Need legal info...

Ok, first, about game content. I'm currently using a mix of JPEG and PNG file formats. I'm assuming these are ok (game only reads them, not writes)?

Next, for sounds I'm using WAVE and OGG because I understand MP3 is a no-no.

Finally, about using names of real world stuff...
Glock, Desert Eagle, Uzi, and Mac-10. Could I get in trouble for that? Should I make "game names" for them or can I use the real names?

I've never made a commercial project before so I'd like to know these things ahead of time...thanks.

Yep.
WAV and OGG don't require licencing. Using WAV may require mental certification, though. It has no advantages over OGG at all.

Yep.

Yep.

WAV is just placeholder, will probably use all OGG before it's all over.

How on earth do they manage using real names for all these weapons in say Rainbow 6 then? Not that I doubt you, since many games do use fake names on real weapons...

Licenses? I don't know what the problem is. You could invent similar names in a few minutes.

Money... pure and simple!

It would seem a little 'unrealistic' to rename them Clock, Sand Sparrow, Suzi and BigMac-10, so it would seem sensible for the creators of such travesty to cash in!

I wonder if you need a seperate license to use a nuclear bomb in a game, on that point, does the British Gov require you to license the name 'Trident' when used in conjunction with a nuclear themed based game?

If so, I'm going to create something that kills loads of people, and license it for games! :/

Scratch that idea, I've just thought, Red and his 'Guess the engine' forum game beat me to it! ;) <--- Notice the wink

Dabz

Somehow I don't think it's feasible for IMI to require a license everytime someone uses the name "Uzi" (especially since the guy that invented it died a couple years ago). I'm not even sure who owns the Mac-10, it's bounced between so many manufacturers.

I mean, every time someone uses a Glock in a TV series...it has the name Glock right on it (if you zoom in enough). Do they need to get a license to have it on film?

I think the problem is mainly that they don't have control over what you do with them, and not necessarly with the name, as they are commercial and competitive products.
Let's say you take a Glock 17 and a Beretta 92F in your game, which are both pretty similar handguns. But, for the Glock 17, you put it as a very very lowsy gun, with no accuracy and that it always jams and doesn't deliver much damage. But, for the Beretta 92F, you put it as great, accurate and lethal.
Same thing applies to cars, if you put a Dodge Viper 2006 and put it slow as a snail and put it a Hyundai Pony 1985 that's faster than a rocket, I don't think Dodge will like that if your game is very popular.

Yeah, this is a very fuzzy area, as far as I can see. I know car companies get funny about this kind of thing, but gun companies, I don't know.

Maybe you could try contacting some of the companies and see what they have to say?

In my experience, if in doubt, it's always best to ask. If they don't answer, assume the worst.

Also, be prepared to be surprised, as in my experience, you will often be surprised by the responses. When you expect to get a "No, sod off!" you'll probably get a "Sure, no worries." and when you expect to get a "Sure, no problem!" you'll probably get a "no, bugger off!".

Movies and other media outlets do not need permission to use some branded item all the time. You do not need to ask Ford if a Ford car appears in your movie.

BUT, it can not be the center of the movie/game. Do not make a game called UZI and have the point of it to find the best UZI, etc etc. In case of a FPS, you should not have a problem unless the weapons play a major part of the story. If they are just one piece of a background items, that is fair use.

As mentioned though, if you do use a trademarked name of some sort, try not to show it in a bad light, because then you could be held liable for defamation. Don't show in your FPS that UZI gun is the worst gun since it jams all the time... even if its true.

BTW, if you are making a small game, no one will even give a thought to you in regards to any trademark infridgements. If your game will make it big, you will need a lawyer for many things - such as contracts and consultation. At that point, you can go over this gun-naming business. As long as it is not the major part of the game, renaming them will not be an issue.

Oh, and if you are going to make it big... you'll be sued either way. I worked at a company which got sued by parents because they made a game about halloween and ghosts which apparently represents witchcraft and parents were unhappy that their little johny might not get the core Christian values that they were hoping for. That is why they bought a game with Haunted and Halloween in the title. ... ... ... A lawsuit is almost a good thing, it sais you made it!

Hmmm, in this case, I assume there are no problems. It's going to be a small title ($9.99), and none of the guns will be the key point of the game (swords are much more important, the guns are just a tactical thing), and each will have it's own strengths and weaknesses, it's a matter of personal style.

BTW: Uzi's don't jam all the time. One of the best damn SMG's of all time, even if it was made in the 60's...

Actually, you do.

Oh, and as a little side-note, I was writing a Formula One management game some years ago and wrote to various teams asking permission to use their names etc. The only one (out of about 12) who said they'd let me, was Williams. They even sent me a full design specification for the previous years F1 car (FW94b, iirc). I got an outright "NO" from McLaren and Jordan, most didn't even bother to reply.

Yes, they will. The WPBSA came down on me like a ton of bricks for using "World Snooker" as a working title for my 3D snooker game. Don't EVER kid yourself that nobody is going to bat an eyelid, regardless of how small and insignificant you think you/your project are.Assume nothing. Nobody here [myself included] is a lawyer. Ask someone who is.

Not legal advice but just a note. Role Playing Games have been using the names and pictures of real guns for decades, and I doubt most of them ever asked permission. (the pictures where line drawings and not scans for the most part). Then on the other side, in Toy Story the didn't call the truck they were driving a Toyota (they changed the name very slightly for some reason)

Most games companies have specialist departments who deal with licencing, so they probably did get permission.Yep - because they didn't have permission, or want to pay for permission. You're talking six-figure sums to licence a brand name like that.

I wonder...it seems all of the "red light" situations involve vehicles.

On the other hand, if they had to "license" the rights to use every gun they had in The Matrix, well, Bill Gates wouldn't have been able to afford that...

Please refer to this article regarding trademark and fair use policy.

http://www.publaw.com/fairusetrade.html

Pay attention to "Using Another's Trademark" section.

Thanks AlexZ, that was very helpful!

There is a significant difference between trademark violation and product placement.

Yes they will! In order for a Trademark to be valid, the trademark owner is required by law to defend it aggressively, or lose it forever.

Do the guns need to be named?
For example in Half-life The little Icon pictures of the guns are enough, you dont really need to call them anything.

If you call it "A fully automatic Pistol", and there is a Icon that looks a bit like an UZI, would you really need to name it.

(I understand that there are several game types that do need to name things, but do you?)

Actually, if I recall, in the original Half Life they had Glock pistols.

I suppose I could call the Glock a Pistol and the Desert Eagle a Magnum, but the UZI and Mac-10 are almost iconic (and similar weapons). It's like the AK-47, you always hear them referenced. Then again, nobody could sue you for using the name "AK-47" in a game (and the designer is still alive I might add). I think I'll just take my risks. If anyone calls me on it, I can always change the names to something "that wouldn't offend copyright holders."

No. But you should probably call it "a submachine gun".

But you couldn't call it a Kalashnikov.

Generally the problem is the Glock may take offense to any suggestions that an MRI Desert Eagle is a superior weapon than say a Glock 17, thus a trademark defamation lawsuit.

> Most games companies have specialist departments who deal with licencing, so they probably did get permission.

Average game company yes, average role playing game company would have to be no, most of them were shoestring operations at best - and most of them are gone. Some of the people from GDW (who used lots of guns for their Twilight 2000 game) are over at the traveller section of SJ Games - they might be able to give some useful advice.

It seems to me that you should play it safe; give your weapons generic names and, perhaps, even tweak their appearance to make them reminiscent rather than identical to the real things.

I know that you are keen on authenticity but if you are making a commercial game then it's a good idea to steer well clear of potential copywrite and trademark problems while it's still relatively easy to do so. Besides, being creative and inventive about these sort of things is part of the fun of game design.

Well, I'm going to be careful about it. But, still, I have seen many games that call AK-47's "Kalashnikov's" and many games that feature weapons from so many companies that licensing them would be unrealistic at best (no way they licensed all that stuff in Rainbow Six 3). And so far, nobody has sued anyone doing WW2 games, to my knowledge, for calling a .45 Colt automatic a "1911A1" as it is properly known.

I'll just be careful and test the waters...if I notice any flack (or maybe talk with a lawyer) before release I'll drop the names and come up with replacements. Weapons are going to be real though, for this first project at least.

I don't see how IMI could sue me for using the name "UZI," though. It just isn't practical, or realistic. I'm a tiny bit worried about Glock and DE though, since they are still big commercial products (in fact DE is only commercial, it's certainly not a military weapon).

Well it's your call, but the potential legal problems you might face before release could, potentially, be dwarfed by the ones you'll face after you've released your game commercially and profited by using copywrites and trademarks you don't own a legitimate license for. Still, your game is likely to slip under the legal radar and your violations go unnoticed. Probably.

Authenticity is obviously extremely important to you. Good luck!

I just seriously don't see how it could be a violation...I could easily point out hundreds of small time games that have used real weapon names, and they never had any trouble.

It seems, from what I read in the document posted by AlexZ, that using a weapon name should NOT be considered a trademark infringement.

That's fair use. The .45 Colt 1911A1 Governemt Model was issued as the sidearm for officers and NCO's serving in the US Army during WWII (and up until quite recently), thus you would be allowed to use it in a game about WWII for historical accuracy.

I dont see why you think its unlikly for rainbow Number to have a licence for all the guns in the game. Surly thats one of the reasons it has a producer and a publisher.

@Flame, yes I know its a submachine gun, but to distiguish it from the bigger ones, an Uzi is often one of the pistol skill weapons and is called a submachine pistol. (In UFO for example)

First: Actually I would classify the Mac-10 as a machine pistol, while the uzi is more of a pistol caliber carbine or small submachine gun, if I was going to go that road...

And, on another note, though I despise it greatly, I understand they use a lot of weapon names in rap songs. I seriously doubt anyone would approve their weapon name be used in MASSIVE record label rap recordings if they actually had any say in it.

Anyway, I get the feeling the only person that knows for sure would be a lawyer...as much as I don't like that breed I may have to consult one.

Look guys, these days you could be sued for anything. Anything at all. If the owner of the weapon feels that they want to sue, they will, even if your lawyer says you are fine using it.

There was a movie called "Sideways" where one of the characters kept saying how bad one of the wine is. The wine company that makes it saw lost sales because of it and decided to sue them for defamation. I highly doubt that it, at any point, approved their name to be used if they saw the script to the movie.

OrcSlayer, consult a lawyer. But please, don't worry about it right now at all. Make your game, debug it, make sure it is compelete and works. Only then worry about it. If it is not such a big deal in your game, you can re-texture and rename the weapons.

But remember, even if your lawyer says one thing, it doesn't mean that is the law, it is just how they interpreted it. And even by the article, it is vague and it all depends on how the trademark holder views your use of their trademark. And what side of the bed they woke up on.

Personally, I wouldn't think that makers of AK-47 or any other weapon would sue me. Oh, and any reference to the weapon you should put (tm) and in credits give the credits to the weapon's manufacturer.

But please, don't lose any sleep over it.

Great advice again AlexZ, I'll take it to heart and just make sure I take the proper steps, as the issues arise.