Possible copyright issue with new character Vala?

[Ascarith]

1 hour ago, DLmusic said:

Actually they are. A screenplay/script and all it's contents, including character names fall under Literary Works copyright laws. A tv show/movie and it's contents fall under Motion Picture copyrights. Just like any original musical soundtracks fall under Sound Recording copyrights. Believe it or not, there is actually a Likeness Copyright to protect an actor/performer's likeness so their image or likeness can't be used without permission. Silly huh lol

Holding a copyright for a screenplay or a script that happens to contain character names is not the same as holding a copyright for those character names. At least in the United States, names are not covered by copyright. In some scenarios, trademark law might apply to some names (e.g., "Stargate SG-1" is a registered trademark held by MGM, but MGM does not have a copyright that covers just the name "Stargate SG-1").

I'd also be interested if you had citation for "likeness copyright." As far as I'm aware, US copyright law is reserved for works of authorship, and one's appearance is not generally "authored" in any reasonable sense of the word. (I say generally, as things are more complicated in some circumstances, e.g., tattoos). Many US states recognize a right of publicity, which offers protection along the lines of what you have described, but that's not copyright law.

[Teljaxx]

I want to say no company would be petty enough to waste their time trying to sue over something so pointless. But, the game Ion Maiden had to change its name to Ion Fury because the band Iron Maiden is so insecure about their waning popularity that they don't understand the concept of homage.

So who knows, maybe DE will get in trouble for this most likely completely coincidental little thing. The corporate world is a very stupid place, after all.

[Corvid]

9 hours ago, (XBOX)C11H22O11 said:

I heard warframe is set in space so Aliens can sue DE if they want to

Ah, but we can hear enemies screaming, so I think we're good on that front.

[Circle_of_Psi]

I mean, we all WISH this will happen, but it won't.

 

So, don't worry little tenno

[yoman15]

2021/3/30 AM6点53分 , SeRialPiXel 说:

I don't see the reason of only 45 likes for this pic when there're 1.1k views

[SneakyErvin]

8 hours ago, DLmusic said:

Actually they are. A screenplay/script and all it's contents, including character names fall under Literary Works copyright laws. A tv show/movie and it's contents fall under Motion Picture copyrights. Just like any original musical soundtracks fall under Sound Recording copyrights. Believe it or not, there is actually a Likeness Copyright to protect an actor/performer's likeness so their image or likeness can't be used without permission. Silly huh lol

The names arent copyrighted, the characters are and only that depection of a character. Which is why the aesir are called Asgardians in Marvel and Thor and Loki are foster brothers etc. Since that allowed Marvel to copyright those specific characters, which wouldnt be possible if they were the actual mythological versions, with the correct mythological lineage. That however doesnt mean that I cannot go and make a new story that involves Thor, I just need to avoid the Marvel mythos.

[Wolfdoggie]

If "The Last of Us" could get away with it anyone can, right?

Thought that actually was Ellen Page for the longest time. 

[Circle_of_Psi]

5 minutes ago, (XBOX)TyeGoo said:

Wait what? You want DE to get sued? Why? 

No, I was joking lol

[_R_o_g_u_e_]

Just putting this out there, Claudia black isn’t trademarked.

This entire conversation is pointless, it doesn’t even look anything like her.

[XRosenkreuz]

23 hours ago, DLmusic said:

Didn't she voice a character in Destiny 2? One of the vendors.

Both Destinies, actually. And Mass Effect 2 and 3, Gears of War 3 and 4, one of the recent Wolfensteins, and a fair few others. Expand that to video game voices in general and it's a lot more.

[Surbusken]

20 hours ago, DLmusic said:

You're right. SG-1 was unpopular. That's why it went 10 seasons and spawned 2 spin off series 😛 /sarcasm  lol

Lol, well yeah I was hoping it would trigger some die-hearts out there 😊

 

[UUDDLRLRBA_START]

On 2021-03-29 at 3:44 PM, (XBOX)ScarecrowES said:

So I only saw one other topic about this, and it doesn't have many views, so I figured I'd start another topic to highlight a potential big copyright issue with Warframe's new Vala character teased in the recent Devstream.

The character model looks eerily like actress Claudia Black, who just happened to play a character named Vala in the television show Stargate SG-1.  Claudia Black has very distinctive facial features and proportions, and the Vala model in Warframe mirrors those quite closely.  Moreover, her character in SG-1 had gray streaks in her hair, and the Vala model in Warframe also seems to have these gray streaks (hard to tell if that's intentional or a trick of the renderer).

Even if this was accidental or coincidental, I think the very clear similarities between the Warframe and SG-1 characters are opening Digital Extremes up to some painful copyright issues if they choose to go ahead with this character design.  MGM owns the rights to the Stargate franchise and, obviously, its characters.  A character that looks like Claudia Black named Vala?  Instant lawsuit.

Has DE said anything about this since the stream?  I can't imagine there was not even one person over there who stood up and pointed out the big oops they were making.

Similar characters, but not exact copies. — https://dustyoldthing.com/morticia-vampira-elvira/

Good luck if someone decides to sue.

[Tesseract7777]

15 hours ago, XRosenkreuz said:

Both Destinies, actually. And Mass Effect 2 and 3, Gears of War 3 and 4, one of the recent Wolfensteins, and a fair few others. Expand that to video game voices in general and it's a lot more.

So like a female version of Mark Hamill except for video games instead of cartoons? 

[Currilicious]

Do we forsee the word "Dren" becoming a thing.

Like, what the dren are they doing?

[XRosenkreuz]

8 hours ago, Tesseract7777 said:

So like a female version of Mark Hamill except for video games instead of cartoons? 

Pretty much.

[TomT4rd15]

On 2021-03-30 at 5:19 PM, DLmusic said:

Actually they are. A screenplay/script and all it's contents, including character names fall under Literary Works copyright laws. A tv show/movie and it's contents fall under Motion Picture copyrights. Just like any original musical soundtracks fall under Sound Recording copyrights. Believe it or not, there is actually a Likeness Copyright to protect an actor/performer's likeness so their image or likeness can't be used without permission. Silly huh lol

Actually, names cannot be Copyrighted (at least in the US):

 

How do I copyright a name, title, slogan, or logo?
Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov or see Circular 33, for further information. However, copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark.

-- US Copyright Office

A name can be a trademark (or part of one), but if someone else wrote a story about a "Jack O'Niell" that had nothing to do with Stargate (maybe he's a wandering taco truck driver who solves crime as he crosses the country, looking for the perfect carne asada), then that's perfectly legal. 

What's not legal is to write your own book starring the further adventures of Colonel O'Niell's of SG1. Then you're using the copyrighted character, as opposed to just a name. 

 

 

[TomT4rd15]

On 2021-03-30 at 6:56 PM, Ascarith said:

I'd also be interested if you had citation for "likeness copyright." As far as I'm aware, US copyright law is reserved for works of authorship, and one's appearance is not generally "authored" in any reasonable sense of the word. (I say generally, as things are more complicated in some circumstances, e.g., tattoos). Many US states recognize a right of publicity, which offers protection along the lines of what you have described, but that's not copyright law.

Likeness rights are not part of the Federal Copyright system, but remember that the US has a whole second set of legal protections: State law. Likeness rights are largely protected by state laws and common law. 

[Ascarith]

2 hours ago, DrTardis said:

What's not legal is to write your own book starring the further adventures of Colonel O'Niell's of SG1. Then you're using the copyrighted character, as opposed to just a name. 

That's probably an oversimplification, as fair use is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and "further adventures" isn't a lot to go on. Analysis on the actual merits aside, there are also numerous factors at play (e.g., nature of the work, who wrote it, whether it's a not-for-profit fanfiction or a commercial publication, etc.) as to whether or not a lawsuit would even be brought.

2 hours ago, DrTardis said:

Likeness rights are not part of the Federal Copyright system, but remember that the US has a whole second set of legal protections: State law. Likeness rights are largely protected by state laws and common law. 

I'm aware of those protections (see the last sentence of what you quoted). Anyways, the primary reason I asked if they had a citation is because there are significant differences between copyright and non-copyright protection, particularly with respect to: (1) who holds the right (and who can hold the right), and (2) the policy rationale supporting said protection. In other words, the conversation looks pretty different depending on who could be bringing legal action, and why they might want to do so.