Is it risky to call characters from existing franchises by their name in parody games ?

[StinkStoneGames]

Hi !

So,I'm currently working on a RPGM game where most of the girls are from existing franchises (Mangas like One piece, Dragon ball, video games like LoL and Overwatch, DC characters, ect...)
I played a few games with the same gimmick, and some of them called the characters by different names. (Bulma being called Belma, Tracer being called Tracy, that kind of stuff) I thought maybe they did that to avoid any legal issues ?

I was wondering should i bother renaming the characters ? Or is it okay to call them by their real name (a lot of games do that too).


(Sorry if I made any grammar mistake, english isn't my first language)

 

[woody554]

the characters are their I.P., the wrong name provides you the chance to argue it's NOT the same character. you might still get in trouble but it's much less likely.

if you use the real name it's not a parody, you're just using their character. you're basically admitting it's the same character.

 

[rayminator]

No it's not risky at all

just say your name is Lisa

guess how many Lisa there are in the world

 

[russianbot]

It's not like you would go to court over an RPGM game. If the IP owner decides to send you a cease & desist then you are going to cease and desist. They are exceedingly unlikely to care if you do some cheeky renaming or not.

 

[Gwedelino]

Changing name won't make you avoid any legal issue.

I think the best thing you have to do is to check first how protective are the right owners of each IP you want to make a parody.

As an example, we know that Nintendo is very protective of its IP and I wouldn't recommand you to create a parody of an IP owned by them.

It depends purely on them, and not on you.

 

[Eagle1900]

Changing name won't make you avoid any legal issue.

It depends purely on them, and not on you.

from personal experience, I guarantee you that it is.
the risk is only yours

 

[♍VoidTraveler]

You can probably just contact their support or something and ask if it's okay to make a parody of their shit.
If not then screw them, make something original instead. Probably will turn out better anyway.

 

[Count Morado]

Hi !

So,I'm currently working on a RPGM game where most of the girls are from existing franchises (Mangas like One piece, Dragon ball, video games like LoL and Overwatch, DC characters, ect...)
I played a few games with the same gimmick, and some of them called the characters by different names. (Bulma being called Belma, Tracer being called Tracy, that kind of stuff) I thought maybe they did that to avoid any legal issues ?

I was wondering should i bother renaming the characters ? Or is it okay to call them by their real name (a lot of games do that too).


(Sorry if I made any grammar mistake, english isn't my first language)

Worrying about their names is the least of your worries in an IP case. If you are going to get caught up in an IP claim, different names won't be the saving grace. There are many more factors involved.

Also:

• Different names will not stop an IP holder from filing a cease-and-desist on your work.
• Different names will not stop an IP holder from filing a DCMA claim with Patreon, Subscribstar, pixiv, etc which then puts a hold on all funds and removes your page from public view.
• Different names will not stop an IP holder from filing a lawsuit against you.
• Different names will not pay for the attorney, discovery, and court fees involved with mounting a defense against an IP holder's award-winning multinational law firm that is on their retainer.

That all said - if you're making next to nothing in earnings (through purchases or donations) on the game, just like 90%+ of adult game developers on here then its doubtful that you will be a blip on their radar screen. However, somehow find a way earn a living using their IP? Be ready to be noticed and shut down through legal maneuvering. If you piss off the wrong fan? Be ready to respond to Patreon or whomever about their shutting down your page because they've been tipped to you violating their TOU regarding copyrights.

The bottom line: if you are truly worried about IP claims, either consult an attorney or make something else. Polling opinions here won't help you. Asking legal advice of people on F95 is like asking the blokes at a bar if you drink too much.

 

[Darknerious]

aren't porn parodies legal? there are a ton of the simpsons, star wars, etc. I mean we have here games like 4 elements trainer, a ton of naruto an bnh parodies, and they are going fine using their character names....

 

[Gwedelino]

I don't know any dev on F95 that actually received a cease and desist letter, but my knowledge is limited regarding this.

 

[Deleted member 5189987]

I know of only one big game which had to stop development because of copyright issues, and that's a Pokemon game (forgot the name). Other parody games seem to do well on here and earn quite a lot of money for many years already.

So it certainly depends on the company. I believe that Nintendo shut down fan games that did not make any money. And if you look at Innocent Witches (a Harry Potter parody game), they make around 20K per month. And they started their thread in 2016.

Look at the Avatar game, it's well-known and still continues development.

 

[Count Morado]

aren't porn parodies legal? there are a ton of the simpsons, star wars, etc. I mean we have here games like 4 elements trainer, a ton of naruto an bnh parodies, and they are going fine using their character names....

No. Parody is a legal defense. Not a legal "get out of a lawsuit free" card. There is nothing stopping an IP holder from filing a claim of copyright infringement on any creation that claims to be a parody.

If a lawsuit claim is filed by the entity who holds the copyright, that entity has legal obligations to show the probability of infringement. It is then upon the respondent to then show that their creation is not an infringement, but is a parody. That costs money. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands or more. Depending upon just how far the respondent wants to go to defend their belief that their product is a parody.

That said, like I mentioned previously - unless a person starts attracting too much media/internet attention, they will most likely remain under the radar of an IP holder. However, there some holders which will go after every single one they find and have teams actively searching for people using their copyrights without permission.

Just because you know of examples of people using copywritten works for their own profit (whether through payments or donations) doesn't mean they are in the clear. They just haven't popped up on the holder's radar, yet.

All it takes is one pissed off fan enough to make life a living hell.

 

[Gwedelino]

I know of only one big game which had to stop development because of copyright issues, and that's a Pokemon game (forgot the name). Other parody games seem to do well on here and earn quite a lot of money for many years already.

So it certainly depends on the company. I believe that Nintendo shut down fan games that did not make any money. And if you look at Innocent Witches (a Harry Potter parody game), they make around 20K per month. And they started their thread in 2016.

Look at the Avatar game, it's well-known and still continues development.

Yeah, we know enough about Nintendo to see they're the not to mess with. Project M / Pokémon Uranium / Metroid fangame, all those projects got shut down.

Regarding adult game, I know that Cuddle pit actually had to rework their game Pokémon Con-quest into simply Con-Qu'est and erase any hint that it was a Pokémon parody.

But I'm unsure they did that because they received an actual warning by Nintendo. I had in mind that it was their initiative.

What's the Pokémon game you're talking about ?

 

[Deleted member 5189987]

Yeah, we know enough about Nintendo to see they're the not to mess with. Project M / Pokémon Uranium / Metroid fangame, all those projects got shut down.

Regarding adult game, I know that Cuddle pit actually had to rework their game Pokémon Con-quest into simply Con-Qu'est and erase any hint that it was a Pokémon parody.

But I'm unsure they did that because they received an actual warning by Nintendo. I had in mind that it was their initiative.

What's the Pokémon game you're talking about ?

I believe the game was called Leaf on Fire