IP question for developers

[Arado]

Dear Paradox Developers,
I'm a gaming enthusiast and huge Paradox games fan who is in the very early stages of developing a mobile game. My question about IP around 3D models in games like Stellaris is if Paradox ever came out with 3D models in Stellaris that are inspired by Star Wars copyrighted ships like a Star Destroyer, would that immediately trigger a Disney lawsuit?

Another example of this is, the word "droid" is trademarked by Lucasfilms. The word "droid" is found in Stellaris, seemingly without issues. Is there anyone at Paradox knowledgeable about these issues?

Thanks for doing what you guys do.

A

 

[Shirasik]

Better ask IP lawyer.

the word "droid" is trademarked by Lucasfilms

Every such case is heavily usage-dependant, so you need to check the context, not just trigger at word.

 

[Arado]

Well, to be clear, the word "droid" if used in a context that would be attempting to use the Star Wars brand to sell something would be infringement.

But the question really is why are no games around that have ships with designs inspired by star wars designs? Is it a coincidence, or is Disney/Lucas just suing everyone that tries which is why we don't see "wedge shaped" ships in sci fi games outside of start wars games?

Thanks

 

[Shirasik]

But the question really is why are no games around that have ships with designs inspired by star wars designs? Is it a coincidence, or is Disney/Lucas just suing everyone that tries which is why we don't see "wedge shaped" ships in sci fi games outside of start wars games?

Again, better ask IP lawyer. It's their job to know this stuff (what and why), especially in the part about arbitrage practice. You may google it maybe, but I can't hint the keywords, unfortunately.

upd
Well, if you want to use SW designs, then you definitely need IP lawyer's legal support to see the line.