US Company Buys Commodore Brand For $33 Million

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US Company Buys Commodore Brand For $33 Million

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday December 30, 2004 @07:52AM from the for-the-old-foggeys dept.

inKubus writes "Tulip Computers International BV -- which has held the rights to Commodore since 1997 -- said Thursday it will sell the once-mighty Commodore computer brand to U.S.-based Yeahronimo Media Ventures Inc. for 24 million euros, or $33 million. A company spokesman said they would "take actions" against possible copyright infringements of the Commodore name in the United States as well as release a new MP3 player and rerelease classic games."

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After all... by nharmon · 2004-12-30 07:54 · Score: 5, Funny

There is a major problem with people swapping tape cartridges full of programs. Somebody needs to fight these pirates.
1. Re:After all... by nocomment · 2004-12-30 08:12 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Actually I think the business plan goes something like this...
  
  1>notice people making joysticks with built-in games that play commodore games
  2>buy commodore name to sue those companies
  3>...
  4>profit!
  
  Once that plan is complete maybe they will buy Amiga.
  
  --
  /* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
  /* http://allyourbasearebelongto.us */
2. Re:After all... by StarWreck · 2004-12-30 09:21 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The company making the new Amiga hardware is Eyetech Group, Ltd.
  
  The company making the new Amiga Operating System is Hyperion Entertainment
  
  And an example of one of the dozen or so online stores that currently sell the new Amiga Hardware coupled with the new Amiga operating system as well as Classic Amiga Hardware and Software is Vesalia Online --- Thats right! You can already buy it!!!!
  
  --
  ... and in the DRM, bind them.
Let Me Get This Straight... by ackthpt · 2004-12-30 07:55 · Score: 5, Funny

Let me get this straight...
A group of investors actually wants the name associated with a company whose business strategy was best summed up as:
Ready
Fire!
Aim

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This is one of the reasons... by slakdrgn · 2004-12-30 07:55 · Score: 5, Interesting

...abandonware isn't really abandonware. Now, I'm wondering if they bought the name just so they could make money out of lawsuits. If they do, and it works, I wonder how many other companies will attempt to by rights to long and outdated software just to attempt to raise their bottom line by sueing everyone.
1. Re:This is one of the reasons... by Schnapple · 2004-12-30 08:17 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Thing is, when people pine for the Commodore 64 they're either nostalgic over the ancient implementations of things like word processors or databases, or nostalgic over games.
  No one is still insisting that Paperclip was better than Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org Write (though I'm sure a few will as soon as I hit "submit"), so apps are out.
  As for games, people still love old C64 games. That Joystick on QVC with the games on it is selling enough to have its own hacking community and people are still psycho about games like M.U.L.E. (my Wife wants me to get one of those joysticks and hack Caveman Ughlympics on it - I'd prefer Fort Apocalypse myself).
  Thing is, Commodore themselves didn't write many games. M.U.L.E. was Electronic Arts of all things, Fort Apocalypse was Synapse Software (long dead of course).
  Just buying out the "Commodore" name won't allow them to sue abandonware sites. There *might* be something they can do to emulator authors, but that's doubtful.
  They bought the "Commodore" name since it's still a powerful brand in people's minds. They'll see Commodore MP3 players and Commodore 64 joysticks in stores and think "wow, Commodore is still around..." Look at the sheer number of people who think Atari is the same company with the same people. Heck, when I was working at Babbage's in 1999 when Hasbro had the new games under the Atari name (Windows CD-ROM's) I had people come up to me and ask if they "needed their old Atari" to play these games.
  
  --
  Schnapple
Wow, by Megaweapon · 2004-12-30 07:55 · Score: 4, Interesting

a 6502-based MP3 player! (Or is that 6210?) Whichever, the "Commodore name" to most people isn't a modern-centric concept. It's a historical relic (an important one, sure, but has no basis in modern computing).

--
I'm sure "SlashdotMedia" will improve on all the wonders that Dice Holdings blessed us all with
Oh cool. by DrEldarion · 2004-12-30 07:56 · Score: 4, Insightful

rerelease classic games."

I wonder if this means we'll get C64 games on those little joystick-that-plugs-into-the-tv things that are so popular nowadays.
1. Re:Oh cool. by stratjakt · 2004-12-30 08:02 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  That Jeri Ellsworth chick is already selling exactly such a device through the home shopping channel. It's got Impossible Mission and Summer Games and other old chestnuts built in, and looks quite hackable too.
  
  It was on slashdot a couple weeks ago.
  
  More likely, this Yeahanomorinono Media Venture Concern (is that REALLY a US company?!) will sue her ass into a hole.
  
  Anyone know whats up with her or Commodore One? Is she using the Commodore name legally?
  
  Too bad this company has no vision. To hell with mp3 players and re-selling old games, I'd love to see them update the Amiga, a la the G4 Mac and OS/X.
  
  That I'd pay for.
  
  --
  I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
So... by Stick_Fig · 2004-12-30 07:56 · Score: 5, Insightful

How much you want to bet that this corporation will pretty much do nothing but get pissy towards a bunch of emulator/C64-on-a-chip authors and not actually do anything with the company's legacy?
I mean, really, it's pretty much been empty promises since about 1992 from the Commodore/Amiga crowd, and the Commodore kicked the bucket.

--
ShortFormBlog: Writing a little. Saying a lot.
oh goody by drinkypoo · 2004-12-30 07:56 · Score: 5, Insightful

A company whose primary product seems (from their website) to be a DRM scheme is buying the commodore brand - remember, this is the company that gave out schematics with their computers. Doesn't sound like it makes sense to me. The only people who care about C= are geeks who will know better...

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Yeahronimo! by ackthpt · 2004-12-30 08:01 · Score: 5, Funny

Yeahronimo Media Ventures. Yes, this sounds like a reputable company. Seriously.
It was all they could get... names already taken were:
Geronimo
Jironimo
Ghironimo
Geeronimo
Goshronimo
and

Gollyronimo

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
True Value by Luminous · 2004-12-30 08:02 · Score: 4, Insightful

Would the Commodore name have that value today if it wasn't for all the C-64/Amiga User Groups that kept the legacy alive for all these years? These are the same people that will get sued first, I'm willing to bet.

--
This is not the way to build a lasting empire.
TRADEMARK, not copyright by shimbee · 2004-12-30 08:05 · Score: 5, Insightful

Names can't be copyrighted...they'd be taking action against uses of the name under TRADEMARK law.

There are a couple of issues they might run into:

1) continuous use -- has the trademark been in continuous use over the years? They can't just abandon it and pick it back up

2) passing off - if no one else is "passing themselves off" as the Commodore computer company, they probably don't have an action.

overall, if their investment plan is litigation, i think they are in a craptacular situation
Memory Banking by fwarren · 2004-12-30 08:25 · Score: 4, Informative

The Commodor 64 had 64k of RAM. the 20K of system rom was "over" the last 20K of RAM, and the 16K of RAM before that could be banked out so a Cartridge ROM could reside there. The 6510 had the ability to look at several address in zero page memory and use that information to "bank" certain ROM and memory mampped I/O out so that the RAM underneith could be used.

--
vi + /etc over regedit any day of the week.
Re:Commodore is dead by Dogtanian · 2004-12-30 09:05 · Score: 4, Insightful

The question is, "would you care?"

The people most likely to care are those who *know* the situation, your hypothetical 30-year old Joe Sixpack might get nostalgic about his old C64 or Amiga, but realistically, C= is a company from the past and doesn't have that much cachet nowadays.

I don't think Commodore t-shirts will ever be fashionable in the way that Atari t-shirts became a couple of years back.

Actually, the one thing that pisses me off about the Atari 'resurrection' is the gratuitous changing of the logo. The original was an absolute design classic; either the fuji on its own, or with the fuji and 'ATARI' name underneath.

Hasbro did their own stupid variant when they owned it, now Infogrames have decided to alter the fuji itself (UGLY!), then stick it in the middle of the 'ATARI' name (where it loses impact, IMHO).

The best reason I can think of for doing this is some tosser of a design consultant justifying his fee. Scum.

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