Hello.I am a fairly newbie game developer.And unfortunately I don’t understand much about this copyright law.
I’m going to show you some of the characters I’ve designed and where they’re taken from.Although I have drawn them all over and made some differences, I do not know if these are copyright violations.
If there is a copyright infringement, can you tell me why it happened, how much change I need to make.
This change part is very confusing to me and frankly I cannot understand.I just want to do a clean job and I’m not a very talented artist.I have limited knowledge and I cannot afford to pay a commission for an artist.
Then of course you might say that you shouldn’t start such a businesslike this,but I have a dream and at least I want to realize it. If necessary, I will meet with the creator of this concept.
Here is the samples.Please provide your feedback.Right sides are mine,left sides are where I inspired.
I made an effort to make it different, of course. I tried to take samples from different designs and make changes in my own way so that it wouldn’t be the same.But is there a problem when a part is similar that I can’t understand that.I have read a few articles and I think there is no standard for this thing, usually the law decides on this through interpretation and it is very difficult for me in this part.
Oh thank you very much. I was so scared when opening this post.Though I am still afraid because someone would say you stole and you couldn’t do it
As far as I understand now, it is not copyright violation that a part of the design (hat, mask, glasses, visor) looks like similar, right?The design has to be completely similar, isn’t it?
I am asking like a stupid very sorry, but I am aware that my law knowledge is very poor.
Law is like art. It’s open to interpretation. So you have to look at the whole picture, weigh the pros and cons. Would be a good idea to read that case linked above and others you can find.
Any time you take a risk, big or small, the thing to do is risk assessment. Have a plan for worst case scenario and for highest probability scenario. There is no certain answers. But in this case, I think you are well within reasonable standards and the risk of litigation is minor. That’s just my opinion. But you don’t want to hedge your bets on that. You wantt to discoverr as much info as possible so that whatever happens, you’re ready for it.
I understand. I am actually asking these as I aim for a certain financial gain.
Anyway, if there is a problem, at worst, I will give the project free of charge and try to cover the development cost with some donations.I don’t think there will be a copyright violation from the game concept, story or mechanics(Unlike Madness, its not action, its a turn-based rpg) anyway.The blurriness and subjectivity of the art design thing frightened me.
One problem with copyright questions is most people promote/market their games to a worldwide audience, so you’re subject to all the different copyright laws across the world. It is hard to answer copyright questions in a black and white manner. It is very common for large companies to shop their copyright and trademark cases to jurisdictions where the laws are favorable to them - for example a Japanese company might sue a French company in the United States if they think it will help them win or increase damages. Smaller companies will likely stick to their local courts.
Also, this isn’t a lawyer forum, so don’t expect any authoritative answers here. IANAL
Frankly, I think that if you’re wondering if you’ve done something wrong, then you’ve done something wrong.
I don’t say this because I think you’re necessarily in the wrong, but if you’re willing to scrap your business and make the game free because of an accusation, then you’ve got to ask yourself why you’re making the choice to begin with.
To your examples, I don’t think you’d have any problem, but why copy something that you don’t have to? The only one that’s clearly fine is the middle one - there’s no chance anyone would recognize it. The one on the left is on the edge - why copy the straps on the helmet and under the chin, which are distinctive, when you could swap them for something else (e.g. a simple round strap on the helmet, and a single strap under the chin would quickly differentiate them). The card thing is a cool change/addition.
The one on the right is the only one that I’d say has a chance of causing trouble. The most distinctive things about it are the face mask, bandanna, and round spectacles, all of which you have (you even have the same folds in the bandanna, and shadow across the head). Why not have square spectacles? Why not add a pattern to the mask? Why not use a bandanna that doesn’t have a top? Why not add an ear, or eyebrows? Why not have a nose sticking out of the top of the mask, with a ring on it? Why not add an eye patch, or a tattoo, or a scar?
The most puzzling thing about this is that your art is good quality, so you can clearly create something from an idea, but for some reason you’ve copy-pasted conceptual elements that could easily be changed to just about anything else. It seems like you’re almost afraid to take the chance of doing something that hasn’t been explicitly done before.
It’s kind of hard to explain, but what makes an artist feel OK about their work, even if it does use a lot of elements from other people’s art, is that they know exactly what makes their art different and unique. It’s usually the reason why the art was made in the first place, and bringing the distinction to life is so valuable to the artist and felt so strongly that they might see the other similarities (though they might be numerous) as meaningless or superficial.
If you don’t have this sensibility about your own work, you’ll always be ready to concede if someone raises an issue. And that’s not a good place to be, no matter how quickly you’re willing to ‘make it up’.
I dont know if its been said already, but the one thing you also have to be aware of is that its up to the owner of copyright to pursue copyright infringement, and the typical first course of action is a legal cease-and-desist notice.
And there doesnt actually have to be any proof of infringement for them to do so. Proof would be part of any court proceedings, which would typically arise as a result of your challenge to the claim of infringement.
The problem with that is legal costs. Often, people will capitulate to a cease-and-desist because they simply cant afford to challenge it.
The favoured route, for some reason, particularly for well, non-professionals, seems to be ‘risk it and see’ but the safe/sane route is ‘dont risk it, minimise the possibility of infringement, and see’.
For the examples in the OP, I’d say images 1 and 3 are fine for that ‘safety’ but maybe image 2 overlaps just a bit too much (bandana+round glasses+facemask). If it were me, I’d consider if that overlap could be minimised (say bandana+aviator glasses+respirator)
I don’t understand how tweaking placement of a few items changes anything. If I rip a 3d model and shift belts and straps around that doesn’t change anything. What’s the difference with 2d?
The defining characteristics of the artwork are what matter, right? To my eye this is entirely new art, just the style has been taken.
I mean if it makes you feel more comfortable that a smaller percentage of the art would pixel for pixel line up in an overlay image, by all means. I don’t see how this has anything to do with professionalism, it’s a matter of simple risk assessment. The degree of caution a person takes and the degree of time they burn to assuage their own personal anxieties is entirely personal matter.
And if you do not rip the model, but model exact same thing from scratch, then what?
Once upon a time, I’ve asked something along the line of “How am I supposed to use reference and not end up copy-pasting, plagiarising and so on?”
The answer I got was along the lines of “You’re good to go when you mix so many things together that you can’t tell at a glance where it all came from”.
Also, it is worth keeping in mind, that the system of copyright we currently have is a bit bonkers. You can’t really have an unique character/location, because every single thing in it will resemble something you saw somewhere, and that something could be copyrighted. Which is one of the reasons games make “totally not a ” cars, weapons and the like.
By the way, “how to draw manga” books had this example:
Yes of course I’m talking about it.If I did as you said anyway, it wouldn’t make sense for me to open this thread.
I will consider all of the very useful comments made, but unfortunately some people talked as if I had posted this post to satisfy myself.Unfortunately, since I am the only person, I have to do all the coding, modeling and concepts by myself and I am not very talented.
I am also a student, so when there is a lawsuit, I do not have the financial strength to afford it.I opened this thread in order to see how much change I need to make if the similarities seem to be stolen.
I would like to thank the people who helped me and I offer my sincere apologies to those who misunderstood me.
In my opinion, from a technical perspective, it’s a good idea to consciously change the fundamental visual elements. In the case of the left image, the straps are definitely strong visual elements that define the artwork (especially since there are two of them in a particular array).
To me, any level of burning anxieties is an indication there is something wrong. Most of all because it implies a lack of artistic intent beyond camouflaging changes.
The correct answer for me is to say “what characterization defines my design apart from a particular inspiration?”. If the art looks too similar, then it’s not a question of not having done ‘enough’ to hide the inspiration, but not having followed your own intention for the artwork.
If you look at the last character, which I think is pretty strikingly similar (because no fundamental elements have really changed) then the question is, what kind of character do I want to make? Is it a biker? A gangster? A scifi assassin? A samurai? If the intention is there, any number of things can be done to make it happen more fully, and automatically deviate from the original.
Lack of independent intent is what creates guilt, which is really what the issue is here.
Just to be clear, editing your original message to disappear as you have done is against the rules of this forum. You asked a question so let it stay so others can read, do not retroactively try and hide what you asked.
