This has been asked countless times probably here and I know you really should not use real cars in your game.
The thing I don’t understand is why do most of the devs use real car models, the design without the badge and name?Like in PUBG the sedan is 100% a Dacia /Renault 12, or in CarX Drift Racing all the cars are real just don’t have badges and have different names. It’s still not legal, somebody designed that car and you use it without their permission…
I don’t know if it will count as parody if It has a different manufacturer and model name.
As a carguy is really hard to modify the looks, because everything looks odd, except the original.
The game is a rally game and it will have cars from the 60s to now about, a 100-150 of them. The physics will be fairly accurate since I’ll use real car values, the will be no deformation, at least for now.
Also I have a budget of 0 and I’m only 17, probably 18 when I finish the game, so if I get sued, it will be a hell of an adventure.
Since almost everyone is doing it, what do you think, should I use real car design?
Play your cards right, and you could actually get permission & more from the car companies. They love cross advertising - especially free advertising. I think the only reason why GTA didn’t want to use real names, is because of the human slaughter which comes with that game. They won’t want to be identified with anything violent.
So, yeh… I’d actually threaten the car companies that you WONT use their brands in the game, without funding. (I joke somewhat). Or look up the copyrights on the vehicles you want to use. You may find the copyright has expired because the car type is over 50 years old?
@Developah terrible advice. Most car companies want to maintain control over the image of their cars and brand. They will often only let them be used officially if the production quality is good enough to show their product in a good light. This includes both the visual representation of the car in the game, but also the feel and how it handles and performs compared to other cars in the game.
Big car companies do not need more “publicity” from small developers, using their logos without permission will infringe their trademark, and car design may be copyrighted.
I think it all comes down to your game becoming a hit and getting noticed, because there are countless games on google play (as you mentioned) that just remove the names and badges and haven’t been taken down in years.So if you think your game has a chance(like, to be famous and all) then don’t go for it, if you’re not that serious about it, still don’t go for it, However if you decide to do it then the worst that could happen is that your game would be suspended.
You could read some
more here https://play.google.com/about/ip-deception-spam/impersonation-ip/trademark/
Seriously, 100-150 vehicles?, Man thats a lot of work if you’re alone and modelling them and thats also unrealistic if its for mobile phones and done by only one person, your game size would increase significantly.
I’d suggest that you design your own and then model them or have them made for you, thats the safest route to take.
I think I’ll continue to make cars based on real ones but change them. They can’t sue you because the shape is similar, at least I hope they can’t, that would be stupid anyway.
Can and do. In 2008 ford sued replacement part makers for patent infringement preventing the import of some because they have the shapes of individual parts like grilles, bumpers, headlights, fenders and such patented.
Now will they sue you? Probably not. Unless they notice and it hurts their image, profits, or they just feel like making an example. You would likely go unnoticed. However, if Ford Motor Company decided to sue you there is nothing you could do. No amount of lawyer could be bought by an individual that would come close to being able to do anything but crumble under the pressure.
Claim (1)
1 The ornamental design for a vehicle fender, as shown and described.
Publication numberUSD787395 S1
Publication type Grant
Application numberUS 29/505,612
Publication date23 May 2017
Filing date23 Dec 2015
Priority date23 Dec 2015
InventorsKemal Curic, Shawn Wehrly
Original AssigneeFord Global Technologies
You got it wrong. I meant the overall shape will similar. Currently everything is changed, from the bumper all the way to little chrome details. The shape is a little similar, for example it uses round headlights, because 90% of the cars in the 60s used round headlights. It’s rear engined because a lot of cars where rear engined, and the overall shape is similar, not exactly like the real one.
Dirt Rally? More cars and locations, tho not real ones. An actual rally driver career (you start local then you can be a “WRC” driver) Car buying,selling and tuning both visual and mechanical. Similar visuals, but probably worse physics something like DiRT 3 had. It will be cheaper, max 20 or 30$ or even cheaper compared to DiRT Rally s 50$ I think it is. Most importantly: mod support. The downsides are and will be tire physics and sound, no real cars. This is for the PC version, for mobile I’ll see what I can and can’t keep. It’s an ambitious project, I know, but it can be done. On paper it’s good, we’ll see what the future brings.
Sorry. I thouught you were asking if that was ok. I’m no lawyer and can’t tell you for sure but my previous position stands. Yes you probably can get away with it. If you ever stop getting away with it you won’t have any hope of fighting it. Ford is by far not the only car maker that patents vehicle shapes just the example I used.
Okay. But Cities: Skylines isn’t a small game.
Let me put it this way: You don’t need mod support in your first game - you just don’t and it is not possible to criticize this statement. It’s impossible!
Yes, it won’t be easy, but it can be done. I’m kind of a perfectionist, so the PC release won’t be soon. I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to do it by then or Unity will implement it on some level next year, who knows.
(I joke somewhat). Or look up the copyrights on the vehicles you want to use. You may find the copyright has expired because the car type is over 50 years old?
