Hi, im developing an anime parody and i was thinking of using music, some images, and voice acting(short phrases) of that anime im making a game of. but just in case i want to know if this could bring me some trouble since i havent seen other people doing it.
Can i use assets from an anime for my game?
- Thread starter alesanand97
- Start date
That is most likely going to be a copyright violation. How much trouble you should expect depends on what you are planning to do with your game. You're not going to get it onto Steam (because Steam will want to be sure you have the rights to all the assets you use). As with other violations of Patreon's TOS, you might get away with it for a while, but if they do notice, you'd be out. I don't know how Subscribestar handles this, but I'd expect that your game would be gone if they receive formal correspondence from the copyright owner.
If the copyright owner finds out that you do this and who you are, they could try to sue you demanding that you stop and potentially pay them some money in damages. Success of that will somewhat depend on where you live. If you don't monetize your game, and don't connect it to your real-life identity, this is probably a very small risk.
If the copyright owner finds out that you do this and who you are, they could try to sue you demanding that you stop and potentially pay them some money in damages. Success of that will somewhat depend on where you live. If you don't monetize your game, and don't connect it to your real-life identity, this is probably a very small risk.
- Jun 26, 2017
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While I agree that the risk is very small, may wanna think about which companies own the IP in question. Tons of companies have their hands in the cookie jar. Multiple Japanese companies, multiple major western conglamerates like Warner Bros, Netflix, Disney and Sony, not to mention other non-speaking countries like Korea also have their stake in anime as well. So if you wanna minimize the risk, prob better to find out which companies own the IP and how aggressive those companies tend to be when it comes to protecting the IP. Just to be on the safe side especially if your gonna be ripping their content directly.
well i wasnt planning to sell it, but still creating a patreon or something for donations... btw there isnt a example of someone doing something similar? speaclly ripping voice from an anime?. i mean for me as a player i always thought it would be cool if some parody games have some voice acting of origanl anime, since it isnt a big deal to do. in my case im planing to do a naruto game
- Jan 21, 2022
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Receiving donations on Patreon counts as receiving compensation in support of the work you are doing. If your work includes taking assets that someone else created and using them in your creations, the law can see it at the same level as wage compensation.
Saying that you are making a parody and/or doing it for free doesn't shield your work by claiming "transformative use." Transformative use is a defense claim that can only be determined by either an agreement between the plaintiff copyright holder(s) and a respondent artist or by the decision of a court of law. It's not a free pass purely from your claim.
Some people don't get caught. Some people do. Some people are able to defend their claim in court and only need to pay for their attorneys to defend them. Some people don't and then pay huge fines and must reimburse the IP owners for the infringment on top of that.
You can still be sued for using characters, locations, etc. on the grounds of copyright infringement. They would first send a cease and desist letter to you either directly or via Patreon/Subscribestar/whomever you use as a site to promote your work. If you choose not following the terms of the letter, they would most likely take you to court. By this time, Patreon/etc would freeze your account. The plaintiffs would present their case that you are using protected content without permission. Then you would present your defense that your work legally meets the elements for the fair use / caricature / parody exception. If you are using actual music, some images, and voice acting - you could see multiple suits depending upon who actually owns the rights to those assets (the music might be leased by the production company from a composer/artist, etc). Also, using those assets rather than creating your own which are very similar increases your liability risk since you are taking their content for your own work. Finally, the court would decide your fate.
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- Oct 14, 2022
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In my opinion to be on the safe side, you'll be better off staying clear from any copyrighted work such as music, images, characters or likenesses, wither you intend to make money off your project or not.
Stealing other peoples work isn't the best, I know form experience in Graphic Design from my past and I've sent out plenty of cease and desist letters to people using my work that I owned the rights for I know how it feels when someone rips of my IP and I wouldn't do it to others.
Put yourself if their shoes, what if you made something special and people started stealing your work and you not be compensated for that work.
Stealing other peoples work isn't the best, I know form experience in Graphic Design from my past and I've sent out plenty of cease and desist letters to people using my work that I owned the rights for I know how it feels when someone rips of my IP and I wouldn't do it to others.
Put yourself if their shoes, what if you made something special and people started stealing your work and you not be compensated for that work.
i understand that if i were to steal from small fries, but im stealing from big millionary company.... they already have enough money to feed thousand of families but they wont.
- Oct 14, 2022
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I understand where you are coming from, the chance is yours to take. "small fires" are less likely to be able to pursue legal actions due to money, but the "millionaire companies" have the funds you won't have to fight a legal battle if you are caught.
Depending on what you plan on doing, you might not get caught again like I said it would be a chance you need to be willing to take. Just because they have million's doesn't mean they won't pursue you for infringement.
Disney is one that will go after everyone & anyone to protect their IP just as an example. Your chances could very well be slim to none but just something to keep in mind.
and isnt it a way to go safe? i mean first, how do they would know my name or location since i would be anonymous?, even if they someway track me, if I do not specify in writing the reason for the donations, can I get away with it?
- Oct 14, 2022
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Finding out who you are would be the easy part, if they are going to take legal actions. They would subpoena whoever hosts your game. Example if you upload it to Itch.io they will send the subpoena to itch for your information, or Patreon they would have all your legal information since your collecting money.
Doesn't matter if you specially say what your collecting money for if you release your game on Patreon and are collection donations just as donations they can interpret that was getting compensation for work that isn't yours. Your never really as "Anonymous" as you think you are. Specially if your collecting money your debit card / bank are linked to somewhere that has your real information on it.
But like I said, the odds could be very slim but you still would have to consider it and risk what you are willing to risk.
PS: I'm not giving legal advice just my opinion.
- Jan 21, 2022
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To add to what MouthOfMind said (also, not legal advice - but informed opinion) -- Are you using the same username on F95 that you use for other logins on the internet? A google search will be one of the first things a good legal assistant will look up if this would go to court (in the end, if the corporation wins - you will be assessed the corporation legal fees). I would bet that this thread is already a result on Google and would most likely be offered into evidence by the plaintiff as proof that you received this information.
You're trying to find loopholes, that's up to you - but understand you might get away with it. You might not. That choice is yours.