Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: I built an idea off theirs...is it legit or would they call it a rip-off?

As the author of a derivative work (a work that is based on prior, copyrighted material) you most certainly may protect your own original material that has been recorded or "fixed in a tangible medium of expression."

Inasmuch as you have based it on a prior work, you will need to obtain a license (written permission) to use such underlying work (characters, concepts, storylines) that you have borrowed from, or otherwise based your own material on.

One useful approach would be to have an attorney contact the original rights holder with an inquiry as to whether they would be interested in:

(a) licensing to you the right to use their material (characters, storyline, etc.) in a derivative work; or

(b) purchasing (or licensing) your newly created material for their own use in future sequels or spinoffs. (for a fixed fee or a royalty based on sales).

The biggest trick in the negaotiations is to give them enough information to make them salivate, without giving away any unprotected ideas...

In any event, you should protect your creative ideas and expression before you send it out to any third parties other than your attorneys.

You should in fact seek prompt copyright registration of the apparently infringing material - but not sell or license such material until you have obtained permission from the original registrant.

That is to say, that merely seeking copyright of your new creation (even if your work itself contains infringing material) is not necessarily an actionable infringement - infringement occurs when you publish, sell or distribute material containing their (exclusive rights) copyrights or trademarks.

Alternatively, you may wish to "cover up" any references to their material and seek registration on your own.

Once protected, you can sleep easier when you approach the big boys with your new concepts.

No matter which way you go with this, you should hire an attorney to review the SPECIFICs - and should not merely rely on this GENERAL advice.

Additional information which is available to you, but not disclosed in your question, may affect the above comments. Moreover, there may be other issues that might be discovered with further analysis. (e.g., trademark issues, public domain concerns, third party rights, celbrity or publicity rights, etc.).

For more information, visit our website: www.brandxperts.com.

Good luck and best regards,

Anderson & Shippey

Re: I built an idea off theirs...is it legit or would they call it a rip-off?

Your game is considered a derivative work. It is protected under the original game owner's copyright.

You can approach the game company and open discussions to license your game as a derivative work or you can approach them with an agreement that if they use your idea, they agree to pay you a flat fee or royalty.