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Questions about copyright

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:04 am
by Enerccio
1. What should i do when i want to make a game that is according to real anime characters? Where should i ask for permission?
Thank you :) :D

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:17 am
by DaFool
I think that you can get away with not asking permission because your work will be considered as fanart or doujinshi. If your work is not pornographic and if it shows the characters convincingly, then it is something to be proud of (The majority of doujinshi based on copyrighted characters in Japan is ero, and the companies are lax about it compared to the U.S. There's Comiket for crying out loud, so it's out in the open.)

However be careful that it does not intrude upon U.S. copyright (like for example, Playboy Bunny Ears in Suzumiya Haruhi), even though you're doing fanwork of Japanese stuff as originally intended.

Just make sure it is original drawings of copyright characters. Don't use copyright official drawings -- that's a no-no. Same with character theme music.

If you are going to make major profit off your work, it's still best to ask permission.

I still prefer original characters, though.

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:23 am
by Enerccio
I cannot draw so what other choice i have? But still if its free and nonhentai... but character will be drawed not copyied (if i ound someone who will draw them ofc) becouse in the anime you can hardly see some characters to stay strightly up like in gaming novel :D

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:33 am
by mikey
DaFool wrote:Just make sure it is original drawings of copyright characters. Don't use copyright official drawings -- that's a no-no.
The difference in example:
My very own Marry Me, Misato is not reeeeeeally copyright-kosher, Misato's images are well-known pictures from the web.
It's better with Sango, based on Inuyasha, because that's pure fanwork - Sango was drawn by Dre.

Other than that, you can always ask someone to collaborate if your game is already in an advanced stage. It often works.

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:48 am
by Enerccio
I want to make game with basic story by the anime Onegai Twins, but with many endings. :D

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:53 am
by PyTom
Onegai twins is (for some reason) one of my favorite animes. I have seen the series, and I also have the translations of the novels and manga that have come out recently.

I suggest following the novels and retconing the relationships to support the ending you chose. Still, I'm not clear how many more endings you can get:

(Spoilers for both Onegai series.)
The good:

Miina and Karen - Obvious choices. Just remember to retcon the circumstances, and that incest is only okay when you're a monarch.

Tsubaki - Seems like a reasonable choice to me.
Maho - She was in the novel... so fair game!

The Bad:

Haruko - Too young.
Ichigo - At 23, too old.
Mizuhio - Too married.

The Ugly:

Kousei, Matagu, Marie - Just... no.
Confession: Back when I first made Ren'Py, it was actually with the intent of making an OTwi fan-game. It didn't work out, largely because it's very hard to get the characters in poses you want for the game, with consistent clothing and a range of expressions. So you'll have to deal with that.

I do have a fairly large collection of backgrounds taken from the series, however.

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:36 pm
by Enerccio
I love this anime :) Great :)
SPOILER
The good:

Miina and Karen - Obvious choices. Just remember to retcon the circumstances, and that incest is only okay when you're a monarch. I want to do it like when you choose karen - Miina will become your sister and if you choose Miina Karen will be your sister.
Haruko - not too young - she is in that age like Miina and Karen :)
Tsubaki


The Bad:

Kousei Shimazaki - I think its bad endig :)
Ichigo - At 23, too old and very evil :D :D :D .
Mizuhio - Too married.

If you have them, could you please post them? Thank you :)

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:16 pm
by Vatina
Yeah, even if you weren't stepping on anyone's toes by using original pictures directly from the anime, it does prove to be quite a problem to get useful and matching poses and expressions for the game (I tried it once just for fun, and failed miserably ^^; )

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 8:45 am
by Watercolorheart
How is 23 too old, PyTom!?!

(resembles that remark. Sorta.)

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:02 am
by 3blindmice
can we recompose music?

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:00 am
by DaFool
Yep, for public domain music (classical music and 20+ years old pop music)

But I advise against a contemporary tune or a tune from another game.

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:46 pm
by musical74
This falls into copyright issues so I thought I'd ask this.

When you make a parody of something, do you need permission from the author? I thought you did, but based on another post, I'm not so sure now...if I were to make a parody of Inuyasha (fat chance, just picked a popular title) would I need to get permission from them?

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:05 pm
by Matt_D
http://www.publaw.com/parody.html

Muddy water, as long as it is a "valid" parody it's covered by fair use.

Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:33 pm
by RedSlash
It has been ruled in the court in the past that parody is fair use. Be careful though.

Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:48 pm
by lordcloudx
this... is a question of jurisdiction. In any case, the forum of the place that currently has jurisdiction over you will prevail.

For example in my country after one has released any work to be enjoyed by the public without reserving its copyright for 30 days, (the required number of days was different in the manila areas according to jurisprudence) it becomes property of public domain and the author cannot question its redistribution or modification anymore.

loosely interpreting the laws (which is okay until the supreme court makes a valid pronouncement on the subject matter) this means that even ren'py games that the author has released for free to be downloaded by the public becomes public domain.