Hey hey!
Are there any rules around using military vehicles in games? For example, do you have to pay someone a royalty fee or something to have a Humvee in a game?
What if you make something similar and call it something else?
Also, are there any rules around using, for example, US military designations for vehicles and equipment? Do you need some sort of permit or is it just rock n roll and imitate?
I don’t know myself but I’m not sure this is Collaboration specific so I’m moving this to Gossip instead. And I’ll be reading any replies as I’m interested in the answer.
Bump. Halp!
I imagine it would be the same thing if you included a Ferrari in your game.
http://www.amgeneral.com/vehicles/hmmwv/
So, there is a manufacturer/license holder. However, you can just have something very generic like “Combat Vehicle” or “All-Terrain Combat Vehicle”.
Humvees are licensed by Hummer (www.hummer.com) so they’re a brand, and usual trademark/copyright rules apply.
You can create look-alikes though; just be careful not to infer it’s officially sanctioned or has any connection to the “real thing” - most trademark violation upset comes about when the owner of a trademark thinks something is damaging his property or unduly profiteering from something he pays a lot of legal fees to protect.
A second thought, I don’t know what the position is with military ‘stuff’. Some things may be exempt from normal trademark rules… so while a consumer Hummer may be protected, a military Humvee may be fair game.
I’ve worked with military photography in the past, and nearly everything I saw was copyright free (just credit the photographer and any other associated credits).
It’s certainly an interesting grey area.
My post lists two links to the military humvee.
Military vehicles are just purchased from actual companies. The Humvee used by the military are manufactured (and so I’m assuming also licensed) by a company.
The consumer and military humvees are belong to two different companies.
That being said, if you just make your models slightly ‘off’, so they aren’t clearly recognizable as being that specific type of combat vehicle, and you don’t call it a HUMVEE, you’re better.
Well if the always-correct Wikipedia has it’s facts right, the whole Hummer brand might be up for the chop.
According to the same article, AM Motors actually retained the military Humvee when they sold the commercial brand to GM Motors.
It’s almost as complicated as Dr Who trademarks…
Alright, thanks.
If you were talking about a civilian H1, then yes, you’d have to license it from GM(well, the new Chinese owners, I guess). If it is a military HMMWV(AM General), then I think it’s fair game.
This issue came up a while back where Lockheed Martin sent a takedown notice to TurboSquid based on their claim to ownership over the name “C-24”. A contributor had uploaded a model they made of the C-24 WWII bomber and LM felt that it was infringing on their trademark(the actual C-24 name). Long story short, military vehicles and other objects made under government contract are paid for by the public, so their form and names are sorta public domain. You don’t have to get licensing permission to use them. The EFF twisted Lockheed Martin’s arm and they relented and the model is back up on TurboSquid.
Keep in mind this doesn’t cover existing objects that the government buys. An MP5 used by special forces or something would probably still need to be licensed from Heckler and Koch. It existed as a commercial product before being purchased or modified under contract by militaries. IANAL, so take what I say with caution. I also haven’t addressed the nuances of copyright vs. trademark.
Check out these two posts and their respective comments for some good info. The CEO of TurboSquid posts in the first one and gives a good look at things from their perspective.
Thanks def, good information.
wow…nice post…