Hi. I'm currently working on a parody game and I'm concerned about a lawsuit after I finish it. Should I pay attention to anything special when making a parody game? Ty for help
Parodies and lawsuits
- Thread starter ReLoveZero
- Start date
- Dec 22, 2017
- 216
- 157
Parody is exempt under copyright law but you'd have to make an argument it is actually parody.
And, of course, if you're doing a parody using stolen art it's still stolen art.
There's also trademarks to consider. Nintendo has made themselves infamous for going after fan games, but that's because companies have a legal obligation to protect their trademarks, especially if it's a video game and could potentially be confused as an official Nintendo product. And they're usually not lawsuits, they're seize and desist orders, which are just angrily written letters telling you that you should probably stop what your doing and end distribution or face legal consequences. Usually the buck ends there and no one gets sued, unless there's some confusion about who actually owns the copyright.
I'm not a lawyer. But a good rule of thumb is to consider the copyright holder's position and use common sense.
And, of course, if you're doing a parody using stolen art it's still stolen art.
There's also trademarks to consider. Nintendo has made themselves infamous for going after fan games, but that's because companies have a legal obligation to protect their trademarks, especially if it's a video game and could potentially be confused as an official Nintendo product. And they're usually not lawsuits, they're seize and desist orders, which are just angrily written letters telling you that you should probably stop what your doing and end distribution or face legal consequences. Usually the buck ends there and no one gets sued, unless there's some confusion about who actually owns the copyright.
I'm not a lawyer. But a good rule of thumb is to consider the copyright holder's position and use common sense.
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