated like that you'd end up with similar sprites. I really don't think they're specifically copying PR when making that sprite.
 
N

Nanashrew

Banned
Nairume said:
That's definitely a problem, but even with the detail that is there, they look crazy close enough to the specific costumes used by Sentai team that is the most globally well known incarnation of Sentai/PR to where it could easily be mistaken on a quick glance by somebody who wouldn't immediately recognize the very minor differences that are there to distinguish those costumes from the Zyuranger costumes.
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Well, maybe they can beef them up like in Akibaranger.
over-time-unofficial-sentai-akibaranger-2-05-db449a95-mkv_snapshot_15-49_2013-05-12_00-08-10.jpg



Serious note:
Only thing I can really think of is maybe do something about the helmets. Maybe have each one look more distinct somehow and possibly scarves.
 
P

Pixel Samurai

Member
IP infringement is a hell of a drug.

The game probably does cross the line with the situations, colors and other resemblances unfortunately.

It really is within Saban's rights to enforce their IP though the ultimatum does seem strange and like a ploy at a publishing lock-in.

If they get to make the same game though, imagine you getting to make an indie game based on your favorite brand. I wish this would happen to me with Bubsy (I'm not kidding.)
 
graywolf323

graywolf323

Member
Nairume said:
With regards to not taking Saban's side when they have gone a little overboard, I can't imagine that the Chroma Squad team really did themselves any favors by using this specific team in their promo stuff

981ebe01f377dc0018c0ab90afbae3b2_large.png


That's not an obvious parody like the Axem Rangers, Prism Rangers, or Featherman R (and that *really* cuts it close).

That's clearly the Zyuranger/MMPR team.
Click to expand...

yeah they should have changed at least a couple of the colors
 
N

Nairume

Banned
vareon said:
Problem is, when any Sentai of the same colors got pixelated like that you'd end up with similar sprites. I really don't think they're specifically copying PR when making that sprite.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Take Dynaman (since we know that they have the same colors)

Original_Dynaman.jpg


Even with as little detail as you'd be able to get away with at that scale, they'd clearly look different from what we see in the CS stuff.

I don't doubt at all that they did try and figure out a different costume design to use for the game and still ended up with the same general design as Zyuranger, but it seems really unwise to then promote the game using the same colors.
 
B

Brawly Likes to Brawl

Member
Nanashrew said:
That's what bothers me too. Toei would be more than likely to actually sue than Saban but I haven't seen Toei enter the ring at all.
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Toei owns the Super Sentai series, but they don't really own the concept of a"sentai/squadron", which is probably why they haven't said anything despite this game getting Japanese promotional material.
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Nairume said:
Not necessarily. Take Dynaman (since we know that they have the same colors)

Original_Dynaman.jpg


Even with as little detail as you'd be able to get away with at that scale, they'd clearly look different from what we see in the CS stuff.

I don't doubt at all that they did try and figure out a different costume design to use for the game and still ended up with the same general design as Zyuranger, but it seems really unwise to then promote the game using the same colors.
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Just want to point out, those are the "prototype" Dynaman suits from when they were still a baseball themed Sentai. By the time the show went into production, the suits had been changed to the ones we know today:

XjMEQVB.jpg
 
P

Pixel Samurai

Member
Platy said:
Saban owns sentai brand now ?
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They could own the license in North & South Americas.

Not saying it was classy, but from a business perspective it probably makes sense to take some sort of action or give warning.

They're rebooting the Power Ranger brand with a movie soon, probably would like to avoid consumer confusion and grow brand awareness (I doubt the game's profits is the draw here.)
 
N

Nairume

Banned
Nanashrew said:
That's what bothers me too. Toei would be more than likely to actually sue than Saban but I haven't seen Toei enter the ring at all.
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I'm curious as to how Toei would react to something like this, where the suits are very clearly emulating a specific (and popular) version of Super Sentai, while also being a game about Sentai stuff.

Featherman R in Persona looks just distinct enough from Jetman and is such a minor background element of the Persona franchise that Toei didn't care or the legal issues surrounding it were a blip on everybody's radar.

It should be a little more obvious why they didn't go after Nintendo for Axem Rangers and W101.
 
V

vareon

Member
Nairume said:
I don't doubt at all that they did try and figure out a different costume design to use for the game and still ended up with the same general design as Zyuranger, but it seems really unwise to then promote the game using the same colors.
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This I don't disagree with. They probably didn't expect Saban to even look at this game and took action.
 
N

Nanashrew

Banned
Nairume said:
I'm curious as to how Toei would react to something like this, where the suits are very clearly emulating a specific (and popular) version of Super Sentai, while also being a game about Sentai stuff.

Featherman R in Persona looks just distinct enough from Jetman and is such a minor background element of the Persona franchise that Toei didn't care or the legal issues surrounding it were a blip on everybody's radar.

It should be a little more obvious why they didn't go after Nintendo for Axem Rangers and W101.
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No idea. But like Brawly said above, they own the super sentai series but not the concept. It's a very, very old, and very basic concept with a lot of tropes that is often payed homage to and parodied everywhere these days.
 
N

Nairume

Banned
Nanashrew said:
No idea. But like Brawly said above, they own the super sentai series but not the concept. It's a very, very old, and very basic concept with a lot of tropes that is often payed homage to and parodied everywhere these days.
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Right, and that probably explains why they or Saban haven't gone after previous parodies because they were clearly parodies. While we focus on the Chroma Squad guys being a small team with no way of defending themselves, NIS and Atlus (at least before the buyout) were very small outfits when they started doing their Sentai parodies and they could have easily been squashed in court if Saban/Toei wanted to bully an easy target. This game, on the other hand, perhaps veers a little too far out of the parody realm and a little more closely to ripping off the specific things owned by Saban/Toei.

It's also possible that Toei is involved in this situation and we are only just hearing Saban because they would be the specific entity that would be reaching out to the Chroma Squad guys since it'd be in their territory.

Again, I do not want to take Saban's side on this because I do think that what they are doing is scummy and because I'm really interested in Chroma Squad (since it's a genre I like by developers who have made a product that I deeply enjoyed). I do, however, understand why they are probably doing it and I don't think I can disagree with their reasons.
 
shaowebb

shaowebb

Member
LurkerPrime said:
Disgusting.

I presume Saban would go after Chroma Squad over the other properties listed simply because they can. As CS devs said, they'd rather work under Saban than go to court... so it's basically free money for Saban, so long as they send a couple of letters.
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This is how I see it. Fuck you Saban. This is extortion.
 
B

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
baphomet said:
How about they Dev stops directly copying Saban's IP? Otherwise this is well within Saban's right.
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They're not copying Power Rangers. They're doing an homage to Sentai in general. There's a huge fucking difference.
 
shaowebb

shaowebb

Member
baphomet said:
How about they Dev stops directly copying Saban's IP? Otherwise this is well within Saban's right.
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Sentai is a GENRE bub. Been a lot of em. Plus Viewtiful Joe, Zetai Hero Project, and Wonderful 101 never got attacked like this. This is not within their right. If I put a cape on a hero who wore blue that doesn't mean Superman rights owners could sue his ass.

Sentai and Tokusatsu are two genres of entertainment in Japan and over here we get severely watered down chopshops of their footage spliced with some new stuff and call it Power Rangers. The whole genre however is not the property of Saban and the Power Rangers license. This would be like the creators of Jason Vorhees suing the folks who made Michael Myers for being a scary mask wearing horror genre character. They are parts of a genre...not the owners of the whole genre itself.

This. Is. Extortion.
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
baphomet said:
How about they Dev stops directly copying Saban's IP? Otherwise this is well within Saban's right.
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Even if they did a direct Power Rangers rip, do you not see the inherent evil bullshit Saban is pulling?

Honestly, this isn't even about if they infringed anymore. This is about parody law and big companies preying on the success of smaller ones.
 
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