right now my game is using alot of licensed materials which are free for use if they are non-comercial. Others are just plain licensed. But i wish to start making my game commercial someday and i have a few questions: If i did (make my game commercial), but i removed all the licensed material could i still be sued for using the IP before i went commercial? If so what steps should i take to keep this from happening? Is it legal for me to use the IP until i get a cease and desist letter then removing it? Can anyone give me an estimate on how much purchasing licensed material costs. For songs? For Art? My game allows for users to create their own content such as creating their own levels. Can i be sued if my users create content that uses licensed material such as music and art? Does it make a difference if the game itself can be used to download the files from other users? Thanks in advance for any help on this topic =)

Quote: Original post by jchmack
If i did (make my game commercial), but i removed all the licensed material could i still be sued for using the IP before i went commercial?

The commercial title wouldn't have the licensed material - no one can sue you for selling a title that doesn't include their material.

Quote: Is it legal for me to use the IP until i get a cease and desist letter then removing it?

Of course not.

Quote: Can anyone give me an estimate on how much purchasing licensed material costs. For songs? For Art?

costs depends on what the IP is, who owns it, how much they think it is worth, how much they think you will make from it, how good you are at negotiating.... You would need to be a lot more specific about what the IP was before anyone could give you a meaningful answer.

> My game allows for users to create their own
> content such as creating their own levels.

Ok. So it's a game engine like Quake or Unreal.


> Can i be sued if my users create content that
> uses licensed material such as music and art?

You can state explicitely in your license agreement that your customers agreed to idemnify you should such a case arise. You can also specify - in that same license - contraints on 3rd party derivative works. A good lawyer can craft such a document for you.


> Does it make a difference if the game itself
> can be used to download the files from other users?

Game engines can include content download functionality, packaged as a client-side SDK and a server-side SDK. As long as it doesn't smell like another eDonkey, that's fine. Typical use cases can be covered in the license too. Again, a good lawyer can add specific scenarios in the document.


-cb