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I am working out a concept of a game where I want to refer to movies. However, I am unsure if I can just refer to the real movie titles in the game or if I should change them slightly so that it becomes a parody of the movie for liablility / copyright reasons.

I know it is a bit on the risky side when you are using brands etc, but can I be held acountable for indirect damage to the sales of their movie?

Does this change when I use an API from a website (f.e. imdb / TheMovieDatabase)?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Can you tell us more about the context of how you're using the names? Using them as real-world trivia questions & answers might have different considerations from using them in your story or environmental design. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 12, 2020 at 15:28
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    \$\begingroup\$ Does this answer your question? When does a Reference become Copyright Infringement? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 12, 2020 at 15:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ Titles aren't copyrighted, they are trademarked. Trademark law is different from copyright law. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 12, 2020 at 16:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ And in fact, they aren't even usually trademarked. If they are, then you can check if your use of them is a Trademark Infringement or not. (Note I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice.) \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 12, 2020 at 22:46

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