Legal Question on Freeware

[Sonic The Hedgehog]

A. Is it legal for one to create a Batman RPG or other type of game that is distributed for free?

B. Can you indirectly profit from such a game via web advertising in the guise of web hosting?

 

[sportforredneck]

A. Is it legal for one to create a Batman RPG or other type of game that is distributed for free?

They might send a cease and desist. But it's not illegal if its free.

B. Can you indirectly profit from such a game via web advertising in the guise of web hosting?

That is still making a profit and would most likely be illegal. You'd have to make no money at all from it, directly or indirectly. Setting up a website for it without ads would be fine, but if it has ads that generate revenue, you'd be fucked. And for example giving away the game free on a dvd to your friends, neighbors and random people you know, that would be okay.

 

[Sonic The Hedgehog]

That is still making a profit and would most likely be illegal. You'd have to make no money at all from it, directly or indirectly. Setting up a website for it without ads would be fine, but if it has ads that generate revenue, you'd be fucked. And for example giving away the game free on a dvd to your friends, neighbors and random people you know, that would be okay.

So I could launch it through torrents with LAN multiplayer that could be played on Garena systems?

 

[sportforredneck]

So I could launch it through torrents with LAN multiplayer that could be played on Garena systems?

If that all doesn't get you any money, then yes.

 

[Sonic The Hedgehog]

If that all doesn't get you any money, then yes.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Flux_Capacitor]

A. Is it legal for one to create a Batman RPG or other type of game that is distributed for free?

B. Can you indirectly profit from such a game via web advertising in the guise of web hosting?

You can go ahead and create something using a licensed IP, but you CANNOT legally distribute it, for any amount. Being free has absolutely no bearing on its legality; its a myth that really needs to be killed. You must gain permission from the current license holder. You may get away with it, as some license holders simply don't care. Or you may be taken to court (yes, it has happened). I have a feeling DC would come down like a hammer, if someone were to do it. Its just not worth the risk.

If you had a profitable IP, would you appreciate it if some random person/people created a crappy RPG using it, thereby reducing its value? And/or people calling/emailing you for support for 'your' game because you owned the IP? Or telling you that 'your' game wrecked some story or canon for a character?

Here's a page that will problem answer a lot of your questions:
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/faq61.htm

The rest of the site has a lot of other good stuff, as well.

 

[Sonic The Hedgehog]

You can go ahead and create something using a licensed IP, but you CANNOT legally distribute it, for any amount. Being free has absolutely no bearing on its legality; its a myth that really needs to be killed. You must gain permission from the current license holder. You may get away with it, as some license holders simply don't care. Or you may be taken to court (yes, it has happened). I have a feeling DC would come down like a hammer, if someone were to do it. Its just not worth the risk.

Fan fiction and mods do it all the time. The website you showed me seemed to be about making a profit. While I would try to underhandedly bilk any massive corporation out of money as I could, any whiff of a lawsuit will shrivel my gonads into compliance. I don't see how this relates to freeware though.

If you had a profitable IP, would you appreciate it if some random person/people created a crappy RPG using it, thereby reducing its value? And/or people calling/emailing you for support for 'your' game because you owned the IP? Or telling you that 'your' game wrecked some story or canon for a character?

It's satire or free license at that point. That other shit doesn't matter if it can be done legally.

Here's a page that will problem answer a lot of your questions:
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/faq61.htm

The rest of the site has a lot of other good stuff, as well.

Thanks for the link, but I don't see how it impugns free license.

 

[Phelot]

Well, isn't Tolkein's estate notorious for shutting down even fan mods for games? I don't think DC is as bad as Marvel, but I'd imagine if you garnered enough support they'd be sending you scary emails.

 

[Flux_Capacitor]

Fan fiction and mods do it all the time. The website you showed me seemed to be about making a profit. While I would try to underhandedly bilk any massive corporation out of money as I could, any whiff of a lawsuit will shrivel my gonads into compliance. I don't see how this relates to freeware though.

Who said fan fiction and mods are completely legal? Just because people do it, doesn't make it right. Its up to the license holder to pursue legal action against the offenders. Most don't in these cases because there's so many, and lawyers are expensive. For the most part, these are not covered under fair use. Why even bother going through the hassle? Even if its a gray area, corporations who own these types of characters certainly have more money than you do, and can simply drown you in legal fees.

This is the reason we don't see a truckload of games (freeware or not) using popular characters. A recent example was a fanmade King's Quest game, which went through numerous legal challenges. I believe they put in ~8 years of work, and eventually it was shutdown by Activision. Feel free to look it up.

Seriously, if you actually thought it was completely legal, would you have come here and asked these questions? Try asking this question on gamedev.net; its a very reputable site, with lots of knowledgeable people. I believe there's probably even a couple entertainment lawyers that hang out there. This sort of thing gets asked all the time, and I'm sure you'll get the same answer.

 

[soggie]

I'll save you the trouble: http://www.tsl-game.com/forum/index.php?topic=8416.0

 

[mondblut]

If you aren't making a profit anyway, why care about license holders' opinions? Just put in on torrents and rapidshare, see what they can do. Send them a link to thepiratebay, hah.

Not disclosing your personal data helps though :D

 

[soggie]

Or why not roll your own IP? Aint that hard to write a parody you know... and why so serious?

 

[Sonic The Hedgehog]

Or why not roll your own IP? Aint that hard to write a parody you know... and why so serious?

Because I want to clone the X-men: TAS license for awesomeness factor.