Copyright gives the creator of an original work exclusive legal rights to it
16
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I use popular classical music as my game's soundtrack?
Can I use popular classical music in my game as a soundtrack? I'm concerned about copyright protection. I don't plan to make money off of my game.
Will I break some law if I do that?
15
votes
2answers
2k views
How does one buy the rights for a game?
Let's take some old popular at a time but abandoned game: WorldRacing/HiOctane/Constructor/any other. Say I with a team want to revitalize said game and bring it to year 2011 without major changes and ...
15
votes
3answers
666 views
How to monetize and protect a engine's and its framework's copyrights and patents?
I created a game engine that handles:
Rendering levels with 2d textured curved surfaces
Collisions with curved surfaces
Animationn paths on and navigation in 2d-sapce
I have also made a framework ...
14
votes
4answers
795 views
What resources can I use to determine if the name of my game violates any copyrights or trademarks?
I'm a indie/hobbyist game developer. How do I check that I'm not infringing any copyrights or trademarks when I release my game?
I'm not making megabucks so it's not financially feasible to get ...
13
votes
1answer
625 views
Must know legal issues when releasing a game?
Alright, some day in the far future I would love to independently release my own game.
My question is, what is the minimum amount of familiarity I need with copyright law, software patents, and other ...
11
votes
3answers
743 views
Releasing a game without really having an officially registered company
I'm thinking of releasing my iOS game without formally registering a company at all. I'm not sure I even want to create a company.
ITunes wants to know the copyright holder of my title. I have 2 ...
9
votes
2answers
800 views
Does it require any license to use a real city landscape in a car racing game?
I'm now planning a casual car racing game that want to model some real cities sight into it. I doubt if there is copyright of the landscape or city planning of those real cities in the world. Can I ...
9
votes
1answer
421 views
What to consider legally when cloning an old game? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How closely can a game resemble another game without legal problems
I'm going to make a game in the form of a 100% free Android phone app that will be basically a clone ...
8
votes
8answers
1k views
Is it illegal to use a commercial song in your game (that you intend to sell)
If I were to buy, say this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fumBcKC6RE, strip/find/get the instrumental, and use that instrumental in a game I'm making, as a theme, say for a recurring boss ...
8
votes
2answers
248 views
When should I talk to a lawyer about intellectual property for an indie team?
Let's say you have a team building a decent game and all is well technically and people-wise. You feel pretty sure you'll get to a product that can be sold. How does an indie studio (with good ...
7
votes
3answers
455 views
How do I get Apple to pull an App that violates a copyright?
A friend of mine has had his Flash game stolen and published on the iPhone app store without his consent. What is the best way to get Apple's attention about this?
7
votes
3answers
382 views
Intellectual rights to game concepts
For a client I might be making a small puzzle game about getting a item out of a puzzle. The concept will strongly resemble this game :
...
6
votes
7answers
1k views
Can I use copyrighted sprites for a demo?
I just had a quick question and wanted everyone's opinions.
I'm making a 2D demo game for a resume which I want to post online. I'm applying as a programmer position so I don't really have my own ...
5
votes
1answer
239 views
Copyright laws on famous buildings and monuments in games?
I am working on a commercial card game based on the middle east. We would like to have famous buildings and monuments in the game, such as the Burj Al-Arab in Dubai.
Are there laws that would prevent ...
4
votes
3answers
797 views
Using modified copyrighted music in non-commercial games
Background: I'm making a retro style game for both fun, and an unofficial contest.
I have bought a song, song X. However, I then found notation for song X, and all the instruments. So basically, ...
4
votes
3answers
408 views
Legal Lego game
As Lego (the old blocks not the 'new' hi-teck stuff) are now in the public domain, can I make a game where the graphics are made out of lego blocks?
Well, I can, but is it legal?
4
votes
3answers
414 views
Copyright infringement in game title [duplicate]
I'm a wanna-be indie developer, and I am working on my first flash game. But, before I even start with the code, I want to know this: When determining the title of my game, how can I decide if it is ...
4
votes
1answer
305 views
When do I need to ask for permission to recreate an old game? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
How closely can a game resemble another game without legal problems
Legal issues for a "fangame" of a commercial franchise?
I want to do a mobile version of ...
4
votes
2answers
147 views
Guitar hero clone and music
I am an indie game developer and I am doing a game similar to guitar hero. I am using tracks composed by musicians and I contacted them to sing a licensing contract. As is my first indie project I ...
3
votes
2answers
679 views
Can I reuse the name of an old arcade game?
I've done an indie remake of an old arcade game from 1980.
Can I use its name? I thought copyright expired after 25 years but I could be wrong, hence this question.
3
votes
4answers
927 views
Does a pong clone called “Ping” infringe on any copyrights or trademarks?
Long story short, I made a retro Pong clone and submitted it to the App Store as my first app. It survived for a bit, but I eventually received a message from Atari tell me to remove it. There was ...
3
votes
3answers
502 views
Using “screenshots” in a game, is it allowed?
Lets say I have a game that is some kind of a quiz, and its questions are themed around gaming.
For it to be interesting, I would need to make references to well-known games and game-related stuff.
...
3
votes
1answer
633 views
Can I create a remix of a song & incorporate it into my game music?
DJs frequently remix eachothers work and use as they please. Can I as a programmer do similar - remix a song I like and embed it in a game I create without royalty/copyright issues?
Disclaimer: ...
3
votes
6answers
727 views
When does a game idea cross the line between homage/parody to ripoff?
I'm not sure where this question belongs, but as it pertains to the development of a game idea, I figured I'd try to post it here.
Recently I've been inspired to create a game based on another game ...
2
votes
2answers
221 views
How can I handle copyrighted music?
I have a curious question regarding on musics used in music rhythm game. In Guitar Hero for example, they used all different music albums in one program. Then, each album requires to ask permission to ...
2
votes
3answers
413 views
Is there a grey-area with Copyright infringement?
Currently a student, I'm trying to put together a game for iOS. From everywhere I've read, it seems any game's sound and art are apart of their IP and covered under their Copyright.
That being said, ...
2
votes
2answers
205 views
Do I have to ask for permission to use real company logos for advertising props in the world in my sports game? [closed]
I'm making a simple turn-based Android ball flicking soccer game and I was thinking of creating a theme in a sports game, like soccer for example, usually had advertisement banner on walls and a bit ...
2
votes
3answers
41 views
Can I use a certain song in my credits as long as I credit the original author?
I am working on a commercial game and I'd like to use one of ludovico eunadi's songs during the credit, because it would be very fitting for my particular game.
I know using music that other people ...
1
vote
4answers
486 views
Is it OK to reuse art from open-source games?
There are a lot of open source games, such as Flare (Diablo clone).
Is it OK to re-use the art they put in their open source game and make a profit?
1
vote
3answers
333 views
What do I need to do legally to protect my game with copyright?
I am in the process of writing a game and I'm wondering what the copyright laws about publishing this game are.
I do not (for now) intend to make money from this. The beginning of my code contains a ...
1
vote
1answer
135 views
What is a legal way to use music from registered authors in a game?
I have recently asked a question about music in games like Guitar Hero.
I have found that that in Europe (at least) if I do want to use a track composed by a musician member of a royalty collecting ...
1
vote
3answers
435 views
Making a mobile app from a board game. Copyright infringement?
Me and a friend got hooked on a board game and soon realized that we didn't need the board game to play, instead we could play it with pen and paper with extreme ease and satisfaction. The next step ...
1
vote
2answers
188 views
Who has the rights to the party game Mafia / Werewolf?
Who has the rights to the party game Mafia / Werewolf?
Or is it public domain, meaning anyone can do an implementation of the game and release it as a commercial product?
Update 1:
According to this ...
1
vote
1answer
330 views
Can I use remade sprites in my game? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How closely can a game resemble another game without legal problems
Can I use remade sprites in my game?
I am making a game and I used some sprites, but I didn't copy ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
Creative Commons Share-Alike/No-Derive - what constitutes an adaptation, if the asset is not altered?
-Edit: I would argue that while the topic can be a matter of legal advice (which is for lawyers), it falls under the topic of 'asset pipelines,' which is relevant.
It's important to note that this is ...
1
vote
0answers
131 views
How would the GPL apply to these generated source files? [closed]
I am currently using Love2D as my game engine of choice and have come across the situation where I have had to retype out similar code over and over. In particular, if I want to add a new color to a ...
0
votes
2answers
417 views
Purchasing a TV show adaptation rights, how does it work? [closed]
Basically, I was thinking about a game based on a TV show, just for fun, and ended up thinking "well, it's not like it can be made anyway". Or can it?
In the present situation, developing a game by ...
0
votes
1answer
358 views
Who owns the intellectual property to Fragile Allegiance? [closed]
Fragile Allegiance was developed by Gremlin Interactive, which was later acquired by Infogrames (Atari). I couldn't find any details of the acquisition though.
The only interesting thing I have found ...
0
votes
1answer
130 views
Game loosely based on a copyrighted story [duplicate]
I want to make a game based on a copyrighted book. It's not about recreating it strictly with all details, but rather about building something new around the general idea (possibly incorporating some ...
0
votes
1answer
117 views
Having Your Own Copyrighted App Automatically After Publishing
I have a question regarding for the game app and in business. You see, I decided to publish an app to Google Play. When I published it, does this app automatically declared that this app is ...
0
votes
1answer
189 views
Fanmade game copyright? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Legal issues for a “fangame” of a commercial franchise?
What if I decide to make a fanmade game from a popular, recent game release?
100% non-profit. I ...
0
votes
1answer
194 views
Can I use an effect similar to “The Matrix digital rain” in my game? [closed]
I've created an animation (a series of textures) based on cmatrix program written for Linux terminal, which is distributed via GNU GPL license. I'm using standard latin letters and numbers (nothing ...
0
votes
0answers
144 views
Copyright of some arcade classics [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How closely can a game resemble another game without legal problems
So suppose I'm currently developing a variant of a snakes game for the iPhone, and you decided to ...
-1
votes
5answers
660 views
Is a programmer liable for copyright infringement in other people's mods to his games?
If a programmer (P) releases a game, and a modder (M) releases a game modification which includes copyrighted content, can P be held liable for the copyright infringement in the mod?
-1
votes
2answers
280 views
Can I create a Star Wars game without infringing copyright? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Legal issues for a “fangame” of a commercial franchise?
Is it possible to create my own commercial game based on the Star Wars Universe, without any copyright ...
-1
votes
1answer
196 views
Copyrights and Usage of 3rd Party Intellectual Property
I develop a game for a mobile platform. I would like to implement a movie figure/creature/character/vehicle into the game.
I wish to ask about Copyrights:
Is it acceptable, if I implement famous ...
-1
votes
1answer
105 views
Using copyrighted sprites [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How closely can a game resemble another game without legal problems
I was thinking about making a pacman clone, I know there is a similar question here Using Copyrighted ...
-1
votes
1answer
84 views
Game mechanics based on similar game [duplicate]
I want to make an iOs game that is based on an online flash game. There will be quite some differences, but the game mechanics will be extremely similar. Do I have to worry about getting sued by the ...
-3
votes
5answers
3k views
Can I get around a Pokemon copyright with new art and minor changes?
If I develop a game that is essentially pretty much Pokemon (you're a trainer, you catch "monsters" and put them to fight and level up etc), and I do the next things:
I'm a trainer with a ...
-3
votes
2answers
243 views
Can I legally make a free clone of a game and use the same name? [closed]
I gather from Is it legally possible to make a clone of the game? and How closely can a game resemble another game without legal problems that I should not try to profit from a clone if it is using ...
