intellectual-property trademark
How can I legally use trademarked entities in my free computer game?
<p>I'm making a <em>free</em> computer game based on Star Trek. It'll reference a few characters from the show, along with the Enterprise. </p>

<p>My understanding is by using character names from the show, I risk infringing on existing trademarks. Can I mitigate that risk by adding a line indicating "Star Trek and its characters are property of XXX corporation; I make no claim to ownership, etc..."?</p>

<h2>Negotiate a licence</h2>

<p>Of course, your chance of doing so are not good - computer game companies routinely pay millions to use trademarks like this (and they usually get exclusive rights) and that’s probably out of your price range.</p>

<p>Stopping you doing what you want to do without paying for the privilege is effectively what trademarks exist to do.</p>

<p>If the usage was incidental and clearly used Star Trek IP to identify Star Trek products, like the usage in The Big Bang Theory TV show, then that’s OK. However, your usage is using Star Trek as the core of the product and that’s not OK.</p>

<p>Others have suggested that the trademark owner may not pursue you - that’s unlikely. Unlike copyright, trademarks that are not defended can be lost - this trademark is worth billions, they will happily spend tens of thousands to grind you into the dust.</p>

<p>Such a disclaimer can be effective in some cases. If there is a passing reference to Captain Kirk or Commander Data in a game that is not focused on Star-Trek, for example. That would be a case of <em>Nominative use</em> where one uses a trademark to refer to the trade-marked thing, but is clear that there is no affiliation or endorsement by the trademark owner. But an entire game that is Star-trek based might be excessive.</p>

<p>That the game is free means you are not using the name in trade yourself, but you might be harming the market for games authorized by the trademark holder. This is something of a grey area, and you might want to consider consulting an actual lawyer with trademark experience.</p>
