I haven't seen the specific bumpers you're referring to but the new McDonald's ads do the live Mario thing, as the Happy Meal toys are Mario themed.

So what if they copied it, it's promotion for Nintendo. They're obviously doing it because it's in the McDonald's promotions. Watching that Live video again, isn't it cool how just about everyone recognizes the classic sounds from Super Mario Bros. the jumping and the warp pipe sound especially. It's like as iconic as the lightsaber hum.

Did they pay thge guys who came up with the idea? If not - bastards. If they did, good for them for taking a little-seen good idea and bringing to the masses...even as advertising.

Certainly wouldn't have paid them. Ideas can't be copyrighted and they'd have no incentive to pay them - they'd just say they came up with the idea years ago and advertisements take a long time to come to fruition so one can't presume a temporal link between somebody coming up with something and then an advert doing the same thing shortly afterwards. Happens all the time.

The only way something could come of this is if the Mario Live thing was already a cult phenonemon, and the advert could be viewed as deliberately referring to it. I can't think of any examples of this, but I'm sure there have been some. Then some kind of payment or acknowledgement might be made, but if the source is already well recognised, it's more likely the "reference" will be regarded as just as much "promoting" the original anyway. In this instance it just looks like a rip off, however.

Bear in mind, too, that the Mario Live thing DID use Nintendo's copyrighted characters, sounds, format, etc. For Nintendo to "take back" the idea, I don't hold it against him.

Remember the xbox commercials that ripped off the gunfight in Spaced? That's a ripoff. Because they saw someone else's good idea and said, you know what, let's pretend it's ours.

In this case though someone took Nintendo's original idea, reworked it for a live setting, and then had Nintendo adopt their adaptation.

If Nintendo really wanted to they could have screwed around with the legality of the issue, bla bla bla, maybe not get anywhere but at least harass the hell out of them to keep people from doing it again.

But they didn't.

I don't think Nintendo should have to pay them. Nor do I think they're bastards if they don't. The Mario Live thing was a loving homage to Nintendo, and Nintendo's done a loving homage right back.