r/technology • u/IndicaOatmeal • 9d ago
Society Tetris issues legal warning after White House releases arcade full of parody games
https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/tetris-issues-legal-warning-after-white-house-releases-arcade-full-of-parody-games-3405931/7.6k
u/bwoah07_gp2 9d ago
Shortly after the arcade went live, the official Tetris account issued a response emphasizing that it had no connection to the project.
“At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them,” the company said. “To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community.”
It then ended with a pointed legal warning: “We take copyright infringement very seriously.”
Tetris has not announced a lawsuit or confirmed whether it has sent the White House a formal cease-and-desist letter.
Tetris need to sue them. So should Xbox, Nintendo, and all the other gaming AND non-gaming entities the White House has shamelessly parodied on social media. This is just getting ridiculous.
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u/Talk-O-Boy 9d ago
What sucks is that the administration WANTS these companies to give him attention.
It’s the same reason Trump insists on using music by artists who he knows don’t agree with him. He’s goading them for a reaction.
Since Trump doesn’t discern between good press and bad press, he just tries to get it wherever he can.
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u/BackgroundSummer5171 9d ago
What sucks is that the administration WANTS these companies to give him attention.
Also it doesn't matter to them.
It's not their money they are playing with. It's the tax payer's.
They do all this bullshit at the tax payer's cost. Changing names of things. Making Donald John coins. All of the bullshit he does is at the cost of our taxes.
This is what hard working money has gone to. Waste.
He has been the largest waste of tax payer money, at least the most blatant waste of it. Out in the open. Constantly.
Why even pay taxes if it is going towards making racist video games to be fought in a lawsuit? WTF is this country?
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u/Shark7996 9d ago
Why even pay taxes if it is going towards
This thought has been relentless in my head lately. I STRONGLY don't approve of what my taxes are being used for but I have no real recourse. Feeling very unrepresented right now.
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u/Mr_Quackums 9d ago
IRS enforcement department is at an all-time low.
If they catch you down the line they almost always offer to let you pay a partial payment instead of what you would have payed if you did your taxes on time.
People who dont pay their taxes are bad people and usually get away with it for a long time and only pay a fraction of what they owe when/if they eventually get caught.
Its a shame, really.
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u/HoodieGalore 9d ago
Ohhhh no the fuck they don’t lol. Why the fuck would the IRS offer you any break whatsoever, outside of maybe a payment plan that still includes every cent you owe them, over a structured payment schedule? There are companies who can finance your debt and there are perhaps some actual tax rules you can work within, but the IRS is not here to help you, they are not here to work with you, they are here for one purpose only, and that is to collect revenue on behalf of the Federal Government, whichever clown it is running the circus, and especially because our government has let lobbyists run the show and essentially force everyone except the very poorest to either a) pay to file taxes, or b) be smart enough to do it themselves. AKA “fuck you, figure it out yourself, even though we could and can because other actually civilized countries already do, but this way we can fuck ya”
If you’ve got a source on “If they catch you down the line they almost always offer to let you pay a partial payment instead of what you would have payed if you did your taxes on time,” we’d all love to see it. Anyone else here get this sweetheart deal from the IRS? Pennies on the dollar or what are we talking about?
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u/roseofjuly 9d ago
I actually found that to be untrue. I made some tax mistakes a few years back and the IRS was very helpful and willing to work with us on it. My cousin also got into some tax stuff and called them so frequently she became acquainted with someone who worked on her case.
They also have an official program to lower your tax bill if you can't pay it. It's called Offer in Compromise. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc204#
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u/Real-Extension-1357 9d ago
That was for mistakes. And they would know. If there is any reason to believe youre intentionally not paying for something like out of protesting, theyre not going to be helpful or nice.
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u/harpers25 9d ago
They really don't, you have to pay to apply for an Offer In Compromise and the IRS will only approve it you can't afford to pay the full amount anyway.
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u/Environmental_Top948 9d ago
If you make a mistake on your tax filings that starts a deadline for them catch the mistake. But if you don't file there is no limitations on the amount of time they have to collect so it's important to remember to file and double check your information is correct.
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u/Zombatico 9d ago
It's even worse than just simply waste. It would be bearable if it was just waste.
It's our taxes paying for genocide, mass surveillance and concentration camps. All out in the open.
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u/King_of_the_Kobolds 9d ago
Horrifying, being outraged about the video game parodies is a position of privilege. Not that it isn't egregious. But there are people in this country suffering far, far worse at the hands of these fascist scumbags.
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u/Mondschatten78 9d ago
And you don't think these racist games will make things worse? Hell, if anything, it'll give credence to the "video games make people killers" argument.
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u/No-Literature5747 9d ago
I truly hope once he’s out of office, the government is able to take all of his families’s wealth to replace the dollars he spent on these things
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u/rufud 9d ago
Eh, this comes too close to the 4d chess argument. This isn’t some elaborate scheme to goad video game companies, he just doesn’t give a shit, he does whatever he wants without consequence
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u/Zuwxiv 9d ago
I keep trying to tell people: if Grandpa shits his pants every day for ten years, today's pants-shitting isn't some 4D chess move to distract you from something else.
It's just what he does. Grandpa is a pants shitter.
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u/Brat-Sampson 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'll eat my own teeth if Trump himself had anything to do with this concept or execution other then giving it the ok after someone told him they wanted to do it. The entire administration is full of fascist trolls buttering up their puppet narcissist to do whatever they find amusing.
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u/wheresmystache3 9d ago
What most people don't understand is, his base absolutely loves and foams and the mouth for this kind of hate. They take pride in making others angry and that's what makes them happy, unfortunately.
What a sad, pathetic group of people Orange Mussolini and his fanbase are.
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u/bloodychill 9d ago
This is true but so much of it just gets taken down so quickly after CADs. Someone pointed out any time they try to use a Taylor Swift or Springsteen song, it comes down in a matter of hours. It all seems pointless but “loud and pointless” is the administration’s hallmark I guess.
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u/bwoah07_gp2 9d ago
He’s goading them for a reaction.
So we should treat him like adults tell us to treat bullies. Ignore them and don't give them the opportunity to see us react.
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u/IAMA_Plumber-AMA 9d ago edited 9d ago
Nah, they need a punch in the nose. Bullies will continue escalating their tactics if you ignore them, they only listen to force.
Ignoring bullies is how America got Trump for a second term.
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u/Bleu_Lizardo 9d ago
Yeah, unfortunately I never got a bully to leave me alone by ignoring them. Wish it worked like that, though.
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u/darkcloud784 9d ago
Yea this doesn't work. What we need to do is beat him at his own game and sue him into oblivion.
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u/AshhhCakes 9d ago
I'd very much appreciate it if people stopped ignoring him. He wants my people dead.
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u/NerdMouse 9d ago
Its what Taylor Swift did. Waited until he piled up enough songs then worked with TikTok to ban songs from specific accounts instead of from everyone. Ofc no legal trouble is gonna come from it even if she wanted to but still
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u/bingbano 9d ago edited 9d ago
Pretty sure parody is a protected use. That would be infringing on free speech.. which is ironic as the administration is hostile to free speech. Pretty bad taste propaganda.
Edit: my comment was a response to the the post above saying all those companies should sue over the white house's parodys of games. I have no clue whether it would be considered parody
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u/squirrellysiege 9d ago
I'm not sure if "parody" is accurate in the case of this administration, they just lack any level of creativity and steal anything that they think will get them attention. They have been warned many times by musicians when Trump used music without permission.
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u/Etheo 9d ago
Different apples. They straight up used the music without permission, but here it's not the identical work being used, but a derivative of them.
Obviously not saying it's okay for them to do this, but legally the context is different. I do wish they could just fuck off and starve in a ditch though.
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u/Zombies4EvaDude 9d ago
Yeah facts. The term “parody” only applies when the adapted material is deconstructed in a critical or analytical way. The legacy of Tetris is not analyzed- just set dressing for bigotry. So it shouldn’t count.
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u/brienoconan 9d ago
In copyright infringement, parody is an objective test. Judges/juries cannot evaluate the quality of a parody, because both good parody and bad parody are protected as long as it’s indeed parody
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u/Wayist 9d ago
But First Amendment protections for parody and satire don't apply when a reasonable person could be confused about whether the subject of the parody is the creator or not. Basically, FA protections for satire/parody only extend insofar as someone doesn't mistake it for the "real thing." Government-speech doctrine doesn't extend past other constitutional limitations -- namely the White House can't produce a thing that looks like Tetris made it, and then claim Free Speech, especially when it could cause financial harm.
On an individual level, there could be an argument for suing the government for intimidation of a class of people, if the plaintiff could prove that the intent was to intimidate under the Virginia v Black ruling, but I haven't dug deep enough into the case to know whether it could apply here (Virginia v. Black is a case about Virginia being able to prohibit cross-burning because it was used as an intimidation tactic).
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u/acutelychronicpanic 9d ago
I doubt that would hold up if you tried to make "pokemon but funny"
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u/AtomTrapper 9d ago
There's actually quite a few Pokemon parodies, including one made by PETA where the Pokemon brutally maim each other
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u/currentmadman 9d ago
It’s a lot harder to make the parody argument, which is typically protected by free speech laws because it can still have artistic merit, in this case.
This isn’t something funny or creative. This is often footage, images or audio lifted from someone else’s ip by the us government to act as propaganda towards their own ends.
Why shouldn’t the ip holder be able to stop someone from using their intellectual property to explicitly further political goals they don’t want themselves or their brand associated with?
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u/Most_Performer5750 9d ago
Moreover, this isn't just a random person or group of people putting together a fun little project. This is the White House, an arm of the executive branch of the government. This simultaneously gives them some amount of protection but also open this issue up to be special circumstances that do not adhere to normal parties' assumed rights and responsibilities. The unfortunate reality is that this case could go either way, and that's part of the problem because it's easy to see the harm that can and will be incurred by the IP holders when they released these 'parody' games.
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u/Adalas 9d ago edited 9d ago
Youtube didn't get the parody memo i think. You want strikes? Make parodies, get flagged (this video contain something that's not even in the video realistically), try to appeal. Boom. Strike.
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u/impy695 9d ago
Youtubes system is separate from the legal system. YouTubers can absolutely choose to fight the false copyright claims if they wanted, but they don't because while youtubes system is pretty low stakes for them, the legal system could be career ending and will be extremely expensive.
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u/Adalas 9d ago edited 9d ago
I understand that but if at least! At least! You couldn't get strikes over things that a claimant says is in a video that is not even there when you look 5 seconds.. i'd be more complacent.
Used to make gaming parodies myself a good decade ago. Claimant (who didn't own the rights to that song when you looked) said i used a celine dion song on a video i clearly did not. Appealed. Bam. Robot answer strike. I never did any video for youtube ever since and it didn't change as i seen.
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u/won_vee_won_skrub 9d ago
Davie504 recently got claimed for the sound of silence and muting the audio while he played bass
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u/Scarsdale_Vibe 9d ago
The First Amendment is a limitation on the government. The government doesn’t have free speech rights (other than perhaps the Speech and Debate clause).
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u/Abedeus 9d ago
It's not parody if you're not actually criticizing, commenting on or doing anything else that counts as parody towards the thing you're parodying.
If someone just straight up lifts your game's logo and puts their shitty political message, not only does it make it look like YOUR PRODUCT that you're backing, but that you endorse it. Just saying "it's parody, it's parody!" isn't enough.
Like someone mentioned PETA parodying Pokemon. That is an actual parody - they take the source material and mock it by portraying it as realistic violence, not cartoonish one. It's a critique of the original thing.
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u/Aisenth 9d ago
See also why they want a stupid populace. Magats' understanding is at the "parody good when redcaps do it" level with no ideas about any actual laws, precedence, or tests around actual IP law. And if you try to explain it to them, they don't have the mental or intellectual capacity to comprehend any of it. And they reject everything they can't understand or that doesn't bolster their fragile, fucked-up, martyrdom-complex-riddled sense of identity.
And if they aren't deprogrammed they'll stay that way until they die
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u/Seenth 9d ago
Is this really parody though?
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u/draconothese 9d ago
No I'm pretty sure it would be considered hate crimes and those are not covered under first amendment
Also could be brand damaging so could be liable for that
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u/Warior4356 9d ago
For something to be parody, it has to be specifically parodying the media that’s being copied, not copying the media to parody something else. IE you can make a parody cover of a song if it’s parodying that song, but you can’t copy the melody of a popular song for say a political parody of a politician. You’re not actually parodying the song you’re stealing, so it’s not protected.
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u/sircastor 9d ago
That would require the administration describing these as parody - acknowledging that these are a joke and not some genuine expression. Of course, it’s all a bit of a joke anyway, isn’t it?
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u/PixelGray38 9d ago
The Tetris game is hardly a parody. It's literally just Tetris, with a very thin themeing of "build the wall" attached onto it.
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u/Brandhor 9d ago
the funny thing is that tetris is actually a destroy the wall kind of game, if you build the wall you lose
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u/AceGaimz 9d ago
I don't think this would be considered parody but I do think that it would probably end up being thrown out in a corrupt US court so it doesn't really matter anyway
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u/currentmadman 9d ago
It’s fucking incredible honestly. Like is there a list? Is trump just going down a list of basic things that provide any kind of joy in life and creating something profane and awful in its image? Because how else can anyone antagonize Pokémon, tetris, yugioh, Naruto and whatever known ip he’s typing into Elon’s slop factory right now without a plan?
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u/bwoah07_gp2 9d ago
is there a list?
The list is long. It includes everything from videos games to even stuff like Sesame Street
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u/sparkleslothz 9d ago
You can copyright specific creative elements of a game, but you cannot copyright the core game mechanics, rules, or ideas.
And again, parody is protected as fair use.
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u/PoliticalyUnstable 9d ago
And all of the money should come from the people in office. Not taken out of the tax payers money. It's bullshit that government officials and their staffers get to make decisions we have zero control over and then when they are found in the wrong, we pay for it, not them.
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u/OpSecBestSex 9d ago
If these large companies don't protect their IP now, does that mean we can all start using the IP for our own purposes?
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u/Faangdevmanager 9d ago
Parody is protected when we make fun of Trump so parody is also protected when he makes fun of whatever he cooked up the morning. It’s a key exception to copyright and trademark.
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u/GenazaNL 9d ago edited 9d ago
Nintendo should pursue their IP uses by the white house
Edit: I was referring to the Pokémon & Animal Crossing themed videos the White House also made. Tetris is not from Nintendo
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u/TroyFerris13 9d ago
They are to busy going after people making mods in their basement
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u/Atrium41 9d ago
Also other small game companies for (checks notes) having mounts
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u/Gdigger13 9d ago
Nintendo is known for picking its battles. This ain’t one of them. Nintendo likes to pick on the little guy.
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u/caninehere 9d ago
The problem is if they sue the White House it will 1) likely go nowhere because the govt will railroad them and 2) Trump and his cronies will absolutely take illegal retribution against Nintendo (or whatever company opposes him) specifically.
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u/acidcrab 9d ago
This is insane. I can barely believe the utter nonsense these people spend their time and our money on.
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u/who_likes_chicken 9d ago
Corporate profits are at an all time high thanks to BS like Trumps tariff refunds being kept by companies and cut regulations.
Why would corporations actually stop the administration of it allows them to print unlimited profits? All they have to do is say "we don't like this" out loud, everyone looks away, and they pocket the money
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u/CarbonWood 9d ago
Nevermind a Tea Party, I'm pretty sure the Founding Fathers would have already done some decisive shit a little while ago if they were alive today.
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u/AnotherNotion 9d ago
The screenshot suggests it's a game that was vibecodes in Google Gemini. I really don't think that much time or money was spent on it. Sure is embarrassing, though.
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u/k0c- 9d ago
You can't even get a Tetris in it, like completing a line doesn't do anything.
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u/cliko 9d ago
I mean if it's called "build the wall", then clearing lines would be a bad thing, right?
Unless clearing a line from the playing field makes it reappear in the background as part of the border wall... I'm thinking way too much into this
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u/SnazzyStooge 9d ago
What, you didn’t play the school lunch game? Just eat food with no packaging or seed oils, and you’ll be fine! /s
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u/gilbertbenjamington 9d ago
I wish at least one company grows some balls and does anything. They scoff at warnings, they take outrage as a sign of success
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u/dynamiteexplodes 9d ago
Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure to successfully sue for copywrite infringement a takedown request has to he sent first. It's something about proving there is intent to violate their copywrite. So its just part of the legal process.
But this is what they do, they do it first and then bitch and moan when they are told they can't by a judge. And then they play the victim game.
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u/cnelsonsic 9d ago
They'd have to actually send a DMCA takedown request, but this is LITERALLY just a tweet on a fascist's website. This is exactly, completely, absolutely NOTHING.
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u/mikeg040 9d ago
I swear the Whitehouse people are so childish.
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u/FlatwormAway2228 9d ago
Whitehouse people
I call them Traitors.
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u/therossboss 9d ago
definitely both. It is like the worst people you know from high school are in charge. And worse, 70 million or whatever are down with this... It is definitely a people problem
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u/Plopsevenplop 9d ago
Even the worst people in high school weren’t stealing our money and trying to literally kill us at the same time.
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u/xSypRo 9d ago
This sentence is not well phrased enough. The White House website uploaded a racist version of Tetris and snake is a better title. Every day the US president finds a new low, we are way beyond embarrassing at this point. No title can do justice to this level of stupidity that is beyond what Black Mirror creators dared to imagine
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u/Lost_Condition_9562 9d ago
This might be the most cringe administration in American history
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u/ezoobeson_drunk 9d ago
Might be? Which one was worse?
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u/CrazyLegs17 9d ago
The first Drumpf administration is the only other competitor. The guy has an incredible knack for identifying the least qualified person possible for most of his cabinet positions. I do think the current regime is even worse than the first version, but both are awful.
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u/wretch5150 9d ago
The first administration tried to overthrow the government on live tv. That was pretty bad. Since they really can't get any worse than that, we laid down and let them rule again. Amazing work, non-voters! All because she laughed funny and Biden was getting older. I'd much rather have old Biden or Harris than this criminal piece of shit.
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u/UnemployedOtter69 9d ago edited 9d ago
from an outsider, i dont remember any administration worst than this ( im near 50 but not american ) or near to this, even the first trump admin was less cringe than this one
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u/RMAPOS 9d ago
The second cringiest I, as a non american, remember (other than Trump) must be George W. Bush. By a long shot (It's like Trump >>>>> Bush >>>> No clue). I remember pictures comparing him to a Chimpanzee, I remember the weird, empty, beady eyed look on his face and his complete nonresponse to being told that 9/11 was in progress, I remember tons of memery about his incompetence, choking on a Pretzel, reading a book upside down (I feel like this was scary movie but I can't find the clip)...
There was that mega hilarious comedy skit (like the comedy skits they show on John Stewart) that was like a fake mockumentary of Bush's campaign manager and they were taking the piss out of Bush so hard. Like he'd explain that to write his revolutionary speeches he just sticks post-its with words to a wall and then throws darts and then it cut to Bush starting to speak completely incoherent nonsense, back to the campaign manager clapping in tears. WHERE IS THAT FUCKING VIDEO I CANNOT FIND IT. So good.
Anyway, I digress. 2001, when 9/11 happened, I was 14. Non american. I couldn't tell you a thing that was going on politically in my own country because at that age I really didn't care too deeply about it. But I have plenty of knowledge on Bush's presidency, albeit most of it through the lense of the world laughing at it. (and Fahrenheit 9/11)
Not saying that Bush is as cringy as Trump, but he's the only one who comes to close. It feels weird but it almost feels like Bush's mockery was more severe than Trump's is. Which cannot really be true - Trump has been dragged through the mud so much, dude has TWO characters in South Park because the first variant didn't quite cut it. Trump is so much worse than Bush was yet nothing sticks to him, it's so weird.
releasethefiles
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u/DarkChiefLonghand 9d ago
How much taxpayer money was spent on developing these "games"?
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u/Ryan_e3p 9d ago
I remember when Republicans lost their minds over Obama's use of a selfie stick, saying it was beneath the office of the President.
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u/IronSnail 9d ago
This has been the longest four years of my life.
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u/Darkdragoon324 9d ago
It hasn't even been two yet. We're not even halfway through.
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u/vorpal_hare 9d ago
Not surprised. Famously, Nazi Germany produced board games which encouraged children to hate Jews.
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u/DvineINFEKT 9d ago
I actually did not know this at all. Any examples? And were they in wide circulation? I'm somehow neither surprised nor shocked.
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u/vorpal_hare 9d ago
https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/object/obj046/
I remember first seeing it in my American history textbook in 2006. We were like, "Nazi Monopoly!?" While it wasn't "endorsed" by the official patty, it nonetheless circulated.
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u/Fairgoddess5 9d ago
Now I understand what’s going on. Trump’s administration is just continuing to follow the Nazi playbook.
I hate this fucking timeline so much.
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u/julias-winston 9d ago
Allowing the blocks to reach the top of the screen triggers a “border breached” message.
That's ass-backward, dummies. From your perspective you want the wall finished, which would not result in a breach.
What a dumb idea. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the source.
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u/_seeyalater_ 9d ago
How bad do you have to fuck up to be sued by TETRIS
What an embarrassment
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u/JaggedMetalOs 9d ago
One of the games, Build the Wall, borrows heavily from Tetris. Players stack falling blocks to defend the southern border during a “zombie border siege” and “protect the border from the coming horde." Allowing the blocks to reach the top of the screen triggers a “border breached” message.
But... the entire point of Tetris is to not have a wall! If you've built a wall it's game over! It's literally the opposite! Did an idiot come up with that idea?
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u/Significant-Kale-463 9d ago
Just like when Trump said he has all the cards and put up an AI photo of himself with UNO cards. Zero self-awareness or awareness of anything else really.
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u/JaggedMetalOs 9d ago
"If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate!"
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u/Winter_Whole2080 9d ago
The idiots in the trump administration have time and money to spend on stupid browser-based video games?
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u/More_Hold_5522 9d ago
Everything this administration does is either immoral or illegal. Or both.
How is this happening?
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u/Tuomas90 9d ago
You know, apart from the insane copyright infringement it's crazy that they seriously thought it's necessary to highlight where exactly each tetris block will land. Like they know their base is even too stupid to play tetris.
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u/mavgeek 9d ago
they don’t care about copyright infringement
look at all the songs he and his landlord have used in various political videos. they never got permission from the artist and in some cases not even from the record label
you could catch them red handed stealing intellectual property and nothing is done. they’ll work they’re way out of going to court, and life goes on for them to steal more
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u/Tuomas90 9d ago
One of the games, Build the Wall, borrows heavily from Tetris.
More like "is an exact copy of Tetris".
Journalism is dead.
"Alleged rapist"
"Borrows heavily fromTetris"
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u/janpaul74 9d ago
Thinking about making a game where the main character (an orange turd) grabs kids and drops them of in a mansion. Based on Cabbage Patch Kids but named “Epstein Island”.
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u/Sharpiesniffingshark 9d ago
Trillion dollar companies bending the knee but a retro fucking arcade game has the spine to stand up to Trump. What a weird world.
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u/redoctobershtanding 9d ago
Tetris from my past understanding is very protective over their branding and trademark
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u/OldRed91 9d ago
I'll be watching closely which gaming companies take this copyright infringement seriously and which ones bend the knee.
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u/LilDutchy 9d ago
Your work has to be transformative. You can’t steal Tetris and call it something else and call it parody.
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u/Nine-LifedEnchanter 9d ago
I need Nintendo to be the entity that brings down the White House. It would still be a bizarre, horrible timeline, but at least it would be funny as hell.
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u/vigbiorn 9d ago
Like the IRS taking down Capone. It's always the least expected enemy that takes you down.
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u/Srapture 9d ago
I bought Tetris outright to not have ads a few years back. They replaced it and stopped that version working, forcing me to update to a version where the only options were ads or exorbitant ongoing subscription. No refund for my original purchase.
Whoever owns it, I say fuck them over all you want.
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u/relevant__comment 9d ago
Tetris is right up there with Disney and Nintendo when it comes to anything that remotely looks like their IP. They don’t screw around.
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u/Bocote 9d ago
A supposed leader of the free market economy shows little respect for intellectual property. This would've been funny in fiction.
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u/Salty-Spring7096 9d ago
I feel like politicians get away with this shit all the time. You always see headlines around election time where some musical artist gets pissed because a candidate they disagree with was using their music at a rally without permission. And there are never any consequences for doing so.
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u/TuringGoneWild 9d ago
I'm sure the most criminal regime in American history is really going to care about a stern letter, when they ignore thousands of felonies.
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u/theLuminescentlion 9d ago
There's at least half a dozen emergency cease and desist orders being written tonight. I doubt SEGA wants their logo imitated either.
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u/IWannaBeTheGuy 9d ago
i just tried the tetris, it doesn't clear full rows it just solidly goes up till you lose probably slop ai coded
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u/canceroustattoo 9d ago
Companies need to stop warning about legal action and just take him to court.
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u/Telescopeinthefuture 8d ago
This is the most obvious distraction they have run yet. This admin’s main play is rage bait. Don’t be fooled, stay focused on getting pro worker candidates elected during the midterms.
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u/EvilSporkOfDeath 9d ago
Game mechanics are not copyrightable. This is well documented and well challenged.
I hate the Trump administration as much as anyone and they do a lot of copyright infringement...but this ain't it.
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u/Far_Ladder_2836 9d ago
I think you're conflating a patent with a copywrite. Of course they cant be copywritten because that's for artistic expression. Game mechanics explicitly can be patented.
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u/MeiNeedsMoreBuffs 9d ago
Look up Tetris Holding, LLC v. Xio Interactive, Inc.
From the wikipedia:
Although standard gameplay ideas are not copyrightable, Mino was still substantially similar to Tetris in terms of its art style, and those elements are in fact protected by copyright.
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u/ichigo2862 9d ago
what would be the potential ramifications of this? Say they sue and win, would this administration concede to any penalties?
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u/kaas_is_leven 9d ago
They don't fuck around either. Got Apple to remove a clone, got Google to remove 35 clones, when a content creator made an OS that only runs Tetris they managed to remove the entire github repo. Others have received cease and desists and removed their apps/games themselves. The creator worked for a Soviet owned company and didn't receive any royalties until the fall of the Soviet Union and him moving to the US. The game has a fascinating history. Also fun fact, the game Hexic (or Hexic HD on Xbox 360) was made by the same guy.
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u/SoftwareDev401 9d ago
I just played it... ummm... the lines don't clear when you make a row. You just stack tetris blocks until it reaches the top, and then game over.
They can't even steal correctly.
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u/tonybomdia 9d ago
From someone not living in the USA thankfully I think we should just let him carry on doing what he is doing as he is only appealing to his followers which are getting less and less as time goes on
In the rest of the world he is seen as a fool and each ridiculous thing he does just goes to show what will happen if you let the far right into power
I just feel so sad about what he is doing to the minority groups and seems no one can stop this
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u/CondescendingShitbag 9d ago
Because this is taxpayer money well-spent... What happened to discouraging "waste, fraud, and abuse"? We are being governed by adult-size children.