Square-Enix Filing Lawsuit Against Me, Question...

[CleanWater]

Hi there everyone!

No, Square-Enix didn't sued me, but a friend of mine raised this question. So I want to ask anyone here that is well versed in laws overall. I only know the laws of my country.

The setting is this one:

I develop parody games, I already developed two parodies before (one of Ninja Gaiden and other of Castlevania Symphony of the Night respectively) and so far, Koei Tecmo and Konami didn't seemed to care about it.
The main characteristic on my parodies is that I don't quite parody only one single game, but a mashup of a lot of games in that same genre and the game plot doesn't even resemble any of the parodied games in the end.

• In short, my parodies are a original work completely different of their parodied counterparts.

My country laws freely allows parodies of any artwork or media. (Lei nº 9610 Art. 47)

With that said, I still wonder if Square-Enix would consider my recent work (Fantasya Final Definitiva REMAKE) an infringement of their rights anyhow.

It seems that Square-Enix is a bit grumpy on these subjects, but I'm pretty sure I'm clear on this and that any lawsuit filed against me would result in anything in the end. Even so, having to respond to courts would be a hassle and I honestly prefer to avoid this if that's the case.

Anyone here can shed a light on this for me?

 

[Tea's Jams]

I know parodies are legal in the US. What constitutes a parody on the other hand is the real question.

 

[bgillisp]

Honestly, the only way to get a good answer to this is to consult a lawyer. We're not legal experts here, and international law is tricky.

 

[Hudell]

The basic rule is: Don't use any IP you don't have permission to.

 

[Andar]

First rule on this - and that is an absolute rule, not to be circumvented in any case - "Only a real lawyer can give you a legally correct answer, and that answer is never free or over the internet".

Sorry, but we can only advise and offer opinions, you should never take those parts for granted even if they are from someone who pretends to be a lawyer (you can't confirm that over a forum, only by going to the lawyers website and asking there, and in a lot of countries lawyers are restricted in public and free answers).

That said, what you're trying to claim is an application of the "fair use laws" - and that is not exactly the same as saying "parodies are allowed".
Parodies is one way to claim fair use - if you don't have a parody it'll be almost impossible to claim one of the other fair-use-conditions for a game.
But fair use has additional conditions and requirements, and you need to check them as well - and those are often intentionally vague because it is intended to have a judge handle and decide on specific cases, exactly to prevent abuse of the fair-use claim as well as protect it from companies that are trying to circumvent it.

So it depends a lot on what your countries exact laws are, how its treaties with the country of the companies are and a few other points that are too complex to handle on a forum.

As a guess, you might be protected by fair use from what you wrote - but do not take that as legal advice because I can't give that.

 

[Lornsteyn]

You dont use any graphics or names of them and i looked at your demo, nothing looks like final fantasy.
Im confused...
Why they could/should sue you?

 

[gstv87]

you're outright titling it "Final Fantasy".
they own the name.
there's your lawsuit.

just change the name and they'll be off your hair.

 

[Pine Towers]

Even if they sue you only to lose, you would face months of trial that would drain your resources.

In portuguese, because that's your (our) language:
Mesmo que eles saibam que vão perder a ação, só de ter que fazer você pagar um advogado e ter que ir nas audiências é o suficiente para te falir.

 

[Wavelength]

Don't use rips of graphics/sound/etc. from the games in question, and don't use the exact names of characters or places, and you should be fine.

Also, it's extremely unlikely you will need to deal with "courts" unless you are actually charging for your game or you ignore cease-and-desist warnings from the IP holders. They don't want to deal with an expensive legal process either, so their first step is almost always to issue a cease-and-desist asking you to take down your game and stop sharing it. If you do so, they'll call it a day.

 

[CleanWater]

You dont use any graphics or names of them and i looked at your demo, nothing looks like final fantasy.
Im confused...
Why they could/should sue you?

The only reason my friend pointed is the name (besides the MaComBa pun with Materia from FF7 and the Fenix Up item).

you're outright titling it "Final Fantasy".
they own the name.
there's your lawsuit.

just change the name and they'll be off your hair.

Well, in English it sound as an inversed Final Fantasy, but in Brazilian Portuguese the literal translation for Final Fantasy is Fantasia Final. So, Fantasya Final Definitiva is a pun with the title and (at least in Brazil) is not a trademark theft.

That's why I'm concerned, I fully know Brazilian laws (and some general international laws) about trademark and intellectual property rights, but I'm not fully aware of Japan or North America specific laws on this subject (I also doesn't have any lawyer specialized on these matters that could clarify this to me).

By the way... Many thanks for playing chapter 1 @Lornsteyn , I hope you enjoyed it!

 

[Arisa]

No, Square-Enix didn't sued me, but a friend of mine raised this question.

Phew I was about to say...
But yeah, we're not lawyers....

 

[gstv87]

could be as simple as asking them "why?", tho.
if they fail to present a consistent lawsuit, then it's no violation at all.

 

[CleanWater]

could be as simple as asking them "why?", tho

You mean... Should I contact them directly to ask this? How?

 

[gstv87]

You mean... Should I contact them directly to ask this? How?

obviously if they sue you, you'll have to put a lawyer to work on it.
but if they sue you, they'll have to explain why.
there has to be a specific claim about X, Y and/or Z that they complain about, which is what your lawyer will use to defend you.
if they just claim they're upset with your product without any valid reason, you can argue harassment and turn it around, and they won't risk that.

 

[Orb]

I can't give you a clear answer about what you're asking, but...

No, Square-Enix didn't sued me, but a friend of mine raised this question

...That was a very dishonest click-bait tho

ps. Keep in mind that is very unlikely that they will ever know about your game, and even if they did, they wouldn't bother to start a legal process against you. Of course, that doesn't allow you to do something illegal (if that's your real concern), but it won't happen, unless your game becomes extremely popular and you start making lots of money out of it

 

[Pine Towers]

They can say that your name misguide potential buyers and profiting on this (since you put up a itch.io). As I said before, even if this is not the case, the resources wasted can be huge. If you want to stay 99% clear, keeping only Fantasia Definita (Definitive Fantasy) instead of Fantasya Final Definitiva can (mostly) prevent this headache.

 

[CleanWater]

...That was a very dishonest click-bait tho

I'm sorry, that was not my intention.

If you want to stay 99% clear, keeping only Fantasia Definita (Definitive Fantasy) instead of Fantasya Final Definitiva can (mostly) prevent this headache.

That's a good suggestion. Although the original games were named Fantasya Final Definitiva... I think that just quoting it in the Author's Note may not be an issue. Thanks for the nice idea!

 

[ShinGamix]

In short a game titled Final Fantasy Remake is NOT a parody name. Fantasya Final Definaitiva Remake would be more towards it. I would even go farther and go to Fantasya Finata or something similar. Make sure you do parodies of actual stuff. dont use names, scenarios or especially exact ripoffs.

 

[LaFlibuste]

In my non-professionnal opinion, really, it all boils down to if they sue you, how much of your time/money/energy are you willing to invest to battle them about this in court, regardless of whoever is within their right?

 

[Lornsteyn]

There are ways to make a parody without using Names of popular games and Characters.
In case of Final Fantasy as someone mentioned, name it Definitva Fantasy or if you would add Biggs and Wedge, you can just name them Wiggs and Bedge. (just as example xD)
You could do the same with citys of these games, I guess.
I saw some popular games do this with cameos if they dont have the rights for the names.
Also if you want to use some of the real names, you could write to square enix, maybe you have luck and they allow it, they are humans after all, dont be afraid to ask.^^