i was wondering, are you allowed to use real world products in your game? more direct, i have tons of guns and vehicles etc and i know that people use them in games all the time, but one thing ive seen vary is using the real names of said vehicles or weapons. i know games like goldeneye used altered gun names or edited ones and ive seen many games alter the exact names of guns a bit. do you have to- alter a real world product legally? i mean ive seen them in movies and tons of books etc and they all use there real names. is it because you may or may not be taking artistic liscense with the look of said object?

heres a more steady example. i wanted to have some computers in my game. well id like to make them tricked out apple computers. would i get in trouble for putting a apple computer in my game and using its name? thats the key thing really, i know you can use whatever products you want in a game, i see it done all the time, but what about the exact name of the product? thats where i tend to see alot of variation and name changes in about 1/3 of the games. so i was wondering why and how that applied to my game. thx.

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It will still be the copyright of Apple Computer, in a video game, a real world product, or whatever. I'm not 100% up on copyright laws, but I do believe a parody is allowed, but that probably wouldn't fit your game

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In movies like Sleepless in Seattle, Apple actually pays them to use their computer. They want the publicity. I doubt that any of us could strike such a deal.

In a word, if you use a known product without their permission, they could, and probably would, sue you. I wouldn't even use a parody. They could take you to court for that, too. Neither could you release an idea that belongs to someone else. For instance, you could not use any stories or images of Star Wars, even if you change the name. Not even for a game that you give only to friends.

When buying the CD, we have permission to use the images that came with Coldstone. It's their way to help us get going with their engine, for which they'll take credit.

You can take a picture of something, though, and alter it so that the specific brand could not be recognizable. Like a tank that you change somewhat. Take it to photoshop and make it into something that looks like animation by taking off some of the high detail. Then give it a different name.

This is a sue-happy country. We must be very careful. Besides, the bottom line, is that copyrighted material simply does not belong to us. It's theirs.

(edit) By the way, the companies that create the games you can buy off the shelf have lawyers. Lots of lawyers. Lawyers to strike deals. Lawyers that will also say no.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

(This message has been edited by Debra (edited 05-28-2003).)

I'm almost certain that parody is valid and won't get you a lawsuit. Like if you used a computer that resembled a Mac, but called them Rotten Fruit computers and they had a brown apple with a worm coming out of it, it would be okay.

Are you planning on selling this game? I think that if you use real world products in a game but aren't making a single cent on it, you can't get sued. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. I dunno.

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what i think ill do....... like in ghost recon for instance which relates perfectly to my game, they use weapon names like mp5 and m16. what i noticed is they leave off the company name of hechler and koch or colt so hopefully i can also and get under the wire and sell my game.

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As always, if you plan on making money off of something, when in doubt you should contact a lawyer and not rely on web board posters that are not authorities nor can they be held liable.

If your project is freeware then I doubt anything would ever be done, lawsuit wise. But again, when in doubt check with a lawyer.

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sorry i dont have the money to check with a lawyer nor do i know one, i know a paralegal but thats slightly different. and of course i asked the board goers because they know quite a bit, never hurts to ask and maybe one has dealt with this kinda thing before.

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Um, I'm sorry, but even if it's freeware, you cannot use something that's copyrighted, registered, or trademarked. Because I have engaged in original work since 1975, I'm quite well educated in copyright law. You don't really need a lawyer since there's quite a lot of books on the subject.

Right now, there seems to be a gray area concerning digital material. But I believe that to be an illusion, and eventually civil law combined with technology will find a way to enforce theft. Bottom line: stealing is stealing.

You don't really need a lawyer. I've never needed one because I know about this subject. When in doubt, don't take it, don't do it.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

okay..... after doing a bit of homework and contacting a few gun companies here and there i found basically number names arent copyrighted like m16a3 but names with a company name in front of them are like colt m16a3. although i would have liked to toss some battle macs in thier since the navy used to be the largest purchaser of macs. maybe i can work a parody battle apple in thier as some combat laptops and systems.

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Not to dis board members, but why are you asking us? just ask apple, they can tell you what they will let you do.

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Quote

Originally posted by Pierot le Fou:
**Not to dis board members, but why are you asking us? just ask apple, they can tell you what they will let you do.
**

Good point - just tell them that the heroes will be Steve Jobs and a Mac fighting to destroy Bill Gates, and I'm sure they'll go for it.

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This is the kind of day
That inspires me to update
My resume

"""Not to dis board members, but why are you asking us? just ask apple, they can tell you what they will let you do."""

well thats simple. it would be easier to querry the board to see if prior knowledge is available rather than contacting around 100 companies or so on a few hundred military products. ive asked many legal questions on this board before and theyve always come through in spades. apple was used as a example and is just one of the many companies.

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If you were to make a computer company called Rotten Fruit and the logo was a brown apple with a worm in it, you would not be sued for parody, but for libel. The image created here is a commentary on the company the image is in reference to, not just a goof on their name/logo. Granted, that doesn't mean they'd win if they sue, but if they served you with cease and desist orders and you didn't, it'd be off to court you go.

Parody is perfectly legal, and you can sell merchandise with a parody logo of a company, provided it's not slanderous or libelous or infringes on the companies operation.

There is a comic book aritst, Keiron Dwyer, who has a comic called LCD in which he did a parody of the Starbucks logo. He altered their mermaid logo with dollar signs and changed the font a bit and it reads "Consumer Whore." Of course, Starbucks sued. But in court, a judge ruled that the image counts as a parody and using it in his comic is fine. However, Starbucks doesn't make comics so he's not infringing on their operation with it, but Starbucks does make t-shirts and mugs so he had to stop selling t-shirts and mugs that had his parody on it.

There is also something known as "fair use", which to a certain degree allows the use of name brands and logos in things. It covers a lot of ground and can be specific in some areas and vague in others, so look it up.

Politcal cartoons that represent public figures and companies is a somewhat different issue because it's a form of free speech that's specifically protected by existing laws.

While we're talking about using real-world labels in games, you can't use music from real musicians in your game, can you?

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"Do you serve a purpose, or purposely serve?"
- Stone Sour

As for music the short answer is no. The longer answer is yes so long as the music is in public domain or you have written permission from the composer, group etc.

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Thanks Pedrith, I didn't think so, but I wanted to make sure.

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"Do you serve a purpose, or purposely serve?"
- Stone Sour