Is pac-man still protected by copyright?

pacman
h.world43 picture h.world43 · Jul 8, 2010 · Viewed 23.7k times · Source

I am planning to write and distribute a pac-man like game. So I would like to know if It is still protected by copyright.

Can I use the word pacman in the title? What are the limits that I will have?

PS. I can conclude from the first answers that I can't use the name and may be a very similar art work. If I keep that in mind, will I have any trouble. And I don't want to do something unethical, is it unethical to write a pac-man like game? I see tons of them on the internet.

Answer

Michael Borgwardt picture Michael Borgwardt · Jul 8, 2010

It's a matter of trademarks, not copyright. Trademarks don't run out, though they must be continually used. I'm pretty sure Pacman would be considered to be in use, as it's a very well-known brand.

So you'll have to use a different name.

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