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I gather from Is it legally possible to make a clone of the game? and How closely can a game legally resemble another? that I should not try to profit from a clone if it is using the same assets, and, I presume, the same name. My question is whether it's legal to make a game like "Set" or "Catch Phrase", using the same name, and release it for free. What would I be risking if I did so -- just a take down notice, or could there be financial risk too?

Edit: I guess my real question is whether the legal freedom is greater for a free game than one that is trying to make a profit. I just want a version of the game I can play remotely.

Edit 2: I don't understand why this is being considered off-topic. I read the FAQ and it says it'S OK to ask questions about project management, which includes Publishing. And naming a game is a key aspect to publishing. That's what my question is about - choosing a legal name for my game with the consideration that I might post/publish it.

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BlueMonkMN
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  • gamedev.stackexchange is not for legal advice. What you're asking, however, is basically: if I go spreading rumours about the local bully, will he ignore me, or will I just get a small beating? What are you trying to gain? Make your own games! – Jari Komppa Dec 17 '12 at 11:37
  • It's not for legal advice, and yet the first results Google found when I asked my question were here (quoted in the question). What I'm trying to gain is a version of the game that can be played remotely. So technically it's not just a clone, but an improved version that I could play when I'm not in the same room as friends. – BlueMonkMN Dec 17 '12 at 11:45
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    We are a community of programmers, not a community of lawyers. That people ask these questions here and that Google links you here we can't control. However we do control the FAQ: http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/faq – Roy T. Dec 17 '12 at 11:53
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    There's nothing in the FAQ about asking legal questions here, and the other legal questions that have been asked here are quite highly rated (and have not been closed), so despite the fact that part of this question is not strictly game related, I think it is appropriate to ask here given that it is half related to games. I am a game developer (programmer) asking a game related question related to a game I'm programming, as others have done in the same place. I think this is appropriate. – BlueMonkMN Dec 17 '12 at 12:01
  • Your question basically reads: I'd like to break the law. Would the consequences be bad? – Jari Komppa Dec 17 '12 at 12:03
  • I'm not asking whether I can break the law, I'm asking whether what I want to do would be breaking the law, and, if I'm uncertain whether I'm doing so, what the consequences would be. That was my intent anyway. – BlueMonkMN Dec 17 '12 at 12:12
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    "is [...] the legal freedom is greater for a free game than one that is trying to make a profit." Usually, no. It just means they can't sue you for as much. Intellectual property does not exist to stop other people making money - it exists to stop the creators from losing potential money. – Kylotan Dec 17 '12 at 12:34
  • It'll be a superb way to make your enemy bankrupt :) –  Dec 17 '12 at 11:56
  • @BlueMonkMN: I too don't consider this off-topic. However, lots of people don't like legal questions so they vote to close. Sorry about that. – Kylotan Dec 19 '12 at 13:27
  • I like legal questions very much, and I'm quite upset there still are people lying shamelessly claiming they are OT when they clearly aren't. That being said, unfortunately this specific question is quite poor, so in this specific case I agree closing it is best. – o0'. Jan 05 '14 at 18:07
  • @Lohoris I'm still willing to improve the question if you can suggest how it might be improved. – BlueMonkMN Jan 06 '14 at 14:10
  • @BlueMonkMN I appreciate that, but... you are asking something that is so clearly obviously illegal, that I'm not sure how it could be salvaged. – o0'. Jan 06 '14 at 14:48
  • @Lohoris It may be clear to you, having such a long history in the legal field (assuming you do), but it's not clear to me and maybe many others. I question whether distributing something for free might fall under something similar to fair use. – BlueMonkMN Jan 06 '14 at 15:12
  • @BlueMonkMN the problem is not the "free" (which is a nice question, but has already been asked IIRC), the problem is the "using the same name", which is obviously wrong for me. You don't need to be a lawyer to guess that even if you are allowed to make a clone, you are not to do anything that might make people think it's "official"... – o0'. Jan 06 '14 at 15:36
  • @Lohoris That would be a good answer to this question (because I was focusing heavily on the free aspect, but this time in combination with using the same name, as it might still be considered fair use in some cases), and I don't see it asked/answered elsewhere. If it is, it should be marked as duplicate (and link to the original), not off topic. – BlueMonkMN Jan 06 '14 at 15:44
  • Fair use is a terrible defense and I really wish people would stop acting like it's some kind of magic bullet to infringement. In practice, it's about as effective as the insanity defense. Using the same name is trademark infringement. Cloning the game design infringement. But by all means, infringe away, we'll be sure to watch for you on the news when the company whose ideas you stole financially obliterates you via multiple lawsuits. – arkon Dec 10 '15 at 01:10

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There's basically three things you might be breaking:

  • Copyright
  • Trademarks
  • Patents

If you do a straight-on clone of a game, using the same name even, you're possibly breaking all of the above. This is not recommended.

If for some reason you feel you just have to do so, contact the rights owner and discuss terms of licensing. Depending on the case, you may even get the rights for free, but I wouldn't bet on it. (contact info for 'the set game').

Much better idea would be just to write your own game. Everybody has more game ideas than time to implement them, why bother rewriting other people's games?

As for the risk - as I said in the comments, this is basically just asking for trouble and pondering what the severity of the trouble will be. It's likely you'll just be ignored. Or on the other end it's possible this is the end of your life as you know it, but that's less likely.

If you want legal counsel, get a lawyer, don't ask on random web sites.

Jari Komppa
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  • I have written many original games, and am usually the one telling others to be original rather than copying existing games. But my family and I like to play Catch Phrase, and we can't do so when we're not in the same place, so I wanted to just make a quickie version of the game that we could play remotely. Just wondering if I could call it Catch Phrase if I planned to share it. I had the foresight to call it Fangsatz instead, but was wondering if I could change it to Catch Phrase if I didn't plan to market it or make any money from it (just post it on SourceForge). – BlueMonkMN Dec 17 '12 at 12:06
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    I'm not asking on a random we site. I'm asking on a web site related to game development where other legal questions have been asked, and even been highly rated. Why do people have such a problem with this? Yes, it's not purely game development related, but it is related to the development of a computer game. – BlueMonkMN Dec 17 '12 at 12:09
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    Easy answer: contact the rights owner. – Jari Komppa Dec 17 '12 at 12:22
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You can not use the same name, because it is copyrighted. The name of a company or a product is protected. The Set Game, for example, when searched on Google, it is presented with "®" (registered trademark), that means the name is a trademark, protected by the law. So the name can not be copied. However, this trademark has a duration and expires after many years and then, the product becomes a kind of "common use" (i don't know how it is called out of Brazil). These laws depends the country where you are.

Edit: Sorry, the symbol, is ®, not ™. Thanks, Sam Hocevar.

robson rosa
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    I am downvoting this answer because it is really too vague; names cannot be copyrighted, they're trademarked. Also, even in Brazil, trademarks do not expire unless you stop paying; they can be renewed forever (contrary to copyright and patents). And ™ is for unregistered trade marks which aren't as protected by the law as ® (registered trade marks). – sam hocevar Dec 17 '12 at 12:11