Is it legal to use real events in a game ?

[rockford]

Hi all,

I would like to know if there is something special to know about using real events (historical, true story, rumors, etc.).

I saw several movies using true events (horror films, thrillers, etc. bases on real murder, serial killers, etc.), I'm wondering if they needed commitment to use town names, postal address, family names, etc.

Any idea or personal experience?

[jcottier]

Hi all,

I would like to know if there is something special to know about using real events (historical, true story, rumors, etc.).

I saw several movies using true events (horror films, thrillers, etc. bases on real murder, serial killers, etc.), I'm wondering if they needed commitment to use town names, postal address, family names, etc.

Any idea or personal experience?

I wouldn't do it too much. I guess this is fine using names like Paris or Miami or whatever but if you start to portrait real people and events, you might go into some kind of unknown territory.

Some portals do recommend to not use real names and people btw.

JC

[HarryBalls]

Always ask a lawyer these kinds of questions.

[GnadeGames]

Real peoples names is definitely a no-no unless you're talking about common knowledge history (Lincoln, Jefferson, etc. for the US would be fine). Otherwise, you will need to get the family's consent (or their descendents' consent) to use their surname.

Town Names, postal addresses are all fine and are common knowledge.

Historical Stories, rumors, etc depend. The best rule to use is that if you have to look it up/research it to verify the truth then you need to cite the source/have the source's permission. If its a generally known fact, such as "The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia on July 4th 1776 at Independence Hall" then there is no citation needed.

If you're dealing in Nonfiction, the restrictions are much stricter than Fiction or Historical Fiction look at Angels & Demons or the Da Vinci Code - obviously these novels took liberties with historical information because they were fiction.

[KNau]

There are no people to contact for permission to use historical events but when it comes down to naming living individuals or corporate entities you're on dangerous ground, however you do have a bit of leeway in the name of historical reportage.

I'd steer clear of trademarked items or anything that's going to land you on some corporate lawyer's radar. They don't care if a lawsuit is "right" or not, the point is to make you back down and cost you money. Not to "win".

The more you can do to protect yourself under the banner of historical recreation then the less likely you are going to be facing lawsuits. You can always fall back on the old television and films technique of "some names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent".

[Applewood]

You can always fall back on the old television and films technique of "some names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent".You hit the nail on the head there. The reason they change the names is not to protect the innocent, but to protect *from* the innocent.

My guess would be that you can use anything you want to in a positive light, but the closer you get to using a real entity in a negative way, you're just opening yourself up to litigation. If it's defamatory there could also be a criminal case brought.

Hell, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Coke started suing people for showing pictures of Santa Claus wearing a red outfit.

Save money - don't consult a lawyer. Just assume he said "no" and act accordingly!

[Spore Man]

You never know... Paris has a trademark on the depiction of the Eiffel Tower and expect royalties!!
http://www.justabovesunset.com/id756.html