GW 1 Regions/characters and Copyright
That’s not so much how copyright works.
If you were to reproduce the characters or lore of GW1 in a substantial form with the intention of profiting from it then you would be looking at legal troubles.
Of course the individual names themselves can be used – since there is no trademark or copyright on them (for obvious reasons). But that doesn’t mean you can go reproducing content.
Also re: Master of Whispers – I don’t think that it’s a throwback to Game of Thrones. It’s not exactly the most original title ever and it’s quite a generic fantasy type thing – which of course GoT is.
That’s not so much how copyright works.
If you were to reproduce the characters or lore of GW1 in a substantial form with the intention of profiting from it then you would be looking at legal troubles.Of course the individual names themselves can be used – since there is no trademark or copyright on them (for obvious reasons). But that doesn’t mean you can go reproducing content.
Also re: Master of Whispers – I don’t think that it’s a throwback to Game of Thrones. It’s not exactly the most original title ever and it’s quite a generic fantasy type thing – which of course GoT is.
What does substantial form mean exactly and how losely would a Master of Whispers rip off need to be to avoid the wrath of the lawyers? Would a Jade Sea that was crossed with an area based on the Jade Forest of WoW be substantially different enough to avoid the wrath of the ArenaNet lawyers?
The bottom line – if you’re looking to make money off something don’t copy ideas from something else. If you’re having to ask whether something is too similar then perhaps you should look in a different direction. Of course if this is just a fan project, or something that you don’t intent to make money off then usually you can do whatever you want. The law around doing a parody of something is also a lot more relaxed.
Actual RL places, nations, ethnicities, civilisations etc. aren’t copyrightable entities, nor does it apply to ideas, and you’d be hard pressed to copyright a fairly generic assembly of words such as ‘master of whispers’. Copyright only applies to tangible created works.
Generally when a work is copyrighted, it pertains more to that specific work. You can’t take that, slap your name on it, and try to sell it for yourself.
Names and places by large aren’t copyright material; though they CAN be trademarked (i.e. Mickey Mouse).
Using the name “Ascalon” would not be grounds for a copyright suit. Using Ascalon led by a man named Adelbern being attacked by the Charr after the Guild Wars, however could, and probably would, be.
Ascalon is a reference to Israel’s Ascalon.
Kryta is a reference to the Krytocracy form of government which Kryta is when under the rule of the White Mantle.
Cantha’s name is a reference to the name Cathay which was once used to refer to China.
Kaineng City is a reference to both the ancient Chinese capital Kaifeng but also the Kowloon Walled City of Hong Kong.
The Jade Sea is likely a reference to the actual Jade Sea in Ethiopia. What’s more the inhabitants of Guild Wars’ Jade Sea the Luxons(who are themselves a reference to the Luxons from Farscape) resemble the Ethiopians in ethnicity despite the paper lanterns of China.
Elona is a reference to a genus of snail(what’s even more interesting is that Guild Wars was not the first to use the snail’s name as a reference but the game Elona also referenced the snail).
The Master of Whispers appears in Game of Thrones.
The point is that any media which wants to rip off of Guild Wars can do so without worrying about names or Copyright to begin with!
Which leads me ask: Are any of you making cartoons and willing to take inspiration from GW1? Ask this because I want to see a cartoon inspired by GW1.
never a good idea to try to make a work whose purpose is to be derivative. Its not only a legal thing, its generally uninspired. That said if you want to take your inspiration from history, go for it.
The only value in the Master of Whispers to me would be his mysteriousness and being the Big Good. What’s more I would give my Master of Whispers an expanded superior role where he would be the main character(having the main character be a mysterious old man who’s name is unknown would be more epic than the teen hero stories).
I would like to have my Jade Sea and the area surrounding it be inspired by both GW’s Jade Sea(I would also have it’s petrified status be the result of anthomorphic alien tigers dumping powdered Jadite into said sea than stir and evaporate the sea’s water in such a way that the jade remains in the shape of waves with a maelstrom in the middle)due to wanting it to be actual Jade and WoW’s Jade Forest(specifically the bamboo trees and jade building style which are quite inspiring) and I might call the sea the Ethiopian Jade Sea(the asian style jade buildings would be the result of the aforementioned alien tigers decorating the country while sharing it with the Ethiopians).
I also would want an area inspired by the Depths of Madness(specifically the blood stained mountains and blood soaked trees).
Fleshy areas are everywhere in video games yet alas we don’t see such magnificance in childrens’ cartoons(nor do we see actual petrified seas which indicates that ArenaNet has more creativity than cartoon and anime writers)….