No, my point wasn't that small fry aren't worth the resources to pursue. I never made any reference to the size of the audience or whether the game would attract the attention of the IP owner. These are irrelevant in legal terms. My point was that a "real" parody is not worth pursuing seriously. If I were really parodying your game, would you actually sue me? You might threaten to sue, sure. I don't think you'd actually take me to court because you would lose.

Your first post seemed to say "you could be sued, is it worth it"? My response is that anyone can sue you for almost anything, so that is a weak reason not to do something. The real issue is to understand the risk. My point about rational entities is aimed at finding this true risk.

This thread is quite different from 95% of similar threads here, in which the OP wants to outright copy a game. Parody is perfectly protected. I don't think it is right or fair to discourage people from making parodies. They are not mere vessels through which copyright can be evaded, they can be creatively brilliant in their own right.

My advice to the OP is - understand what parody means, legally. If you expect even a small audience, or you want to sell it, definitely get a lawyer for some advice to be sure your planned game will be able to use a fair use defence. You do not need a licensing agreement to make a parody, you do not need permission at all.

Then it is up to you. Someone could still threaten you, but you have enough information to try call their bluff, if you want. If your lawyer says your game is a parody under fair use, the chances are the legal department in any company will come to the same conclusion, and will not pursue through the courts. Risk is a two player game* - this was my point about rational legal entities.

* [size="1"]Legal risk, that is, . Risk, the board game, is a little different I believe =]

Thanks for the replies. I understand a lot better now. I think I'll probably hire a lawyer before I start the game and find out exactly what would be a good idea like you suggested. I should probably also pay a little more attention to how they changed stuff in Spaceballs.

Link

This is a matter of both principle and risk, and I tend to agree with rip-off over frob here (though they're both right, of course).

If you're making a genuine parody, and really making obvious jokes about this stuff (never "playing it straight"), that is supposed to be protected under fair-use. It is a fine line, though- for example Penny Arcade's "American Mcgee's Strawberry Shortcake"- a violation because it was parodying American Mcgee (OK) but using Strawberry Shortcake to do it (Arguably not OK, since Strawberry Shortcake wasn't the real subject of the parody). Due to complications like this, you should at least study the law if you don't consult a lawyer. Particularly important is case law to establish precedent for your use within the jurisdiction in which that the lawsuit would occur- courts usually follow precedent (unless the issue is political and the judges are corrupt, as in certain cases); if you can show an example of another suit where somebody did more or less the same thing you're doing and the court ruled in their favor, you'll be fairly safe.

Yes, they could still sue you, but a company you've never heard of could also sue you for infringing IP you've never seen before because you accidentally created a character or item that (by pure dumb luck) looked kind of like something they made ten years ago.

On principle, the argument could be made that we shouldn't kowtow to copyright holders and give up rights that we should legitimately have, and I tend to agree.

But the reality is that copyright holders push around weight frequently, and bully smaller companies (and even media) into licensing their property or not publishing negative critical articles about it for threat of lawsuits. Indeed, copyright itself, despite the intention of limitations, does inhibit freedom of speech by vice of mere legal bullying. You should have some protection in case the feces hits the flabellum.


Whether you make a parody, or you accidentally make something that resembles another, either could cost you extremely large amounts of money, and both have legitimate defenses. Such is the nature of our legal system to favor the absurdly rich.

Large companies, for their part, frequently violate copyright and effectively ignore or dismiss most suits against them, or they settle out of court in the way of, "We will make sure that this lawsuit will be so expensive it will bankrupt you, and you'll never see a penny. Or, you can have this shiny nickel now, and we won't break your kneecaps."

Law is supposed to be fair, but unfortunately it doesn't even approach fairness on the mean. You should be safe... but you aren't.

But there is a legal mechanism that many people seem to have missed that can keep you out of the poor house if your company makes a mistake (or doesn't make a mistake, but gets punished for it anyway): Incorporate.

Form a legal entity for your business. Yes, you may pay more tax on capital gains, but it's a form of insurance. Your business could go bottom up, but there are some safeguards there to keep you from losing the shirt off your back. Yeah, there are always ways to get in trouble, but if you're serious about doing this and making money, it's a smart bit of insurance that distances you a little from financial threats. Criminal culpability still exists, but it is much less likely to threaten you due to the differences of burden of proof (innocent until proven guilty, instead of the preponderance of evidence).

The only other real defense is to simply have no assets to lose.

Getting insurance might not be a bad idea either, but for a small project that's probably going to be prohibitively expensive.

I hope that helps!