Legality of fan projects

>>51034586
You can get physical copies printed out and bound fairly easily. Just don't run it through conventional publishing avenues and nobody will know.

>>51034603
Yeah but what if someone does know? Can I get sued if I wasn't selling it?

>>51034643
Technically, the company have all full legal rights to do so.
In practice, they don't give a shit and have better things to do unless you are an attention whore who have to broadcast the fact you are using their IP to the entire world, forcing their hand.

>>51034643
As long as you're not trying to make money off of it, you should be okay. Unless the company that owns the IP you're making a game of is particularly anal and lawsuit-happy.

>>51034823
>Unless the company that owns the IP you're making a game of is particularly anal and lawsuit-happy.
Very few company are since they have to spend money on legal fees with no viable returns.
What usually happens is most people are attention whores and can't stop themselves for telling the entire Internet that they are using a famous IP in order to gain their own fame in relation to the original IP fame.
Making their own original IP would resolve everything but they refuse since nobody would care about their fanfiction garbage if they didn't tie it with sometime famous illegally.

What vidya?

>>51034860
I also maintain that you could release a well made fan project anonymously or under a pen name and avoid some of these issue.

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>>51034808
>Technically, the company have all full legal rights to do so.
Correcto. Whether they actually will expend money and effort to sue you depends on:

a) your jurisdiction
b) your nuisance level
c) whether you get in the news
d) whether your work involves porn, gore or other unsavory topics which will taint their game brand
e) whether your thing comes up as the first 10 results in a google search for their thing

In other words, lay low and nobody will care.

>>51034823
>>51034643

Okay so theres a few issues with fanworks:

1) with trademarked stuff, the trademark owning company HAS to fuck your shit to retain their trademark - trademark law basically works like title belts in boxing or wrestling.
2) the only way to avoid that then is to go unnoticed or to go anonymous
3)which means bowing out of a any awards or competitions your project gets that might make it noticable
4) if you're using art, get permissions from the artist or don't use it - basically "don't be a jerk to artists"

note that's basically the 4 things the recent Mass Effect fate game that won an award last year basically fucked up on - used art without permission, published under their name (even for free), submitted it to an award, won the award, got spanked for it by EA.

Look up the fate of Chapter Master.

>>51034586
>Hey does anyone know about the legality of fan made projects?
Just don't make a profit, keep your head low, don't claim to be official, and most companies won't care.

>I'm wondering if I can get into some kind of trouble if I post it here
People post homebrews here all the time, and it's fine.

As long as you just print a few copies, and don't actually try to get it published, then you're hunky dory. You probably shouldn't write your name on it. The chances of a big company noticing are likely slim.

Which game is it based off?

>>51034643
technically yes? but if you aren't selling it or sharing it in a way that reduces sales, they have a very, very hard time proving damages, so it wouldn't be worth the cost of the lawyer to sue you.

>>51034586
As long as you don't try to make money on it, you are probably fine. It helps that unlike fan video games, tabletop ports can only rarely be considered 'competition', so generally the property holders care a whole lot less. Don't monetize it, don't worry about it.

>>51035741
>>51040518

I'm translating Secret World into pen and paper rpg.

Built combat system from scratch and currently working on translating all the gorillion weapon skills to work with dice.

It's only a problem if you sell it, and you might get a C&D if you spread it around the internet. I'm not a lawyer, but I've seen this type of stuff before. The reason companies don't like this stuff is because they think it will confuse people. That people will think this is a legitimate product and that you represent them, or that people will get your product instead of theirs. Lots of people do it with no problems though.

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>>51041755
>converting Secret World into a P&P RPG

>>51034586
You are free to do whatever you like as long as you don't try to make money on it. After that point, you're a lawsuit waiting to happen. Before that the worst that happens is a C&D and most of those are unenforceable.

>>51042087
I'm not sure I get your point good sir.

>>51039829
This. It's hilarious when people get butthurt that companies slap down big fanprojects, when they basically have to thanks to retarded IP laws.

If you are actually doing it for the passion of it, not the e-fame or twitchbux, just do your project, release it anonymously and the worst that can happen is a C&D letter IF it gets popular. Then you say "Yes, of course I'll stop" and officially announce that you close the project.
But by then the project is done and released, people play it, the company has defended its IP and everyone is happy.

>>51042434
That is what I was planning on doing.

I'm just scared shitless to even show to other people because I don't want to be directly slapped with fine or something.

>>51042568
Do you think your mom is going to call EA or something? It's safe.

>>51035842
If it's anonymous then you avoid the entire issue.
Unless you do something stupid like have your name somewhere where you upload/host it then there isn't much of anything they can realistically do even if they had an inclination to.

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>>51039829
>>51042434
>with trademarked stuff, the trademark owning company HAS to fuck your shit to retain their trademark - trademark law basically works like title belts in boxing or wrestling.
>when they basically have to thanks to retarded IP laws.

It does not fucking work that way. It has NEVER fucking worked that way. That is a fucking lie lawyers tell their children to reassure them at night.

What happens is, companies can't worm their trademarks into public use and then suddenly sue. Google can't be okay with people using google as a verb and then one day up and sue half the internet for using the word google.

That has fuck all to do with whether to let a fan project live or die. It is an entirely fucking different thing.

And you know what? Even if it DID work that way, which it doesn't and fuck any who says otherwise, all the company would need to do to "retain" their trademark is make the fan work put a little tm notice on their credits page. They do NOT need to shut anything down, ever, when making it legit is as cheap as a single page memo from a lawyer.

They shut shit down because they WANT it shut down. Excoriate or defend them on that basis, but don't spread their bullshit about "oh golly, our hands are tied, we literally have to fuck you sideways whether we like it or not."

AND YES I AM GODDAMNED MAD

>>51046970

You can simply google trademark law if you actually want to know how it actually works instead of screaming like a faggot and making bullshit assumptions in a Tibetan children forum.

>>51034586
>Don't intend to make money
Then it doesn't fucking matter.
Everyone's overthinking this, it's not like you're making youtube videos.

>>51046970
You just said two conflicting things in there. If they let a large enough project, even a 'fan' project being worked on by a slow, close-knit team be released onto a global market (even for free!) then they are allowing their terms and their products to be considered public use.

This isn't because anyone actually thinks they're public use, but because it can be used as precedent by other companies that DO want to fuck people over.

Companies can't be reasonable and they can't take risks like that, nor can courts and especially lawyers. They have no idea what's going on behind the scenes of a 'fan' project, they can't tell what they're going to do or not do, all they can do is consistently slap shit down whenever it becomes big enough that it comes to their attention.

TL:DR it's about the letter of the law and preventing assholes from coming into existence beforehand, even if it's only a 1% chance of shit going wrong for them.

And even then, IPs are crazy and they shift often - Look at GW and the chapterhouse lawsuits, they said that they could not hold the license on characters and models that they've had for YEARS because they never made an actual, physical model and released it to the public. They've had rules, they've had stories written about them, and some have been staples in the books for over a decade, but nope. No license there. Only on shoulderpads. That's why the Tyranid codex lost their spore-based drop pods and the Doom of Malantai and had to pick the rules up again later with White Dwarf'd in models.

>>51042269

Secret World is literally a OC Donut Steel World of Darkness MMO.

It's basically Hunter: The Vigil.

>>51049188
I like the world and since I couldn't get my friends to play Secret World when it came out, I've decided to rope them into playing it one way or another god damnit.

>>51039829
>>51042434
>>51046970
>>51048045
It seems to me that the lawyers don't think they can afford to let anyone think that anyone is allowed to do anything without paying a lawyer to say so.

>>51034586
Under the letter of the law. Yes. They have a civil case against you. But if it's literally just stuff you're doing with friends you're fine.

If it's a professional game company they have better things to do than to sue someone doing a fan project who has no money.

That said if it some steam greenlight indie keep your doors locked at night. You don't know what they are capable of.

>>51052623
Dude I love that MMO too, but what the fuck? Just buy them a copy for Christmas or something.

That said I have to question my motivation for table top Tiain fall game now.

>>51052623
If you want the lore, just wiki it into a campaign setting book and use the best rules available for that.

>>51053413
But my autism demands I don't use existing system.