If I copy any file tree and file name of Unreal Engine on my own game engine, without copying code and Unreal Engine exclusive stuff, (like UObject, FName, etc. But instead file name like Engine, Template, Source, Core, Private, ConsoleManager.cpp, etc.) is it still copying the code?
Hi @1luca ,
I went through Epic’s official documentation (the Unreal® Engine End User License Agreement and the Epic Content License Agreement), and what I understood is that you need to separate two things:
On one hand, there’s the Engine Code / Licensed Technology: all the engine’s source code, examples, and the content that comes installed with Unreal. That’s protected by copyright and cannot be copied or redistributed.
On the other hand, there’s the Licensed Content (Marketplace, Quixel, MetaHuman, etc.), which can be used and modified in your projects, but it cannot be redistributed in source format, used outside of what’s marked as “UE-Only,” or combined with incompatible licenses.
Now, from what I read in those documents, I didn’t find any section that explicitly prohibits using the same folder structure or file names from Unreal in your own engine, as long as no protected code or content is being copied (since copyright protects the specific expression of a work, not the general idea).
That’s why generic names like Source, Core, Engine, Private are quite common in software development and shouldn’t cause problems. What’s different are very specific UE names (UObject, ConsoleManager.cpp, etc.) since they’re part of the engine’s internal design, and it’s better to avoid them so it doesn’t look like you’re creating a derivative work.
Cloning the entire hierarchy 1:1, even without code, isn’t literally forbidden either, but it could still be interpreted as creative copying and lead to legal trouble.
So, copying just the folder organization and generic names doesn’t directly violate either the Unreal® Engine End User License Agreement or the Content License Agreement. But if you replicate Unreal’s structure and internal names exactly, that could definitely be seen as risky. The safest approach is to take inspiration from the organization logic but change the names and hierarchy so your engine clearly feels like your own original work.
Hope it helps!