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I am making a game that is like a combination of minecraft and unturned. It is like minecraft as it is very block based. It is like unturned because it has vehicles and other unturned functionalities. This is what the player model would probably look like: The Player:

The player model is very similar to minecraft's Steve. It does however have some major differences that make it unique. For instance the eyes are not stationary and can actually look around. The mouth has two sets of teeth which act as the jaw line and lips that represent the mouth. Both the teeth and the lips can be animated for a "Talking" animation. The eyes also have eyelids which can close and open with proper animating skill. The player model can also be customized in game, as the hair style, beard style, eye color, skin color, hair and beard color, can be changed during game play. Unlike minecraft's character, It is not restricted to just helmet, chest plate, leggings and boots for armor. This model can change its shirt, pants, helmet, hat, pants, leg armor, armor boots, chest plate, backpack (If he equips one), gloves, shoulder pads, elbow pads, and any other piece of armor and clothing that can be used in game.

My problem is, even with the major differences in the model, will it still be too similar to Steve? Or is this model too different to have me sued for copyright/IP infringement?

Thanks for any input.

I just started working on the model again, This time the player can hold things and also wears shoes:

The new player model:

Kenneth Carrington
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    Only person who can say for certain that it is a copyright violation is a judge after a lengthy (and expensive) legal procedure. Don't let it come to that, contact Mojang and find out what you can do to use this model. – ratchet freak Mar 17 '17 at 17:10
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    I totally agree with ratchetfreak's comment. You don't have the money to fight Microsoft in court if they drag you there, even if they're wrong and you're right, and even if they know it. Better play it safe. – Vaillancourt Mar 17 '17 at 17:14
  • Just make it stand out and be careful to not make it the same proportions as the minecraft guy to have solid ground. It will depend on where you live too. Seeing as steve's arms are below his torso, your character looks similar but it's not the same. Anyway, just add some curves to the ends and you should be good to go imho (Unturned is an example for one) but still, we're not really able to give you legal advice. – John Hamilton Mar 17 '17 at 17:18
  • This is not necesarily a problem. Consider that many creators make Minecraft-style animation by using similar models to those in game. The issue, I would say, is that people see them an associate them with Minecraft. For instance that character could fit perfectly in some modded Minecraft version. I believe you should consider to alter the character to something that makes branding your game easier. – Theraot Mar 17 '17 at 17:28

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It's very hard to tell, because we aren't lawyers, but some things can be said about it.

1.: Mojang was pretty generous when it came to stuff like this. Just look at the amount of games that are very similar to Minecraft. However, Minecraft was recently bought by Microsoft, so it's not 100% that this is the case anymore. (Thanks @Philipp for reminding)

2.: Law never completely adapted to the current technology. Currently, you only infringe copyright rules if you either stole code or game assets. Whether this counts as stoling game asset is hard to tell.

3.: We're just recently started seeing cases where game companies sued other game companies succesfully for copying games. The other companies didn't steal code nor game assets though, which could mean my 2nd statement is starting to fade.

You should definitely get a lawyer and ask him about this, or change the model completely. The latter one is orders of magniude cheaper.

One thing is certain. If you use any assets that you got from the game (like the grass texture), then you're in an illegal area.

You also don't want to make a game that looks like Minecraft, because people will put it down saying it's another Minecraft clone.

Bálint
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