Archive: 9 posts

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So... most of you may know that Im working on an FF level series/game... Well... I was going to include several staples of Final Fantasy (i.e. Chocobos)... and me and my groupies were disscussing about using the FFV character Gilgamesh (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Gilgamesh). However, thi said that using him could subject us to copyright issues by stating him by name. (i.e. OHOHOHO I AM GILGAMESH!) So that kinda led me to the question: If I were to use FF characters/creatures, would I have to rename them and put a copyright or something, otherwise my levels will be removed? Or can they still keep their names by using a copyright and I'll be safe? Thanks in Advance.

2011-05-26 06:07:00 Author: Fang Posts: 578

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think copyright would apply since you are not making money off of your level.

2011-05-26 06:17:00 Author: anthman852 Posts: 66

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I second anthman's response. Here, bud. Read this brief subsection of Wikipedia's article on copyright: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Fair_use_and_fair_dealing If the take the numbered items as your guidelines, #2 (nature of the copyrighted work) is the only one that works against you. Calling a character Gilgamesh, and making that character very obviously an imitator of Gilgamesh is 100% reproduction of Gilgamesh's nature. However, #3 and #4 totally work for you. (3: ) You really can't do enough with a level to put a dent in what Square has accomplished through their illustrious history, and it's not worth their time, or Mm's time, to correct you. (4: ) If anything, making a level that gives homage to a famous work only helps that famous work, by reminding people how awesome the original is. Mind you, it`s your account, and it`s Mm`s decision, so ultimately nothing us forum lurkers say have any influence in the matter. Do what you want to do, and remember: in the short term, you`re cool - long term, what`s the worst that can happen?

2011-05-26 07:13:00 Author: The Manx Turtle Posts: 50

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Also Gilgamesh is a VERY old name, from a VERY old story. It's public domain Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgamesh): He is usually described as two-thirds god and one third man. This specific fraction of his divine inheritance is highly specific in the ancient world and has recently been revealed to possibly represent the genetic conditions of mosaicism or chimerism. So start there! (I think it's the same place SquareEnix started, for LOTS of their creature names actually...Not wikipedia, I mean myths and legends from days of yore)

2011-05-26 08:55:00 Author: Mr_Fusion Posts: 1799

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No company's going to be bothered with the time and effort it would take to follow up all uses of their mascots in LBP. As long as no money's being made they don't care. So instead it's free advertising!

2011-05-26 09:39:00 Author: Xaif Posts: 365

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It should be fine as long as you pay royalties to me. I kid I kid. I don't think anything bad is going to happen. Worst case scenario: the level becomes insanely popular and gets serial-griefed by players who are jelly.

2011-05-26 15:21:00 Author: Gilgamesh Posts: 2536

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No company's going to be bothered with the time and effort it would take to follow up all uses of their mascots in LBP. As long as no money's being made they don't care. So instead it's free advertising! Though this may appear to be the case for many situations, it is not a general rule to go by. The emu scene knows many examples of fan-made remakes and sequels to great games from the past that were shut down by the original's copyright holders even though no money was made with these remakes. A violation of a company's IP may obstruct the company's effort to republish or remake their games. Also, in some countries, if a company does not enforce their copyright whenever they can, it may lead to a weak case in court when a gross violation of copyright does occur some other time and the co does decide to sue over it. What does this mean for creators in LBP? I can't tell. It is a vague line and if one would allow this situation, who is to say blatant sampling of sound effects and graphics are a step too far? You are taking a gamble and you will probably get away with it, but if one advice applies then it is this: if in doubt, don't do it. Edit: a last suggestion. Generally, copyright laws are much more lenient towards parodies of intellectual property. If you are not trying to reproduce some co's content but instead make an obvious sackboy parody out of it, there will be nothing to worry about, IMO.

2011-05-26 15:42:00 Author: Antikris Posts: 1340

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think copyright would apply since you are not making money off of your level. Okay, you're wrong. Certain uses of copyrighted material without permission are allowed in most nations: parody, especially, is protected. So are things like news reports and magazine articles. Beyond that, no, not allowed according to the letter of the law, generally speaking. The reason for this has to do with how trademarks and copyright work. The owner of copyright must defend their copyright/trademark (and the use of a common name or word in conjunction with a specific concept is copyrightable/trademarkable; Apple, e.g.) against infringement or they lose the rights.

2011-05-27 07:42:00 Author: roux- Posts: 379

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Thanks for correcting me

2011-05-27 18:50:00 Author: anthman852 Posts: 66

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