I have a small question about copyright: how far can you go before you break any rules, I am not going to go as far as possible, but it is good to know…
Let’s just say that I make a game, in which of these am I violating the copyright law
I make a game
The game is a 2d platformer
The gameplay is almost the same as Super Mario Bross (the same controlls, you kill enemies by jumping on them, etc), but doesent look anything like it in design
The game has kind of the same design as Super Mario Bross
The main character is an italian fat plumber that is wearing red clothes, but his name is not Mario
The main character’s name is Mario
The game is called “Super Malo (or something else that sounds like “Super Mario bross”) bross”
I think you would be fine with 4 but that depends on how close the design is to the game you are copying.
If you was clever you could get away with 5 as well but it is doubtful
Dont forget that if you are doing a comical version of another game you can get allot closer to the original without getting sued as the laws are different for comedy(I dont really see why though)
You can push it as far as you dare. It really depends on where you live. If you live in the US they can sue you easily. If you are in a place with very lax copyright laws Nintendo would have to report your app as a violation and apple would pull it, possibly. I have seen absolute 100% rips of copyrighted games on iPhone, still no one bought or DL them. I have also seen games that were 90% they only changed the graphics a little.