My game idea would feature the words “Call of Duty” in the title, however, these wouldn’t be the only words featured in the title.
The game would have references to “Call of Duty” features, such as weapons, team names, etc., but would still have a theme that was in a different direction from Call of Duty.
You can write your topic however you want, but you need to answer these questions:
My main concerns are A) would the game be moderated for copyright infringement? and B) could I devex from the game?
Again, the planned game wouldn’t be a ripoff of Call of Duty. I was just wondering the logistics of creating such a game, especially since there are many games that reference Fortnite on the market.
I would say that if the game is not a complete copy of “Call of Duty”, and your game is not simply called “Call of Duty”, then it is fine. There are plenty of Roblox games out there that are completely based off of other games - however have small unique features and game titles. I would suggest trying to think of an original name, but if none comes to you then use that.
I feel like using the Call of Duty label would ultimately be seen as copyright infringement, especially if you devex from it. However, I believe this is up to Activision, and not solely ROBLOX as it’s their copyright.
Call of Duty is a trademarked name in many countries. As such, usage of it — whether it’s alone or not — in your title is not allowed and if EA file a claim with Roblox it will be taken down. You definitely would not be legally allowed to profit from it.
There are many Roblox games with titles and/or assets ripped from other games. While most get away from it and make money, it’s definitely not legal and you shouldn’t do it. Try your best to think of an original name now: it’ll make the future much better and much more rewarding!
I’m not sure what you mean by referencing it in a game, do you mean you would create weapons based from the game, and teams with the same name? I personally think you should just make up the names for everything.
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Avoid using any reference to copyright material, it’s always possible to do this. While it’s likely that you could get away with it, without any repercussions, it’s just not worth the risk. Your game could be put under moderation at any time, along with your account if any claim was made against your game - which won’t look good when it comes to devex, even if the problem gets resolved.
Like others have said, just avoid it at all costs.
Simple answer, yes. It’s blatant copyright infringement. You’re utilizing IP from another company.
It’s always best practice to stray far away from trademarks and copyrighted content, as that can end very poorly for you. Lawsuits aren’t fun, and nor is losing a lot of money, and possibly your account.
Alright, so probably best to avoid that game then.
What about all the Fortnite games, other CoD based games, etc. that plague the platform?
I have seen a lot of Fortnite games on ROBLOX, all to varying degrees of referencing and ripping off, that provided quite a bit of income to their creators
It depends how much they’re “ripping off” from them, if they’re using actual assets from Fortnite or CoD, or making refrences to them then they’re at risk. If for example, the game is similar to Fornite in that it’s a battle royale and has similar game mechanics but doesn’t use any of Fortnite’s IP then they’ll be okay. But anyone using IP without permission is putting their game at risk of moderation, as well as their account.
Like I said before, it’s likely that they’ll get away with it as Roblox won’t do anything about it until the owners of the IP make a claim, but it’s just not worth putting your game at risk.
As long as the games aren’t using direct assets, they’re fine to be on the site. The issue comes in when they start using assets, names, etc from the games.
Is there a need for your title to contain the words, “Call of Duty” and the references to Call of Duty?
Remember, if you have to ask if something is okay to do then it probably isn’t okay to do. In your case, I don’t think you should reference Call of Duty just to be on the safe side.
You will be fine as long as you don’t use the words “Call of Duty” as it is a trademarked game company and game. A lot of games on Roblox are inspired or based off of Call of Duty.
Refrain from using other game’s property. This includes their name, the game idea, models, sounds, etc.
As you can see, there can be thousands of games out there that are named “Call of Duty” but if they haven’t been taken down yet, it either means they make no profit from it, it isn’t a functional game, or has a completely unique game idea.
The act of impersonation is an excellent example.
If you had the same name as Donald Trump, maybe if it was on coincident it you changed your name, that’s completely fine right?
As long as you do not claim to be him, act like him, have his authority, then you’re fine.
Acronyms can only be trademarked if they’re the brand name of the product. CoD, therefore, is not inherent to Call of Duty, just as HP is not inherent to Harry Potter, etc.
