Copyright.. Things and Issues

[Dualnames]

Okay, me and yukonhorror are working on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I need to know how to avoid that the cease the project and if that chance is possible as well. I was thinking of e-mailing them, but .. well.. what are your ideas about using copyrighted stuff.


I started thinking various stuff with all the locomotion around the world wide web about BBC ceasing projects..

[MrColossal]

Easiest way to get a game that might be shut down to completion is not to have a web presence until the game is done.

Work on the game in secret and then release it onto the internet, once it's out there they can't really shut down every server that has it hosted.

Otherwise trying to get permission from something as big as the Hitchhikers Guide just won't happen, more than likely. So stick to smaller indie things that don't have huge corporations backing them.

[LimpingFish]

To be honest, I never really saw the attraction of amateur games based on existing franchises. It's a lot of work to put into something that will never creatively belong to you; the main characters, locations, etc, are all someone else's, and whoever owns the copyright can effectively kill your project if they feel like it.

I can understand the appeal, to a fan, of making a game based on their favourite franchise, though.

MC is right about keeping under the radar, and out of sight, until your game is completed, as it guarantees you at least a fighting chance once the game is released.

[Emerald]

To be honest, I think you're giving yourself and AGS a bit too much credit. Even if it's the most successful AGS game ever made, I doubt anyone too far outside the amateur adventure game community would hear about it... Let alone hire a crack team of lawyers to take you down.

Seriously, all this worry about copyright, and has anyone in or around AGS ever even been threatened with a cease & desist order?

[skuttleman]

Key to remember is that lawsuits are only about one thing: money. Are you in violation of copyright laws for pilfering Douglas Adams' intellectual property? Yes. Is anyone going to care or be able to do much about it if you aren't attempting to make a profit? No.

[m0ds]

There are 4005 people here and only 2 that I know of have encountered a copyright issue. And generally because they've emailed said copyrighted material company and asked about it. So I say, do what you do! You'll be alright unless;
1) You mass produce and sell your game
2) You profiteer from it in other devious ways
3) You shit on a franchise, rather than praise it
4) You face something similar from the studio itself (ie a similar game)
5) You talk about it more than you do it

Good luck!

[Stupot]

Exactly... I'm assuming you won't be charging for this game, so there almost certainly nothing to worry about... if anything you'll be helping to advertise the HG2G brand... They should pay you!!!

[Dualnames]

Actually I guess you guys made a point.. actually Emerald lost the point of all of this.. a little bit.

[Ultra Magnus]

Yeah, it's the same with AMVs/fanvids.
Technically you are violating copyright, but as long as you don't try to sell it and it's not damaging the brand, the copyright owners will most often turn a blind eye.

As Mods said, the worst thing you can do is to tell them about it, because then they pretty much have to stop you.

I remember a few years back when someone saw an Evanescence AMV on YouTube and contacted their record company (supposedly) to ask if it was a genuine official promo vid.
They sent C&Ds round to everyone they could find that was hosting AMVs forcing them to remove their intellectual property.

The thing is, once there is evidence that they are aware of the infringement, they have no choice but to enforce their copyright, otherwise it could be brought up against them later on, possibly in a more serious infringement case.

As long as you keep shtumm, they can claim not to know about it, and everyone's happy.

[Radiant]

Okay, me and yukonhorror are working on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I need to know how to avoid that the cease the project and if that chance is possible as well. I was thinking of e-mailing them, but .. well.. what are your ideas about using copyrighted stuff.

My ideas... well... the actual law is that your game infringes upon their copyright, and is therefore illegal and vulnerable to cease-and-desist orders. This is true regardless of whether you make money for it, or whether you use your own art, or whether you change the story or not. This is even true if you change the names a bit ("Phil Anton Dont" and "Bophad Zoblebreex"), and you can't really hide behind the parody clause if the original work is already a parody.

That was the bad news. The good news is that the company is unlikely to care and/or notice it. That means that, as Eric said, asking them permission is a good way to get noticed by their legal department, which will without any doubt tell you to stop immediately. So don't do that.

And yes, several AGS games (or other adventure fangames) have been shut down. The list includes the Garfield: Mutant Lasagna game, several Monkey Island fangames, Quest for Orgy, and King's Quest Nine. That's off the top of my head; there may be others.

[Pet Terry]

And yes, several AGS games (or other adventure fangames) have been shut down. The list includes the Garfield: Mutant Lasagna game, several Monkey Island fangames, Quest for Orgy, and King's Quest Nine. That's off the top of my head; there may be others.

LucasFan's umm... Indiana Jones game? (someone correct me, please) was also shut down and Spyros' remake of Hugo's House of Horrors had to be taken down.

[Stupot]

Damn.  I would have loved to have played Quest for Orgy.

My current project is billed as a remake.  But it is really only the general idea that is the same, and you can't copyright an idea. Even the main character looks different (considering I have a lot more colours and pixels to choose from than the original).

[Radiant]

Spyros' remake of Hugo's House of Horrors had to be taken down.

While true, that was not a big company issuing a cease-n-desist order, but an independent developer asking to please don't do that. Matter of scale, and all that. Apparently (to my surprise) the guy is still making money out of selling HHH.

Damn.  I would have loved to have played Quest for Orgy.

I'm sure it's on the internet somewhere. Note that there are two games called Quest for Orgy; one has one room and half a puzzle, and a naked chick, the other has about a dozen rooms, a bunch of puzzles, and a bunch of explicit dialogue.

I believe (correct me if I"m wrong) that the Games Rating Panel is also going to fix download links for everything in the AGS database that can otherwise no longer be found (presumably by uploading them to americangirlscouts, or something). If so, that'd turn up the QFO games. Otherwise, there's always the Gameseek thread.

My current project is billed as a remake.  But it is really only the general idea that is the same, and you can't copyright an idea.

If you want my advise, I wouldn't call it a "remake" but "inspired by". Although, as I said above, companies are unlikely to notice and/or care.