Dead Rising versus Dawn of the Dead

Zombies - as copyrighted by George A. Romero and The MKR Group, apparently.

Capcom is feeling just a little bit worried about zombies at the moment, with The MKR Group claiming that Capcom's Dead Rising is violating the copyrights of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

Apparently Romero invented the idea of zombies in a shopping centre and then passed the trademark on to The MKR Group.

Noting the similarities between Dead Rising and Dawn of the Dead, MKR has apparently been nagging Capcom for a good long while according to Kotaku. Previously, MKR forced Capcom to put a disclaimer on the box stating that; "This game was not developed, approved or licensed by the owners or creators of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead"

The two companies have been in discussions since the release of the game apparently and things are now reaching boiling point. MKR has sent a letter to Capcom, one which was allegedly also sent to Microsoft and Best Buy, complaining that the game is on legally shaky ground.

Capcom, obviously a bit shaken at this, has released a statement saying that they believe that "humans battling zombies in a shopping mall is a wholly unprotectible idea." I think it's best if you say it in a Samuel L. Jackson voice.

Capcom is seeking a declaratory judgement to prove this before the case is bought before a judge.

Should Capcom be worried, or is MKR clutching at straws? Let us know what you think in the forums.
Quote naokaji 14th February 2008, 10:34
Nothing against Romero, but zombies are hardly something he can claim a copyright for. Having a part of a Game / Movie happening in a shopping centre is just as common. i think even if you combine the two things its still not worthy of a copyright. just my 2 cents though.
Quote BlackMage23 14th February 2008, 11:12
MKR are probably a bit short of money at the moment so thought it is worth a try
Quote [USRF]Obiwan 14th February 2008, 11:13
Dawn of dead...

You are in a empty shopping center with all the stuff you will ever need. And still those stupids manage to let the zombies in en let them selfs killed. If I would be in this movie, it would still be playing like a real live soap for ages.
Quote Daniel114 14th February 2008, 11:16
Fairly ceratin the road gang let them in
Quote Blademrk 14th February 2008, 12:44
So... just to be clear:

(RE Series) Game + Zombies = Fine
(still thinking on this one) Game + Shopping Mall setting = Fine
(eight legged freaks) Film + Mutant Spiders + Shopping Mall = Fine
(Dead Rising) Game + Zombies + Shopping Mall setting = Not Fine
Quote sethlite 14th February 2008, 12:44
Romero tends to do very little to protect his interests in his films (the reason for so many bad remakes), so I doubt he has much to do with this.
Quote CardJoe 14th February 2008, 12:45
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blademrk
So... just to be clear:

(RE Series) Game + Zombies = Fine
(SimCity) Game + Shopping Mall setting = Fine
(eight legged freaks) Film + Mutant Spiders + Shopping Mall = Fine
(Dead Rising) Game + Zombies + Shopping Mall setting = Not Fine
Quote Veles 14th February 2008, 14:25
Wow that really is stupid. It's called a homage, not copyright infringement, it's zombies in a shopping mall, the similarity ends there. They even had a label on the box saying it had nothing to do with Dawn of the Dead, I really don't see the problem at all.
Quote xsolonx 14th February 2008, 22:49
Tossing my two cents into the ring, this is not a viable law suit. Just looking at it from a logical point of view, they share a similar setting and scenario, zombies in a mall, but everything else beyond that is different. It would be like saying every fps where aliens are fighting humans on Earth is ripping off War of the Worlds. The concept may be similar but the execution and circumstances are unrelated directly. I mean just look at the fact that the main character in Dead Rising is not attempting to do the same thing as the Dawn of the Dead crews and that right there is a pivotal and significant difference. Placing Dead Rising in a mall was merely coming up with the best setting to fascilitate the more open ended/sandbox nature of the intended gameplay.
Quote hawky84 15th February 2008, 12:35
everyone loves zombies, whether its playing a zombie yourself or mowing them down with a lawn mower straped to your chest noone can say no to some zombie action, lots of people go to shopping centers. The theme is bound to crop up on more than one medium on more than a few occations.
Quote Bauul 15th February 2008, 14:02
Quote:
Originally Posted by hawky84
or mowing them down with a lawn mower straped to your chest

It was actually a flymo. :p
Quote rjkoneill 19th February 2008, 12:59
i bought dead rising and laughed at the ' this game is not endorsed by george romero etc' disclaimer IN MASSIVE CAPITAL LETTERS on the front of the box
Quote zombiez 4th July 2008, 17:25
They are not making a sequal due to this situation. Like someone mentioned above, Romero pretty much keeps getting the short end of the stick on all these deals.

He is the inventor of "Zombies" as we know them today. If it were not for Night of the Living Dead we would still be reffering to Zombies as a voodoo ritual.

Capcom needs to make a deal with MKR to make Dawn of the Dead into Dead Rising 2.
It is not fair to Romero that he has to travel around the country to horror festivals and sign autographs to make a living. He's a really nice guy and has made barely anything off of Night of the Living Dead due to copyright issues although he has made many people rich, whom have taken his concept.

His work is original ( even though I'm iffy about Diary of the dead and hated Land ), but Dawn of the Dead
is still on just about everybody who matters, top horror movie list of all time (*including Steven King).

simple solution

Dead Rising 2 : Dawn of the Dead.


If they make Dawn of the Dead `78 ( not the remake ) into a video game, it will sell twice as many copies as Dead Rising- GUARANTEED.

Make it the exact storyline of Peter and Roger except with a few extras, add some creepy Goblin-esque music, with a seventies film grain degredation to make it look like the movie when you watch it on Blu-Ray on a nice TV.

Both MKR and Capcom will come out on top if they do this. The Essence of a Romero film has never been truely captured or met it's full potential ( although many have tried ) in a video game. Capcom has enough skill to do achieve this.

The zombie community is VERY VERY close and VERY VERY infatuated and will do whatever it takes to be able to relive the scenario- including buying a system they don't already own as well as special edition box sets. Hell, they would buy the game even if they didn't even plan on buying the system - it will be double platinum in Italy and Spain alone, much less the rest of the world. If you don't believe me, follow the success of Left 4 Dead when it comes out.

They Owe it to Romero. They cannot deny that the Resident Evil Series was not partly inspired by his work. If you compare the shot composition of the first game for PS1 with Dawn `78 ( Directors cut ) you will see the similarities.

Capcom skill + Romeroesque Direction = Beat GTA4 in sales worldwide

Bridge the Gap and work together
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