Hi, I’m wondering if there are any rules against putting copyrighted logos in Roblox games, such as the blockbuster logo or the subway logo. Are there any restrictions on this? I’m building a subway btw.
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Using them in the first place is a no-go. You’d require permission or a license from the actual copyright holder whose logo you’re looking to use, or your use of the logo must adhere to the license if it’s a public one (e.g. a CreativeCommons license). If you don’t have either of the aforementioned, then anything you do with the logo is “going too far”.
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Well how about a logo that has more of a defunct status like blockbuster? Or maybe I would create a parody of the original?
You’re better off creating a parody.
If you’re wondering if dead businesses ever sue for copyright infringement, look up Lil Uzi Album Cover and Heaven's Gate.
Obligatory IANAL.
Don’t believe being defunct nullifies a copyright. That being said, I looked up Blockbuster in at least TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System, US Patent and Trademark Office, database accessed 20 August 2020). It looks like a couple of the trademark orders are dead while others are alive. You might want to do your own research in this area before proceeding.
As said above though, you’d be better off creating a fictional company to avoid copyright issues. That’s typically the approach that most works do if they want to display companies without using an existing one. Parodies have also been used in various works.
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Basiclly just create a parody.
Well, I’ve just been wondering because a lot of copyrighted images have not been taken down unless the owner of the material requested Roblox to actually take down the image, but the music is getting scrubbed clean of any copyrighted material. And would it be fine if you didn’t make any actual profit off of the game? For example gamepasses?
I would stay far away from copyrighted material. Each company is different, but companies like Nintendo has gone after many developers off of Roblox just for making Pokemon fan games (which make no profit usually).
Even on Cartoon Network, in the show Infinity Train, one of the scenes is set in a mall. To avoid copyright, the creators came up with parodies even though some of the parodies were of companies that had long gone out of business.
I suppose I should also state the obligatory INAL
Roblox doesn’t police content. They require an active statement to act upon, otherwise they will assume positively that you’ve settled the permission concerns with the other entity and have the grounds to use said content. Just because it’s not removed, doesn’t mean it doesn’t infringe upon another’s IP.
You can have a Starbucks logo in your game and that would violate their copyright over the logo, but Roblox will not take it down unless Starbucks sends a takedown request to Roblox in which they will comply with. You can countermand it if you have the appropriate documents.
Music is the same way, but they have automatic flagging so you must have the appropriate documents to countermand the action should audio you upload be picked up by the automatic flagger.
Whether your game makes profit or not has no effect on this matter: you are still violating copyright.
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Useful information for going forward, thank you.