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Illegal Gun Models?
Can I model a gun, call it by its original name, and not get sued? Tell me about it in both commercial use and non-commercial use. Also, can I model a gun exactly the same look without getting sued? I'm very paranoid person. D:
Answer by Kiloblargh · Jul 10, 2013 at 08:02 PM
Not a lawyer either, but fair use doctrine says that real product may be legally put in a work of realistic fiction and referred to by its proper trademarked name without needing permission to do so- as long as it doesn't create confusion about who owns the trademark and it doesn't disparage / misrepresent the product. If your reason for putting a trademarked thing in your game is "because the game is supposed to take place in the real world, and our world really has those things in it, and it wouldn't be realistic if I made something up in its place" then you are 100% on the right side of the law.
But...
Just because you are 100% on the right side of the law doesn't mean some sue-happy corporation can't sue you anyway, and that's probably why so many games use made-up guns or made-up cars and TV shows blur logos that are just on someone's shirt or on the wall; because the f'n lawyers have got everybody so scared they don't dare even go there.
Answer by TinyDev · Jul 10, 2013 at 07:42 PM
I am not a lawyer so if you are really paranoid get one ;) Trademark laws generally restrict you from using a company's logo, brand names and other registered marks in an reproducible form, commercial or otherwise. I would not model a gun to look exactly the same and I would not use any copyrighted material or registered marks on or in reference to the model. Of course you can always contact the owner and get permission - some companies look at the form in which the model is used and the quality of the reproduction as positive PR.
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