Sunday, March 27, 2016

legal - Are there legality issues using a company's name in a game?


I'm working on an RPG of sorts where the character has a "day job" that determines how much money they make each time the day cycles and other things like that.


Are there any legality issues with using the names of companies like "Barnes & Noble" or even "Apple"?



Answer



I am not a lawyer.


But almost certainly the answer is "yes."


"Apple" is a registered US trademark of Apple, Inc. for example (and presumably so is Barnes & Noble and the names of almost any other major company you can think of), and many companies may have trade or service marks registered in other countries as well. Usage of those marks is subject the constraints of the relevant trademark law. In some cases, depending on what you want to use, there may be copyright issues involved as well.



See here and here for more information US patent, trademark and copyright law.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Simple past, Present perfect Past perfect

Can you tell me which form of the following sentences is the correct one please? Imagine two friends discussing the gym... I was in a good s...