Time to Smoke up the thread. This is what I thrive for accurate information.
SteamUser you should not be allowed to encourage fellow modders to make bad decisions and then disappear when the shit hits the fan. Your information and advice is bad and you should be revoked from discussion privileges. Your only valid argument throughout the thread was "Company might not sue you". Then it was "here is a mod that hasnt been sued, thats bullshit, you know nothing, etc..."
This is also how to properly link information and articles directly relating to the debate, not a mod link that proves literally nothing.
Please feel free to read the full FAQ, I pasted the most relevant parts only.
Here we go:
www.sloperama.com/advice/faq61.htm#61: So You Want to Clone Somebody's IPQ. Can they sue me, take me to court?
A. Yes. The risk goes up the more you take actions that impact someone else (like using their IP for instance). The more you are afraid of being sued, the more careful you should be about using somebody's IP (the harder you should work at not copying it). The more you are afraid of being sued, the more you should consider consulting a lawyer.
Q. What if the only thing I want to "borrow" is a character?
A. Characters are probably the most unique, most recognizable aspect of a game or any other IP. A resounding NO to this idea. Create your own characters instead.
Q. I'll just claim that it's "Fair use." Like what Weird Al did.
A. It's unlikely that your game would fit the qualifications for fair use.
Q. Yikes, then I guess I shouldn't do that.
A. Ding ding ding ding!
Q. What if the only thing I want to "borrow" is a game's title?
A. Titles are also fiercely protected. We're getting into the realm of trademark here (as with characters and manufactured goods). You'd be better off entitling your game - don't go using other people's trademarks!
Q. But it's just a little bit of money!
A. And it'll only be a little bit of a lawsuit. No matter how little the suit might be for, are you really sure you want to risk getting sued, taking time off from work without pay, to go to court, hire a lawyer to defend you, so you can explain to a judge why you had to "borrow" somebody else's valuable IP instead of just being creative...?
Q. So there's nothing I can borrow from any game? Then how can anybody make a game at all? This is all so confusing!
A. So consult a lawyer. He or she can help you make sense of it all.
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http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=26290&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%28Gamasutra+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Analysis: Clone Games & Fan Games -- Legal Issues Just because you wrote your clone or fan game from scratch does not guarantee that it is legal. The intellectual property contained in a video game is truly vast. For instance the copyrights alone may include (but are by no means limited to):
<list removed Check link>
The most frequent argument I hear concerning a persons clone or fan game is that the code is different or that they Created the game from scratch?
Unfortunately, the law doesnt really care, and is not on your side here if you relied on or used any of the other elements noted above. Even if you create the images, sound recordings, etc. from scratch, if those same components are clearly derived or ripped off from the original game, all your hard work may mean absolutely nothing from a legal perspective.
Protecting your Clone/Fan Game
You have a few choices here:
1. Make a legal clone. Rely on unprotected game elements, mechanics and processes that are so common and prolific in the game industry as to no longer warrant protection, copyright.
2. Ask permission. Yes, this does put you on the owners radar, but show some respect. If youre making a clone or fan game, at least be sincere about it obviously you enjoy the game, so show some respect to the games creators and publishers and inform them of what you want to do.
3. Come up with your own game. This is probably the best approach. If another game has inspired you, that is a wonderful thing. Let that propel your own creativity and make something unique that is truly worth playing.
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http://kotaku.com/5420240/how-to-make-a-fan-game-and-not-get-your-ass-suedHow To Make A Fan Game And Not Get Your Ass SuedMaking a fan game - like this, or this - can be a tricky thing. Is it a tribute, or is it stealing? We like to think it's the former, but lawyers often think the latter.
The best plan of action is to "rely on unprotected game elements, mechanics and processes" and ask the IP owner for permission before commencing work. If those don't work, you can always take what inspired you from somebody else's game and use it as a foundation to build your own game on.
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http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-05/5/investigation-are-fan-games-legalInvestigated: Are 'fangames' legal?Imagine that you've just spent the last eight years of your life toiling away at a tribute to your favourite game series. And then, imagine just days after your labour of love hits the internet, he original game serves you with a cease and desist letter. That was the crushing story for Spanish coder "Bomber Link", whose Herculean tribute to Streets of Rage got shut down by Sega's legal team.
Nintendo killed off online Pokemon battler Pokenet and fan-made Zelda film The Hero of Time, Square-Enix shut down unofficial Chrono Trigger sequel Chrono Resurrection, and fan-made King's Quest follow-up The Silver Lining fell into a legal wormhole as Vivendi and Activision constantly changed their minds over whether the fan game was kosher.Expressing your admiration for a game in interactive form just doesn't seem to be worth the hassle
Unfortunately, by ignoring these infringements companies would be putting their hard-earned trade marks and copyrights in danger. "If a company was to continually ignore infringements of a trade mark, the protection afforded by the mark is eroded and may render it invalid, this is the exact argument that Sega gave when booting out Streets of Rage Remake. "We need to protect our intellectual property rights and this may result in us requesting that our fans remove online imagery, videos or games in some instances,"
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Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case, Basically the same information I have been saying from the start of the thread, some of it word for word, but sure I'm one who doesn't know anything, and I'm the one who gets most of the hate. It's cool I forgive you all, except SteamUser he's a muppet.
