Timeline for At what point is permission needed to reference meta-characters and works in my own?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 events
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| Oct 2, 2018 at 23:37 | comment | added | wetcircuit | @Michael, having the characters debate rl franchises does not sound the same as sending all characters to an alternate universe that is the franchise. I am not trying to be a wet blanket, but each actor makes $100,000 per episode on Big Bang Theory. They can easily pay any licensing, and according to wiki at least one company (DC) has done a promotional tie-in. CBS owns StarTrek, and ABC owns StarWars (via parent companies). If you have that clout (and money) you can make them an offer and pay, or be famous enough that they want your advertising. Trademark law is clear (IP law is less so). | |
| Oct 2, 2018 at 23:31 | comment | added | Michael | And sorry if I seem to be beating a horse here, but a lot of this is unclear because a lot of things I see that are out there I have no idea what permissions anybody has had to get or not. For instance, there is a place that sells "Ultrasabers" which I think at first "because they can't call them light sabers" but on the page it then calls them light sabers. Yet I don't see anything about them having licensed the name - maybe it's tucked away really hard to find, but that would seem to be invited trouble too. | |
| Oct 2, 2018 at 23:27 | comment | added | Michael | And again, I'm just looking at this from the point of what I should or should not do because I need permission I don't have, not because of of how it relates to who is reading it. (e.g "References to specific works tie your characters to specific class and attitudes" sounds good for appealing to a wide audience across time but doesn't seem relevant to what I can and can't do.) | |
| Oct 2, 2018 at 23:24 | comment | added | Michael | (continued) In another setting, two characters might be having a conversation about their favorite technology from various franchises. I would think the story would be a lot different and maybe not even workable if I had to make up a bunch of stuff, because nobody interested in the topic would even be able to relate or follow along. Compare Big Bang Theory where Sheldon and Leonard might have such a conversation. If they were comparing light swords from Galaxy Wars and phrackers from Space Trek I think it would just be awkward, but maybe that's just me - it seems very subjective. | |
| Oct 2, 2018 at 23:15 | comment | added | Michael | Sorry, didn't see your reply earlier as you didn't @Michael me... anyway, I can see your point about specifically mentioning a franchise. But how deep into the fictional universe do I need to make my own version of stuff? For instance, suppose I want to evoke the concept of hyperspace travel as is depicted in Star Wars? Does the franchise own the whole concept and "physics" as depicted on screen, or is it sufficient to just not mention or depict any of the specific ships in SW which use it? (continued...) | |
| Sep 30, 2018 at 14:58 | comment | added | wetcircuit | A judge would ask what your story gains (cheats) by using brand recognition of Star Wars™. The mystery game uses SW branding to lure players, the same as you are using SW branding to lure readers. A judge would ask how your story would be different if it used a pastiche franchise (not very, the SW branding is not integral to the story, it could be Alice's Wonderland); and how you gain by invoking someone else's famous IP (a lot, as the story is a bait and switch promising familiar IP). This is why IP/trademarks exist, to protect consumers from "fakes" that trade on recognized brands. | |
| Sep 30, 2018 at 2:11 | comment | added | Jules | It does, though - the line is crossed when you ascribe actions to identifiable people or corporations (in this case either Lucasfilm or Disney, depending on when your scene is set). There's another line that could be crossed, but isn't in your example, which is if an average person reading your story might assume it is a Star Wars story, rather than being about Star Wars. | |
| Sep 30, 2018 at 0:11 | comment | added | Michael | while useful, this doesn't seem to answer my question about where the line is-let me be more specific. my actual story is about a mysterious unauthorized online game that pops up where players can enter a well known fictional franchise. It describes how the game works, including mentioning places, races, and technology in the fictional universe but does not actually have any characters from it. The store line is largely focused on the nature the game technology which simulates that universe, and less with the characters I created interacting with it as they only serve to move the plot | |
| Sep 29, 2018 at 19:16 | history | edited | wetcircuit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 29, 2018 at 17:51 | history | edited | wetcircuit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 29, 2018 at 17:38 | history | edited | wetcircuit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Sep 29, 2018 at 17:30 | history | answered | wetcircuit | CC BY-SA 4.0 |