Using screenshots / sounds from popular games.

[Roezaka]

Good day!
I would like to create a scene where a character is playing a computer game. In this regard, I have a question.
Can I use a screenshot from a popular game, such as a counter strike? Could I also use sounds from this game? I do not mean to extract sound from the game and use it in my game for my own purposes, but simply to show how the character plays the game with sound.

 

[anne O'nymous]

I'm not a lawyer, just someone with knowledge regarding law, so this isn't legal advice, just shared knowledge .

Can I use a screenshot from a popular game, such as a counter strike? Could I also use sounds from this game? I do not mean to extract sound from the game and use it in my game for my own purposes, but simply to show how the character plays the game with sound.

You can, and you cannot.

Legally speaking, it fall under fair use. It's just a really small part of the game, that you use to illustrate and/or pay tribute to the game. But in the same time, the rights owner(s) can also feel offended that their game is associated to pornography. They can then decide to sue you in order to protect the reputation of their game ; what don't mean that they would necessary win.

There's really few risks that they end knowing about your game, and that then they decide to sue you, but this risk isn't totally null. Therefore, it's up to you to decide what you'll do.

 

[Playstorepers]

It's a copyright infringement, so to be absolutely safe, you shouldn't do this.

That aside, the odds of actually getting sued over this is so small, but just to be safe, I recommend you to pick a stock image from a free domain website or something, which would serve the same purpose