As a business, game development is fraught with legal concerns and issues, especially on copyright, terms of service, and licensing fronts.
17
votes
2answers
397 views
Where can I Find Free TOS or Privacy Policy Templates?
I've come to the point in development where I think I should take care of some of the "cover my butt" things. In particular, I'm looking for free samples or templates for "terms of service/use" and ...
1
vote
2answers
126 views
Implementing an existing (but out of print) game electronically
One of my favorite games is the old Avalon Hill class, PanzerBlitz.
I would like to implement it electronically, and have a couple questions related to that:
Would I be in legal trouble if I do ...
0
votes
2answers
407 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
685 views
Legal issues around using real players names and team emblems in an open source game
I'm writing a sports management simulation game. Like most sport management games, it makes heavy use of statistics. I would like to use real players, teams and league names.
i) Am I running the risk ...
3
votes
3answers
490 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.
...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Is it illegal to use GarageBand or FL Studio music I make in a game I plan to sell?
I'm a beginning developer and I'd like to make music for my game. I've searched this question on the site, and when it comes to music in games, I see a lot of people suggesting programs like FL ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Are fonts covered by copyright?
I want to use the font Trajan Pro, but I'm not sure that it would be legal. I've read a bit on fonts and copyright, and the only thing I could get was it depends on the license and where it was ...
7
votes
3answers
381 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 :
...
0
votes
1answer
199 views
Is this feature copyright infringment? [closed]
Say there is a card game and they have a feature that allows setting join requirement when hosting a game. These are: Only people I like, No one I Dislike, Invite Only, Everyone.
If I created a card ...
1
vote
4answers
303 views
Will my “Block Buster” game infringe on the Blockbuster (movie rental) trademark?
I'm developing a small puzzle game called "Block Buster" and I was wondering if there will be any collision with already existing "Blockbuster" (movie rental company) registered trademark.
Does the ...
0
votes
4answers
1k views
Could I make my own pokemon game without running into a copyright issue?
I've always wanted to make a video game that criticises pokemon. I want to know if I could use pokemon as the characters in the game without running into copy right laws. The game itself will have ...
0
votes
2answers
384 views
How legal would it be to use some elements of the Half Life universe in my non comercial, indie game?
I'm planning to make a simple, HTML5 game, that would use some elements of the Half Life universe. Basically, it would be a 2D Portal clone, but it would have it's own story, and portals would be ...
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?
18
votes
2answers
2k views
Can I legally sell an XNA game made with Visual C# Express Edition?
I've dowloaded Visual C# Express Edition and when it starts up it says "for evaluation purposes only." What does this mean?
Does this mean I have to buy the full version to legally sell my game I ...
1
vote
2answers
349 views
Can I use the Minecraft avatar in my game as long as I texture it differently?
I'm creating a block-based game and am ready to start developing the avatar. I would like to use the Minecraft avatar model but use my own higher resolution texture. Can I do this or will I be ...
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?
2
votes
2answers
359 views
Will there be legal issues in using cracked assets for internal development?
While the artwork for my game is being finished, can I use cracked assets for internal prototyping or testing? I am not going publish anywhere outside my company. Does it attract any legal issues?
By ...
9
votes
1answer
418 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
604 views
Does it require any license to use soccer players and teams names in a paid or free game?
I would like to know if any license is required to use Fifa registered team names and player names in paid or free games (e.g. Spanish League teams, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo names etc).
I'm currently ...
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 ...
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 ...
15
votes
2answers
1k views
Am I liable if my game damages someone's computer?
Do i really have to tell somewhere in my game documents that "there is no warranty for this software for any damage" etc? I see it a lot in almost every program, if not all, but is it really ...
5
votes
3answers
954 views
Can Google Translate's audio files be used in a game?
For my game, I need text-to-speech. Since it's Android, I decided to settle for MP3s, since the range of words spoken is few.
For my prototype, I'm using Google Translate to generate the audio since ...
11
votes
2answers
3k views
Am I allowed to make my Minecraft clone open source?
I'm developing in my spare time a game like Minecraft. In fact, it isn't "like Minecraft", because I'm trying to make it a close as possible copy of it (meant as exercise for myself at the age of 16 ...
3
votes
4answers
913 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
162 views
Can I make a Flash version of an actual game? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Legal issues for a “fangame” of a commercial franchise?
For example, some of you may have seen Portal: The Flash Version. I was wondering what the legal ...
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 ...
9
votes
2answers
381 views
Does using Creative Common data in a GPL game mean the code must be CC-BY-SA?
Let's assume we have a game where the code is GPL-licensed, and all the resources (like music, textures, etc.) are licensed under the CC-BY-SA license.
Now, the first issue would be that the GPL is ...
11
votes
1answer
257 views
Conundrum with quality and virus reports: is our game releasable?
I've just got done talking to the CEO of our independent game studio about one of our projects nearing completion. We're considering canning the whole project for a number of reasons:
There are ...
6
votes
5answers
717 views
Cloning a game and releasing the source
I'm not really aware of the legal issues surrounding game clones.
I'm around halfway done of making a clone, but it's not just the same gaming concepts, I'm literally using the original game's files ...
-5
votes
2answers
392 views
It is possible to use Pokemon images in a game?
Is it possible to use Pokemon images, names, elements in a game I would like to make?
Are they still copyrighted, patented, would I get sued?
(Maybe their rights have expired by now, is what I am ...
1
vote
0answers
154 views
Where can I find True Type fonts that are free for commercial use? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find fonts for my game?
Does anyone know of fonts that are true type and unicode that can be used in a commercial game for free?
13
votes
1answer
623 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
119 views
legal disclaimers and lisence type for a free multiplayer browser game
I have created a multiplayer browser game. The game is completely free (donations are welcome) but I would like:
(a) to protect my concept in some way.
(b) to provide legal notes that the user ...
1
vote
1answer
286 views
Does this constitute as copyright infringement?
Say there is a card game, and it has cards that arc out, and has certain types of memberships with certain features such as premium members being allowed to chat, or use private game rooms etc. If I, ...
18
votes
3answers
1k views
Is Tetris public domain? [closed]
is the concept for Tetris in the public domain or is there someone who is still collecting royalties on the concept? I mean, if I were to write a variant of Tetris would I owe somebody some money?
...
18
votes
1answer
762 views
How do we keep ourselves from being sued for unknown patent infringements?
There's breaking news about Zynga being sued over some very obvious implementations. This is making me think that the game industry is full of landmines to be stepped on at every turn. What input does ...
4
votes
1answer
304 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
295 views
Soccer national teams uniforms and copyright when developing a soccer game
I have a project to be accomplished in a distant future about a soccer game.
I´ve read that you can´t feature the actual national teams uniforms without getting permission from FIFA.
Is this only for ...
14
votes
4answers
778 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
674 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.
-5
votes
3answers
332 views
How to make name of your trademark-game-clone findable
I know you can't copyright gameplay, so I can clone a succesful game.
I'm not completely sure if you can completely take over all the rules (when rephrasing them to go around copyrights on text).
But ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Is it legal to use car manufacturers' names in a game?
Is it legal to use car manufacturers' names in a game?
For example:
to describe Audi's quattro drive system?
to display a rendering of an Audi?
to include a photo (to which I have rights) of an ...
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 ...
3
votes
4answers
477 views
What revenue models can I use for a non-commercial game [closed]
I don't have any budget to buy commercial licenses but the libraries I use offer non-commercial free licenses.
How far can I go in regard to monetizing my game without it being considered commercial ...
3
votes
2answers
312 views
Question about Monster Rancher/My Brute generators
I want to build a system based on the idea of Monster Rancher's monster generation system.
First, is it legal per se?
Obviously, I don't know how they built theirs and I will be generating my own ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
List of all games names?
Is there any list of game names anywhere, so i can choose a name for my game and avoid (legal) conflicts with other games as much as possible?
6
votes
3answers
268 views
Exclusive ownership of game artwork
I'd like to pay an artist to create art assets for my game. Is it common for the client (myself in this case) to exclusively own all the artwork that I pay the artist to create and deliver? How can ...
3
votes
5answers
233 views
Copyright notices on a web game portal
I notice that for several games on Kongregate, the copyright notice either uses the author's handle name (login name), the name of the group that produce it or a domain name.
Are all those valid ...
8
votes
1answer
573 views
Marching Cubes - Legalities?
I know this isn't a "Is this legal" website, but because Marching Cubes is definitely a large subject in game development, and isn't really about a specific graphic/item, it would pass...
To the ...
