When reality beats fantasy Options

[rewells]

I thought that disclaimer in your game was for dramatic effect :-p

Legally I doubt you have anything to worry about, especially with the disclaimer. Probably the majority of RPG titles/names/locations "borrow" from preexisting titles/names/locations (virtually every name in the FF series is borrowed from ancient mythology). I hate coming up with my own names - it's a lot easier to "borrow", but either way I think names have to have some relevance to the narrative, which as you explained in your example the name "Spectrum" does in your game. Another example I can think of is in the "Sailor Moon: Another Story" RPG. Sailor Moon's doppelganger is Sin - Sin is the god of the moon in ancient Sumerian/Babylonian mythology. I only know that because I'm a nerd :-p but it gives me more of an appreciation for the writer's for putting the effort into coming up with a name for the character.

Try "Broken Doors" smile.gif Is the group I play the keyboard into. I'm almost sure you won't find another group with that name smile.gif

I found several hits googling "Broken Doors". http://www.facebook.com/pages/Broken-Door/6329067667, http://www.myspace.com/thebrokendoor, or http://www.broken-doors.de/index.php?view=frontpage. There's also an independent short film called Broken Doors.

Are any of the above you? I'd love to listen to your music

None of them, sorry.
I've PM you the band site, but we have no up-to-date videos (maybe one alone, in which we play "I don't wanna miss a thing").
Pop-rock, you know... however I'm a great fan of symphonic metal:)

@Adrien.
Ok, then, but I prefer creating that names consciously, without mixing letters.
Each name is tied to my characters appearance and feelings.

Jens

[Illuminant]

The reason for inserting such a disclaimer is, in theory, to avoid getting sued by people who think the game is intended to portray them in a bad light. Since the chances of that happening in an independent non-commercial RPG are next to nil, the disclaimer is essentially worthless to begin with.

More imprtantly, the disclaimer in itself doesn't have any legal weight (much like the "all characters are owned by X" messages you get in fanfics) and it's not legally mandated. In virtually every case, it's used only for dramatic effect. If people think they can demonstrate that the game portrays them maliciously, they can ignore the disclaimer.

As for borrowing names in general (rather than using particular names in a bad light), that falls under plagiarism laws. If you use a name that's owned as a trademark then you may potentially find yourself on the business end of a lawsuit, but you would almost certainly receive a cease and desist notice anyway before it got to that stage. Names that aren't trademarked are fair game for use, notwithstanding the reputation issue above.

This post has been edited by Illuminant: Jun 3 2012, 06:44 PM