Hello! In my game, there's a character that loves cosplaying. Everytime you meet him ingame, he'll be wearing different clothes related to animes/cartoons/games/movies/people. He also dislikes pants and is always in his underwear and flip flops, which is one of the ways you can recognize him. His physical shape also changes everytime you meet him, as a part of a joke that is explained in game. This design choice will be a core part of the game's story and I wanted to know if there are any copyright issues. He'll never reveal which character he's cosplaying and it won't be super obvious. The player has to guess who he is (i don't know if that changes anything copyright related, but I thought I should mention it). Here's what 3 of his cosplays looks like (einsten, luffy and popeye): Does anyone know if I'll have copyright issues with this? Thank you!
I have no idea but I feel like the moment your game grows broad attention (which I wish you) can also attract the whole bunch of lawyers and also can cause some issues. I also think that the use of trademarked names can be more problematic than the look of characters itself. But as I said - I'm not a lawyer, and I suspect that lawyers themselves could have hard times answering such question definitely.
In my opinion, I don't think you would get a problem with this, but there's still a slight chance. In general, you can create similar characters. Not exact, similar in style. If you use the same name, it will infringe the trademark. If this is a mention, that might be okay. For example, Spiderman is already a property. If you use a character like Spiderman, but with a different name and you capitalize on that to create your brand and the main character of your game, it's problematic. Artworks like characters are copyrighted. Generally speaking, authors spend money and time building something and if other people make money with what they took time to build and developed, that is using their artwork. In other words, they developed it to make money for them, not for others to use it and make money on their back. Money is probably the central point in this. I suggest to borrow characteristics in a limited way. That question is never easy to answer, even if you consult a lawyer, they'll tell you to stay away to avoid any problem because it's the best and easiest solution. Probably different authors have different opinions. I've seen large companies asking the authors' permission. If a lot of work, but that would be the best thing you can do avoid problems. It makes things clear if they answer you.
Thank you both for your answers, good vibes and for sheding some light into the matter. I decided to carry on with the idea, Oddy - The Cosplayer will be a thing!