Okay so take this in for example first; Far Cry 4 is set in the “fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat” and Far Cry 5 is set in the U.S. state of Montana. However, their story and characters are fictitious but are set in a real place (for FC5). And a game such as Call of Duty World War 2, which the story is based on or inspired or made up, I’m not sure; but the events that take place are real like Normandy. Can you get in trouble for doing something like that, or do you have to pay for rights to do such a thing?
I guess I’ll just toss my idea here cuz I dunno how well I’ve explained it; what if there was a game made set in like the same time and place as a real conflict (particularly the Yugoslav Wars in the Balkans.) The story itself would be made up but would be inspired or set during these wars… could you get in any trouble, or any laws be broken creating something like that? Or would it be better to just make up a fictitious place in the Balkans and have it be very similar to the stuff going on in the Yugoslav Wars?
And then I also wonder; could you get in trouble for including something like the UN soldiers in a game? Their uniforms and helmets, particularly; everything else made up (names, faces, etc). And if so, how similar could stuff like that be (like a custom design of that stuff, but not like “UN” or something…)
You don’t have to pay to use locations unless the location contains some form of architecture that, depending on regional law, may be protected under a form of copyright.
Also, every place in every Far Cry game is fictional. Far Cry was a fictional island, Far Cry 2 was a fictional country in Africa, Far Cry 3 was a series of fictional islands, Far Cry 4 was a fictional country, and Far Cry 5 takes place in a fictional part of Montana. They’re just kinda doing their own thing more than trying to avoid real places.
There are a bunch of considerations that come into play here.
Copyright generally does not apply. One cannot copyright facts. Copyright may apply to individual works of art or photos relating to the conflict.
Trademark laws can and do apply. There are a bunch of restrictions around the use of real organisations names and logos.
The right of publicity applies. Which may limit your ability to use individual people who were involved in the conflicts.
The Geneva convention does apply. Which limits your use of symbols such as the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Star.
Many local laws will apply. You can’t for example sell a product with NAZI iconography in Germany, and so on.
For a recent conflict, you will also have to contend with various veterans, refuges, survivors and activists. Many people have an interest in recent conflicts. And many of them will be opposed to converting them into a game.
I’m not aware of military uniforms being copyrighted designs. General locations are not copyrighted (somewhere in rural Montana). Historical events are not copyrighted.
AM General is of the belief that military vehicle designs are copyrighted, but their lawsuits have not gone after any indies, and I’ve not heard of any other military vehicle manufacturers taking a similar stance. The case is still pending as of the latest info I have on it from this december.