Questions tagged [copyright]

Copyright is the legal right of the creator of a work to define how that work may be used and distributed.

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How closely can a game legally resemble another?

Most games build on other games' successes and many are downright clones. Where is the limit of imitation before legal issues come into play? Is it down to literary or graphic work like characters and storyline that cause legal problems, or can…
Fuu
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What do I need to legally use copyrighted music in my game?

I asked the singer of a song I am using, and he agreed to me using his music, provided I credit him. Do I need anything else, such as an agreement or signature?
J.Man
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Can I legally remove the default Unity splash screen by removing it from the APK?

While using Unity I export an Android game as an APK. When the APK is run, the first thing that is displayed is the Unity splash screen. I worked out that I could replaced that image by opening the APK like a zip file, looking for the splash screen…
David Dimalanta
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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?
Pavel Ryzhov
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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 then work on improving it (e.g. add…
Kromster
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How "fake" do invented names of a football game have to be in order to avoid copyright infringement?

I know that real player names cannot be used in videogames unless the authorization (generally very expensive) has been given by the holders of the rights (players, teams etc.) as explained here and here . There is a discussion here about possible…
DaniPaniz
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Can I remake a game I don't own any copyright to?

Can I remake a game I don't own any copyright to? There's a online browser game which I played 5 years ago. Some time ago, this game was shutdown because its developer went bankrupt. I want to re-make this game and provide it to Web again. Can I do…
Firezzard
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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 professional legal help for each game. I asked recently…
Steve Dunn
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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 for: Procedural organic level generation with round…
AturSams
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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 forms of intellectual property in order to…
KlashnikovKid
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Are weapon names or pictures copyrighted/licensed?

Will I get a copyright strike or something if I use a picture of a weapon and the name of it? (e.g. a shop where you can buy guns, AK-47 with the pic)
Nahro
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Is it ok to use copyrighted assets for educational purposes?

A friend and I were wanting to create a Pokemon battle simulator in our mobile development class as our final project but are worried whether or not it would be permissible under "Fair Use" for educational purposes. We have no plans on doing…
init0
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I found a game with the same name as mine! What should I do?

I published my game Eyeroller on Google Play the other day. I checked there was no game on Google Play with the same name. But today I searched for "eyeroller" on Google (Yes, I should have done it a long time ago) and realized there is a game named…
EREX
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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 fight, and then sell this game, would this be…
Jonathan
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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 questions regarding this: 1) Can I use my (already…
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