Hi everybody,
If i develope a game , a platform game with my art,sounds and code, nothing ripped, but with some mechanics as other games like pick up coins, break a block with head, moving platforms, am i infringing(sorry doesn´t know the english word) any copyright? for example Mario bros has these mechanics but i have seen other games like leps world or supercow that used these ideas, do they pay royalties?
Thanks
[import]uid: 177730 topic_id: 34014 reply_id: 334014[/import]
I’m not a lawyer, but mechanics are fine to reuse; where you get in legal trouble is trying to make an unoriginal work (i.e.: if you replicate all of Mario’s mechanics and then ship with the same first level). There are thousands of platform games out there and most of them use many of the same mechanics as Mario. Capcom even lost a lawsuit defending Street Fighter back in the day.
There are a few horrible patents out there (for example, Namco had a patent on playing games during loading screens) but for the most part you’re clear. [import]uid: 41884 topic_id: 34014 reply_id: 135270[/import]
ok thanks , i thought that too but i had doubts about the specific things as for example break a block with head and make appear a coin more than for example jump from one platform to another that is more generic [import]uid: 177730 topic_id: 34014 reply_id: 135279[/import]
I’m not a lawyer, but mechanics are fine to reuse; where you get in legal trouble is trying to make an unoriginal work (i.e.: if you replicate all of Mario’s mechanics and then ship with the same first level). There are thousands of platform games out there and most of them use many of the same mechanics as Mario. Capcom even lost a lawsuit defending Street Fighter back in the day.
There are a few horrible patents out there (for example, Namco had a patent on playing games during loading screens) but for the most part you’re clear. [import]uid: 41884 topic_id: 34014 reply_id: 135270[/import]
ok thanks , i thought that too but i had doubts about the specific things as for example break a block with head and make appear a coin more than for example jump from one platform to another that is more generic [import]uid: 177730 topic_id: 34014 reply_id: 135279[/import]