I believe that “If” there will be a Conan exiles 2, it won’t be on unreal engine 5, but 6! This game is an investment that needs at least 3 years preparation. I believe that the gift on Conan exiles 2 won’t be the atlantean gear but a retro version of the old Conan exiles maps.
I don’t agree with the “ark” plan of changing engines, it showed that nothing changed except the engine. Devs and company felt free to repeat mistakes in the new version of ark. I don’t want to see this behavior in my brand new beloved title, i want it to gain 10/10 on gamers reviews and gain the proper position in the gaming charts, Conan exiles is one of the top ten games ever!
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steamboat willie is public domain, mickey mouse is not.
the purpose of the public domain is not to be “frozen in time” it is that it is now in the domain of the public. it belongs to the public (IE everyone) and is free to be used in derivative works.
trademarks are intended as a consumer protection, so that a consumer is not confused into buying coca cola that is not actually coca cola.
intellectual property (IP) is just a generic term to referring to the various types of ‘ownership of ideas’
when the original conan stories go public domain, i can use all the characters and concepts from those stories in a derivative work, point blank period. funcom can claim trademark all they want.
disney even attempted to abuse trademark law to trademark steamboat willie as part of a logo, and has been unable to successfully use that against people who have used steamboat willie after it went pd.
in previous discourses on the topic of conan, copyright, and the public domain, i have in the past offered sources, actual legal precedences from court cases, and citations of the actual US copyright law, but i am not going bother any more. every time i have come to the discussion with facts, my factual evidence and personal KNOWLEDGE of intellectual property law has been dismissed by the argument of "trust me bro’
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I would be interested in learning more. I always wondered what were the practical consequences and ramifications in a case like this, where a small portion of a larger IP goes into public domain, and where there are trademarks based on that IP. I wondered, but I don’t have the knowledge to go beyond wondering.
That said, I totally understand if you’re tired of repeating yourself (been there, done that myself), or if you don’t want to derail this thread.
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best case law on the subject is Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate. Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., No. 14-1128 (7th Cir. 2014) :: Justia
the case is about someone who wrote a sherlock holmes story, and the conan doyle estate sued them. conan doyle estate made the argument that because not all of the sherlock stories were yet in the public domain, the character was not in the public domain, because his essential characteristics came from the full body of works. courts ruled that those essential characteristics that came from the works that were in the public domain were safe to use, and those that came from works that were not in the public domain would be copyright infringement. thus, at the time of the case, holmes & watson = safe to use, and holme’s niece = not safe to use.
for conan that means that the characters and their essential characteristics, concepts, locations, etc from ‘The Pheonix on the Sword’ (1933) will be safe to create derivative works from by anyone (in the U.S) in 2028. then in 2029, we would get the content from “The Scarlet Citadel” “The Tower of the Elephant” “Black Colossus” “The Slithering Shadow” & “Pool of the Black Ones” as safe to create derivative works from.
note that i was wrong earlier when i said 2027 as the earlier date, and also i am not registered in the bar of any state as an attorney, and also that the final reckoning of specific legalities in any individual case rests on attorneys arguing precedence in a court of law and the subsequent outcome of that case.
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Thank you, @RagnarRandom! That was very informative and interesting.
No worries, my question was idle curiosity, not a plan to do anything actionable 
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another interesting tidbit for your idle curiosity, is the original U.S. copyright law as laid out by the founding fathers was 14 years, with an option to renew copyright registration with another 14 year extension. so originally, a creator could exploit their creation for 28 years, and their heirs would have to make new shit to make money from.
we now have 70 years after the death of the creator, or 95 years after publication, whichever is longer, with no requirement on the property owners to renew registration for works published after 1978, thanks to sonny bono & disney.
luckily our current crop of legislators on both side are completely incapable of passing any legislation, so it’s unlikely to get worse any time soon, elsewise it might.
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