Parody vs Copyright Infringement
polycounter lvl 12
I've been working on a game in my spare time. Its a single player only fps/3rd person zombie survival shooter. I'm at the point now where I want to add humor (parody) elements to the game...
Reflecting on what my favorite comedies are I always come back to Family Guy/American Dad. They make fun of things that already exist - parody - often in a negative way. When they build their jokes upon these things/events that they probably aren't "cleared for" in the traditional way, it makes it funnier for me/the viewer than if they had tried to make up entirely new jokes without parody.
I assume that Family Guy/South Park gets cease and desist letters regularly, or they used to before they really took off. Yet, they have consistently swatted those letters away. I assume that they they have consistently responded in the same manner to all cease and desist letters, citing their rights to parody.
Having said that - how could I prepare for this as a single developer? I have a vivid memory - I'm not sitting here with the dvd playing on my other screen, copying it frame by frame. Instead, I probably have seen what I want to parody once or twice, years ago.
I know that youtube will take your videos down without a care so I assume that youtube is out, and my own video hosting is in. Do you guys think there is a difference when your parody medium is 2d cartoon vs semi-realistic 3d in game vs very-realistic pre-rendered cutscene?
from https://www.knowledgetree.com/blog/parody-or-copyright-infringement
Reflecting on what my favorite comedies are I always come back to Family Guy/American Dad. They make fun of things that already exist - parody - often in a negative way. When they build their jokes upon these things/events that they probably aren't "cleared for" in the traditional way, it makes it funnier for me/the viewer than if they had tried to make up entirely new jokes without parody.
I assume that Family Guy/South Park gets cease and desist letters regularly, or they used to before they really took off. Yet, they have consistently swatted those letters away. I assume that they they have consistently responded in the same manner to all cease and desist letters, citing their rights to parody.
Having said that - how could I prepare for this as a single developer? I have a vivid memory - I'm not sitting here with the dvd playing on my other screen, copying it frame by frame. Instead, I probably have seen what I want to parody once or twice, years ago.
I know that youtube will take your videos down without a care so I assume that youtube is out, and my own video hosting is in. Do you guys think there is a difference when your parody medium is 2d cartoon vs semi-realistic 3d in game vs very-realistic pre-rendered cutscene?
from https://www.knowledgetree.com/blog/parody-or-copyright-infringement
A parody exists when one imitates a serious piece of work, such as literature, music or artwork, for a humorous or satirical effect.
A parody, because it is a method of criticism, must inevitably make use of another creative work. This inherently creates a conflict between the creator of the work that is being parodied (as no one likes to be criticized, made fun of or ridiculed) and the creator of the parody. It is also highly unlikely that a copyright owner will grant permission or a license to a parodist to use their copyright protected work in creating a parody.
So, the very act of parody inevitably requires an infringement of sorts to take place. The real issue remaining and the one that has not yet been satisfactorily settled by the courts, is what constitutes fair use versus copyright infringement?
Replies
With games it seems to be a weird gray area, depending largely on the content and overall feel or message of the game. According to the legal folk I heard discussing this recently, parody is almost never a valid defense when you're making something like slot machine games (even virtual ones), I assume because it takes something and associates it with something generally considered bad (gambling), even if the use of the content is for the sake of laughs. Games can be about all sorts of things, and give off all sorts of vibes.
If it's something you're planning to go commercial with, I'd just ask a lawyer about it, because there don't seem to be any clear cut rules for games that I can tell. And I'm pretty certain that even shows like Family Guy haven't been able to simply brush aside every claim. I wouldn't be surprised if there are tons of claims that've been settled out of court (even if they have the right to parody, it's not always worth spending millions in court over).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1uI24zE-3g
However, I wonder more about South Park episodes because they seem more vicious and definetely weren't approved - Michael Jackson type episodes come to mind. I can see Comedy Central refusing to take episodes like that down and just using the argument of comedic parody vs infringement.
We might see that Comedy Central refused to take it down. We might not see that they had their legal team handling a bunch of shit behind the scenes to pacify things. I'm pretty sure that most larger companies who make a variety of anything entertainment related (movies, games, episodes for a TV show, comics, etc) have several claims per year that they have to deal with that aren't aired out to the public - and if they don't, it's because they were really careful in the "making of".
You also have to keep in mind, even if you do have the argument and you're pretty darn sure you're within your rights, someone can still sue you and fight it - and that costs money even from your end. (Hence, why I'm sure companies come to lots of out of court settlements, to avoid the hassles that come with the alternative).
Also, something like South Park has a long history of parody episodes. It's very clear that the purpose of the show is pretty much entirely to be funny, to parody shit, to make fun of stuff, etc. They're on "Comedy" Central, and have that blanket to help their case.
Many game makers do not have these things going for them. Now, that whole "court has costs" thing goes both ways - what are the chances of someone actually getting mad at you, a "little guy" and making a fuss over things? Probably next to nothing. In all realistic scenarios, you can probably not worry about it. But, if it were me (and this was for a commercial product), I'd come up with what I wanted to do and seek legal counsel just to be on the safe side.
So, you can do a parody, but do so at your own risk.