copyright business liability
Can I make a restaurant from a game and make it into a real business?
<p>Is it illegal to make a restaurant from five nights at Freddy’s and make it into a real life Restaurant? It‘s just a thought that randomly came to mind.</p>

<p>The game <em>Five Nights at Freddy's</em> and the other elements in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Nights_at_Freddy%27s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">large media franchise</a> of the same name are surely protected by copyright. In addition the name of the fictional restaurant in the game may well be protected as a trademark, and I would be astounded if &quot;Five Nights at Freddy's&quot; was not protected as a trademark. Other names and phrases may well be trademarked also.</p>
<p>If the suggested actual restaurant was at all closely based on the images and descriptions from the games or the novels, it would be a derivative work. Unless one had permission from the copyright owner, creating  such a restaurant would be an act of wilful copyright infringement. The owner could sue, and quite likely win. In the US the owner could get up to $150,000 in statutory damages for <em>each work</em> that was infringed, which in this case might well mean several of the games and novels, depending on just what images and descriptions were imitated or used. Or the owner could elect to receive damages and profits, meaning all damage provably done to the owner, plus all profits made by the infringer. In addition to either, the owner might well obtain an injunction against further operations of the restaurant.</p>
<p>Beyond that, if the imitation used any of the trademarked names, slogans, or other protected trademarks, there could be a suit for trademark infringement. There could be no question that the marks were being used in commerce, and were not instances of nominative use. A restaurant is a very different thing from a video game, a novel, or a film, of course. No doubt it falls into a different trademark category. Normally trademark protection extends only to the category for which the mark is protected. But in the case of a &quot;well-known&quot; or &quot;famous&quot; mark, protection under US law is wider. Also, when the infringement might lead reasonable people to falsely belie that the infringing product or service has been endorsed, approved, or sponsored by the trademark owner, it may be a violation even in a significantly different category. This a successful suit for trademark infringement might well be possible also.</p>
<p>Of course, if the new restaurant only vaguely resembled the one in the games and novels, and did not use the phrase &quot;Five Nights at Freddy's&quot; or the name &quot;Freddy Fazbear’s&quot; or any other distinctive names from the media franchise, That might not be copyright or trademark infringement. But that would not seem to achieve the effect suggested by the question.</p>
<p>If the creator of the restaurant obtained <strong>permission</strong> from the copyright and trademark owner(s) then there would be no legal issue. But the owners might well not grant such permission, or might charge a high fee for it.</p>
<p>I doubt that the idea is workable.</p>
<p>As a side note, many years ago I regularly patronized a restaurant named <a href="https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/life/2017/01/27/archives-pizza-joints-we-miss/97081968/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Bilbo's Pizza&quot;</a> It was decorated with murals obviously based on descriptions for <em>The Hobbit</em> and <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>. The intended reference was clear. They may have gotten permission from the Tolkien estate; I understand that Tolkien was rather free about granting such permissions.  Or they may have just counted on word not coming to the copyright holder. But modern media franchise companies are probably much more watchful and much more quick to enforce IP rights.</p>
