Quote: Original post by hplus0603
If you really worry about getting sued, ask a real lawyer whom you've hired with real money, or don't do whatever it is you worry about.

That's so true, but i dont think any of us said that we were LAWYERS, i dont see any "that's the truth, i'm a lawyer" post. And even then, the lawyer isnt the law, the judge "is" the law. If you reveived false or erreneous advices from a lawyer and get sued. Your only option is to sue your lawyer.

We're debatting laws application. I think asking legal advice on the net can make you save money, since they are charging like 100$/h to get a boring "No, you can't do it" type of answer. And, we are providing valid reference and we (at least me) received a basic formation on IT laws application at university.

My 2 cents,
Jonathan

Quote: Original post by LowRad
They can't sue you if you dont use any of theirs copyrighted files.
..
They can't sue you if you're not using any patented material/algorithm/...
..
So, short answer: no, you don't need to contact them!

You can basically be sued by anyone for anything.

For example, you could sue me claiming I defamed you by conflicting with your view on this post.

It doesn't mean they will win in the courts, but there is no way to eliminate the risk of a lawsuit.

When in doubt, talk to a lawyer (as others have stated).

Quote: Copyright law covers only the particular form or manner in which ideas or information have been manifested, the "form of material expression".
It is not designed or intended to cover the actual idea, concepts, facts, styles, or techniques which may be embodied in or represented by the copyright work.

hmm, I'm not entirely sure I understand this. Let me relate to the other thread about remaking Pokemon Gold.

If he was to remake Pokemon Gold, but in this way:

1) Create new graphics
2) Write new music
3) replace the title with "The Monsters Game" (or whatever)
4) replace all character names with something new (like "I'm Jimmy, the Monsters Professor!")

but still keep the script and storyline essentially the same, is that not still infringing? Could I take an RPG, recreate all of it but use the same storyline? I assume I couldn't do that. Is the script itself copyrighted? (I assume it is :))

Quote: Original post by Tesl

Quote: Copyright law covers only the particular form or manner in which ideas or information have been manifested, the "form of material expression".
It is not designed or intended to cover the actual idea, concepts, facts, styles, or techniques which may be embodied in or represented by the copyright work.

hmm, I'm not entirely sure I understand this. Let me relate to the other thread about remaking Pokemon Gold.

If he was to remake Pokemon Gold, but in this way:

1) Create new graphics
2) Write new music
3) replace the title with "The Monsters Game" (or whatever)
4) replace all character names with something new (like "I'm Jimmy, the Monsters Professor!")

but still keep the script and storyline essentially the same, is that not still infringing? Could I take an RPG, recreate all of it but use the same storyline? I assume I couldn't do that. Is the script itself copyrighted? (I assume it is :))

That would be a derivative work, since it is based on the original work. The ability to create derivative works is protected by copyright.

And yes, most fan fiction violates copyright laws since they are derivative works. But the producers frequently -- but not always -- overlook it since they (can) increase the value of the original product.