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silvarilon · 11-30-2010, 12:35 AM

Depends on the MMO. And depends on their legal situation.
There is currently (in the US) a concept called "safe harbor" in regards to player-created breaches of copyright - basically, if a player breaks copyright the company isn't responsible, as long as the company removes the infringement as soon as it's pointed out to them. (And possibly as long as the company removes the player, if the player continues to breach copyright)

This is what lets Youtube keep running, despite the massive amounts of copyright material on there. They do take down the copyright material that gets pointed out.

So... as for MMOs policing players, that will depend on the MMO, and the context.
If I'm playing WoW or D&D online, they will probably make little to no effort to police it. I could probably make "Gandalf" the human wizard in WoW without a problem. Because Blizzard won't be checking carefully, and the LotR estate won't be chasing that up unless it's rubbed in their face.

However, City of Heroes certainly does police names. In City of Heroes I can make a yellow-lycra-wearing character with claws that regenerates. I can basically make Wolverine. And I can then take my character and go out fighting villains. So Marvel (and DC) do police that game. You are automatically blocked from using any of the "established" character names, and if you sneak under the radar, you might find the character name changed for you.

But note:
- City of Heroes is the same genre as the marvel characters
- The game allows you to make characters with similar powers and costumes to the marvel characters
- i.e. players are making derivatives of the original characters, and that is part of the appeal of the commercial game. Which isn't legal.

A character named "Wolverine" in WoW wouldn't be nearly as problematic. And probably wouldn't be policed.

As for MUDs, there certainly is no legal problem allowing a "James Bond" character name in a game that's not about spies and espionage.

And honestly? Legalties aside, nobody is going to care what your players name their characters. If it's an annoying name that doesn't suit your game or setting, make the players change it. If not, leave them. I wouldn't worry about the law, ESPECIALLY for player-created content.

If you do get a letter (which you won't) you can then change the player name, and be fine.

11-30-2010, 12:35 AM	#18
silvarilon Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 144	Re: Copyrighted character names. Depends on the MMO. And depends on their legal situation. There is currently (in the US) a concept called "safe harbor" in regards to player-created breaches of copyright - basically, if a player breaks copyright the company isn't responsible, as long as the company removes the infringement as soon as it's pointed out to them. (And possibly as long as the company removes the player, if the player continues to breach copyright) This is what lets Youtube keep running, despite the massive amounts of copyright material on there. They do take down the copyright material that gets pointed out. So... as for MMOs policing players, that will depend on the MMO, and the context. If I'm playing WoW or D&D online, they will probably make little to no effort to police it. I could probably make "Gandalf" the human wizard in WoW without a problem. Because Blizzard won't be checking carefully, and the LotR estate won't be chasing that up unless it's rubbed in their face. However, City of Heroes certainly does police names. In City of Heroes I can make a yellow-lycra-wearing character with claws that regenerates. I can basically make Wolverine. And I can then take my character and go out fighting villains. So Marvel (and DC) do police that game. You are automatically blocked from using any of the "established" character names, and if you sneak under the radar, you might find the character name changed for you. But note: - City of Heroes is the same genre as the marvel characters - The game allows you to make characters with similar powers and costumes to the marvel characters - i.e. players are making derivatives of the original characters, and that is part of the appeal of the commercial game. Which isn't legal. A character named "Wolverine" in WoW wouldn't be nearly as problematic. And probably wouldn't be policed. As for MUDs, there certainly is no legal problem allowing a "James Bond" character name in a game that's not about spies and espionage. And honestly? Legalties aside, nobody is going to care what your players name their characters. If it's an annoying name that doesn't suit your game or setting, make the players change it. If not, leave them. I wouldn't worry about the law, ESPECIALLY for player-created content. If you do get a letter (which you won't) you can then change the player name, and be fine.