I am making a game like GTA but a small version of it. I am currently using real weapon and car designs in my game, however, I use made-up names. For example; Jaguar F-Type. The design is the same but the car’s name is “Panther R” in the game. Same thing for the weapons. For example; MP5. The design is the same but the weapon’s name is “Compact SMG” in the game. Do I have to worry about any copyright issues?
I see some games using real car designs. For example; Traffic Racer, which is a mobile game for Android. In the game, the real car designs are used but there is no name or logo in the game.
A car has a design patent attached to it which can be used against you if you try to make something very similar. By not using the name of the car you just avoid the brand protection.
Most game companies want to avoid any legal issues and decide to make their own designs entirely.
@ClavosTech@GarnerP57 I want to ask an additional question, maybe you guys have an idea about it. What if the cars and the weapons are used as 2D images? (No logos and names)
You won’t learn much from asking me… I am not a lawyer who has looked through the outcome of existing cases. Personally I would stay far away from even look-a-likes that can be connected to existing brands.
“The Cheburek is a mix of various models of Lada Classic lineup. Its sides resemble the trimless sides of the VAZ-2101 while the front end is borrowed from the VAZ-2106. The rear is extremely similar to that of the Datsun 510, but relevant to the Lada line of cars is closer to the VAZ-2101 but with minor changes such as more detailed taillights and a rear mounted licence plate light instead of a bumper mounted light.”
“The car’s design heavily resembles the Ferrari Testarossa, with elements of the Ferrari 512 BB from its taillights and frontal area and also elements of the Ferrari 288 GTO from its fog lights, hood and air vents behind the rear wheels.”
GTA remixes various real world cars into a unique designs. The same is done with weapons. Lamborghini has a much harder time suing for copyright infringement if the back of the car looks more like a Ferrari. And then Lamborghini would have to be able to claim then own those design queues, which likely wouldn’t hold up in court, because a lot of design is inspired and referenced by other cars, and it’s hard to label any part of a design as completely unique.
You can’t just remove the logo and change the name, the design needs to be a bit different as well though it can be similar. Copyright extends to how things look as well, not just names.
Games with real world cars have licensing agreements with the manufacturers. The latest Need for Speed game wasn’t allowed to have Toyota’s cars in it because Toyota didn’t want their brand associated with illegal street racing (iirc).