I have two questions:

- I made a clone of one popular game as a case study within an academic work. I'm now in the process of publishing it as a research paper and I need to refer to the original game within my text. Do I need to seek the permission of the trademark owner of this game. (given that I'm only referring to the game and all the images included were taken from the game clone).
[To clarify things more I've already contacted the trademark owner just to be safe but things doesn't seem to run in the right direction with them. So now I'm thinking of dropping the subject].

- The game I built runs on a specific hardware. If this game is to be used to promote the hardware (for the public), do I need to seek permission of the original game trademark owner. (even though I'm not selling the game, it is different than the original but has the same concept).

Thanks

You can discuss existing commercial products by name, in an academic work or a journalistic work. No problem.

But cloning a game, for any purpose, is a very bad idea and can get you sued by the IP owner.

Academic research is a frequent, but not universal, exception to IP laws.

You didn't mention your country, nor where you are planning to publish. Both are significant.


Simply citing a work is just fine. No permission is needed for you to review, critique, or study a work for academic purposes.

Cloning the IP can be tricky. You may not qualify for academic or research exceptions.


Assuming you are a student, the professor who is your research advisor can give you guidance. If in doubt, the two of you should contact the appropriate group in your college that can answer these legal issues. Every school has lawyers who deal with it. External groups like SPARC also have resources to help answer that kind of question. You may also discuss the concern with the group doing the publication, since they won't want to be named in a lawsuit.

Do I need to seek the permission of the trademark owner of this game. (given that I'm only referring to the game and all the images included were taken from the game clone).

1. Trademarks are not the only issue to contend with, there is also Copyright. You need to talk to your schools legal team to ensure all issues are covered.

2. In many territories there is the legal concept of fair use which allows the use of someone else's IP in certain limited, specific situations - scholarly works being one of them.

US Copyright Office said:

One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.

Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Source: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

'USA_NAAL said:

- The game I built runs on a specific hardware. If this game is to be used to promote the hardware (for the public), do I need to seek permission of the original game trademark owner. (even though I'm not selling the game, it is different than the original but has the same concept).

You have not given us enough information on the origin and use of this hardware or the way in which it is to be made available to the public. If this too is part of a scholarly endeavour (a student made device which will be shown to the public at exhibitions) then it may be covered by fair use. However if it is a commercial venture or is being used to promote a commercial venture then fair use doesn't apply and you would need a license from the copyright holder. Again you need to discuss this with your schools lawyers or - if this is not associated with the school you need to get your own lawyers.

But cloning a game, for any purpose, is a very bad idea and can get you sued by the IP owner.

I needed to re-build it, it runs on new hardware and thus requires specific implementation.

You didn't mention your country, nor where you are planning to publish. Both are significant.

United States.


Ok, then what about the second question?

Thanks for the help

Ok, then what about the second question?

It should be obvious from the replies you got already that the answer to the second question is "yes."