Can I use music from other games?

[Taralen]

Hey, I was going to make a fun dating sim for girls and I wanted to use music from other games.
It will be a free game.
So can I do it?
I've been doing this for my anime so I thought if it would be OK to do it for my game.

[PyTom]

In general no. Unless you have permission from the author of the music (either because they told you you could use the music, or because it's under a license that permits you to use it), you can't use it.

[musical74]

Keep in mind I am not a lawyer, but I am a musician so I think I can shed a little light on this.

The first question is if the music is in the public domain. If it is, there's no problem because it's set up so anyone can use it. If the music is COPYRIGHTED, you need to get permission from whoever owns the music, and if they say NO, don't use it. Keep in mind that most copyrighted music won't mind a fan-made game but you need to cover your bases.

So long as the music in question is in the public domain or you get permission from the copyrighted owners, it shouldn't be an issue.

[Taralen]

Well, I meant music from some Japanese OST games soundtracks... But I've got a few public songs, I just need to know where to get more public songs if I can't use a few from the soundtracks I have.
Plus they are soundtracks of games that never made it out of Japan.
Is it OK if I use a few of those? Or no as well?

[monele]

Wether it's distributed out of Japan or not doesn't change the fact it's copyrighted . So it's really either "free to use" music, or nothing.

[Shish]

Also, bear in mind that all literary and artistic works are copyrighted by default -- it's only free if the person who created it has *specifically* said that it's free.