View attachment 8268 Part of my upcoming game involves feeding internet trolls, and I'm trying to nail down exactly what the trolls should look like. Personally I think that having these as characters in my game should fall under fair use / parody. I'd probably not use real photographs, but re-done digital graphics of them instead. But I'm honestly not the most knowledgeable about that kind of patent law. But what do you think? Is it fair use? If I send it off to Apple am I just asking for a rejection email?
hmmm.... personally, I wouldn't use those characters... seems like an unnecessary risk. There was a case of the Garbage Pail Kids as a parody of Cabbage Patch Dolls... the judge said that it was copyright infringement... so any resemblance between garbage pail kids and cabbage patch dolls had to be removed...
I think your game idea is more satire than it is parody. To be protected under fair use, you would really need to be parodying the dolls themselves in the game, rather than internet trolls.
I am interested in this subject as well. Is there anyone that can give the basics to parody/satire/fair use? For instance, looking at jib jab videos of various presidents (using pictures that they did not take) is evidently okay I am guessing. Also, something like Potter Puppet Pals youtube videos, they are able to use the Potter name, as well as all the characters names and they do benefit financially from it at their site by selling items. How is this not copyright infringement? If anyone can put in layman's terms some of the basics of these rules it would greatly be appreciated. Sorry to the thread author for adding more questions, I hope that this is continuing your initial intent.
I'd suggest that you consult with a lawyer who's knowledgeable about copyright/trademark laws if you want to really CYA, unless if there's a lawyer here on TA who's dispensing free legal advice. You could also poke around on the net and check out info regarding the concept of fair use and draw your own conclusions, as lots of information is available on the subject matter. Based on my personal dev experience, my suggestion would be to not use the trolls unless you can justify how their use falls under satire or parody. There's some interesting legal precedent on this, so you should read up on that. Regarding the Potter Puppet Pals or JibJab, just because they "appear" to be getting away with it now doesn't necessarily mean that they're not violating copyright or may be subject to legal trouble in the future.
Strongly recommend you don't use them. You're entering into dangerous territory. Shouldn't be too hard to design your own trolls.
WoW Dancers is still available. So there is some wiggle room in the app store. http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=326849635&mt=8
I think the only reason it still exists is that Blizzard CHOSES to let it exist. They probably realized it's useful for viral promotion, plus it does not make much sense to sue or otherwise harass the millions of people paying you monthly fees (take the hint, music industry)... That said Micah, the troll dolls are dangerous territory. Maybe they will ignore your game... or maybe they will simply wait and see if you get popular, THEN file suit for damages so they can get more money. A lot of awful people and companies out there. Watch your back
probably it would be a good idea to contact them and try to get a permission, even paying a small fee from the license might work - usually such permissions are not given, but why not trying. Of course then they watch you, but you are on the safe side.
You'll open yourself up to a Trademark case if you copy someone else's troll dolls. These same dolls were the subject of a court case in '95 ( EFS Marketing, Inc. v. Russ Berrie & Co., Inc.) The defendant won the case (was not liable for infringement) but who needs the hassle? http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/552088 The original dolls from the 60's were copyrighted, but that copyright was later overturned. Still, being in the right doesn't stop a lawsuit from being filed. Better to create your own characters. Fair use / parody does not apply here - you're not really making fun of the dolls, you're using them for your own game.
Stay away. 1. Fair Use is a defence, not a protection. Claiming your game is a parody will not protect you against being sued - you have to go to court and explain to the judge why it is fair use. Just doing that will cost a fortune in legal fees. 2. As pointed out above your game idea is not a parody of these dolls and so you would be unlikely to win any case. There is no safe way to use someone else's IP (other than making a crap game that fails so that no one ever knows about it). There is no magic % by which you can change the look of Mario to make him safe to use.
These trolls have been ripped off so many times by cheap toy manufacturers that I would say the copyright ownership is now pretty nullified. If you're directly parodying them then you're fully within your right to use them, but I would suggest that they've become so iconic that you could easily use a generalisation of their image safely.
Would you be willing to support that theory by paying his legal bills? He isn't and as previously mentioned he would have to go to court to make that claim stick. Again fine if you are willing to pay his legal bills. Big toy companies have big legal departments full of lawyers who are half human half rottweiler. Pissing of people like that is seldom a smart business move.
