Will i get in copyright trouble if i make this game?

I have a idea based on the move "A night on Roxbury". You drive a car where they headbang to the song What is love, and you need to do stuff. My friend is gonna make a little cover of 10 sec of what is love, and im gonna use that. Can i get in copyright trouble for making a game based on a movie, if i don't use any names (title, character names etc.) from the movie?

 

Most if any of us are not lawyers, however this is just my opinion, take it as you wish.

But in (my opinion) shall I state again.

Is that as long as you aren't in reference into *anything* trademarked/copyrighted, etc then you're fine.
Song has to be one you made/and or permission to use, and don't make you're cars look like exact replicas of real cars,
and so on.

 

AFAIK, you can make whatever you want, as long as it is "inspired by".
When you start copying/using someone else's stuff, you need permissions.

In your case, I think the song might be the problem.

 

Two guys that vaguely resemble those guys won't get you in trouble.

Your own cover of that song will not get you in trouble with the producer of that song.

Surprisingly, the person who wrote that song will be your problem. Someone owns that.

Lastly, if it is just a fun project, just do it.

If this is an idea to make money, you're taking some risk.

 

Wander way back to the period of classical and folk music and find inspiration that sounds similar and none of what you are trying to do can cause trouble.

 

Parody's are legal. Think SpaceBalls in parody of Star Wars. Perhaps you could do something similar to this but not an exact copy of the situation.

Like goat said, the song might be copyright protected. I am not a lawyer!

 

Spaceballs was made with permission.
And this wouldn't count as parody, at least not of the song.

I'm not familiar with the exact details but when doing covers or new performances of music, you can do so without permission of the artist, but you need to pay fees/royalties through ASCAP. But, as others have said, contact a lawyer first to ensure you are doing it correctly.

 

That's correct and that's why I suggested the OP go back and use old public domain classical and folk music arranged and instrumented for modern tastes. That's what a lot of song writers do anyway and it avoids the legal trouble.

 

Didn't know that @zombiegorilla lol, thanks! And man. Everybody loves music but it can be such a legal hassle. Pain in the ass is more like it.