Game Development Stack Exchange
Game Development Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [legal]

As a business, game development is fraught with legal concerns and issues, especially on copyright, terms of service, and licensing fronts.

Disclaimer: Most of the users of this website are game developers, not lawyers. Keep this in mind with regards to any legal advice received here.

If you have concerns about running into copyright issues, or about the legality of the publishing of your game, there may be an answer to be found. If a question is about possible legal worries, use this tag to indicate such.

Furthermore, in many jurisdictions it is illegal to give legal advice without having a licence to practice law. Use caution when answering questions.

See also:

304 questions
68
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5 answers

Making an indie with friends: Legal considerations

I am close to finishing a game I am making with 3 friends. 1 other coder, and 2 graphic designers. We agreed from the start to split revenue (40/40/10/10). However we have no contract, and I know that I don't own the graphics/sounds in my game just…
Green_qaue
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Is it legally possible to make a clone of the game?

With board games like "Monopoly", "Domino", "Checkers", or "Chess", can game developers make clones and sell them? Also, can I make a clone of ZX Spectrum games? Are there many parts of the game with which can do the same?
Saulius
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39
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2 answers

Is Tetris public domain?

is the concept for Tetris in the public domain or is there someone who is still collecting royalties on the concept? I mean, if I were to write a variant of Tetris would I owe somebody some money? Thanks.
Friend
18
votes
5 answers

What are the implications of not owning the IP of a character graphic in my game?

I'm currently talking with a design studio for the artworks of my game. They are saying they want to still own the IP of their chracter graphic in my game as they want to sell merchandise with my character idea and their artwork. I'd like to know…
astk
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16
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2 answers

Am I liable if my game damages someone's computer?

Do i really have to tell somewhere in my game documents that "there is no warranty for this software for any damage" etc? I see it a lot in almost every program, if not all, but is it really necessary, can someone sue me if i forgot to add that line…
idev
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13
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3 answers

Legality of using names in a game?

If I am creating a board-game type game, does anyone know if it is legal to use others' names in the game? ie. A playing card with "George Bush" or "Michael Jackson" on it. Also, is it the same for brand names?
Andrew M
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13
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2 answers

Legal issues around using real players names and team emblems in an open source game

I'm writing a sports management simulation game. Like most sport management games, it makes heavy use of statistics. I would like to use real players, teams and league names. i) Am I running the risk of getting into legal battles if I should use the…
Eminem
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10
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3 answers

Is it legal to use car manufacturers' names in a game?

Is it legal to use car manufacturers' names in a game? For example: to describe Audi's quattro drive system? to display a rendering of an Audi? to include a photo (to which I have rights) of an Audi?
dave
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9
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1 answer

Marching Cubes - Legalities?

I know this isn't a "Is this legal" website, but because Marching Cubes is definitely a large subject in game development, and isn't really about a specific graphic/item, it would pass... To the point! Does anyone know whether Marching Cubes is…
Joel
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8
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1 answer

Am I allowed to name a game after some song?

Just to ask a quick question, which I don't know where to ask: If I were to make a game, would I be allowed to call it "Buffalo Soldier [some more words]"? Since it's a song by Bob Marley I am not sure if this would get me into all kinds of legal…
kdnooij
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7
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4 answers

Can I take a finished game based on a licence to the holding company?

Ok so I went through 11 pages on here and have done a decent amount of Google searching, but found nothing specific to my question. I'm working on a game based on a movie. For the purpose of this I'm going to use a different movie as my example.…
Matt Griffin
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7
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4 answers

Is it legal to add a cameo appearance of a known video game character in my game?

If I am not going to name the character and I use my own original art that very closely resembles a well-known video game character that appears in my game for a very brief moment, is it legal to add a cameo appearance of the character in my game?…
MartinTeeVarga
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7
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1 answer

Is it legal to use elements of the outfit of a character in another game as an optional cosmetic in my own game?

In my game, I plan on implementing various optional unlockable costumes, earned by collecting in-game items. One hypothetical example of such a costume would be Banjo's (from Banjo-Kazooie) shorts, backpack, and shark-tooth necklace. In trying to…
Fantabuloso
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6
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3 answers

Are there legality issues using a company's name in a game?

I'm working on an RPG of sorts where the character has a "day job" that determines how much money they make each time the day cycles and other things like that. Are there any legality issues with using the names of companies like "Barnes & Noble" or…
Matt Farmer
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6
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2 answers

Does it require any license to use soccer players and teams names in a paid or free game?

I would like to know if any license is required to use Fifa registered team names and player names in paid or free games (e.g. Spanish League teams, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo names etc). I'm currently developing an interactive soccer game for mobile…
Javierfdr
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