What are the legal aspect of using characters in a game that are clearly charicatures of characters in another game? I am currently creating a game and got the idea to make some heavy Angry Birds references. The gameplay is completely different. Imagine someone made a game with charicatures like for example in this YouTube video:

- Clearly inspired by Angry birds
- Clearly that it is NOT the original drawings from Angry birds

Using characters like that in a game: Would it be legal? How does copyright law apply?

Thanks for your input.

/Martin

There is a FAQ for that.

Awesome guys; thanks for the link. For anyone else reading this topic: Bad idea to borrow characters form other games:

[font=Georgia][size=2] 1. What if the only thing I want to "borrow" is a character?
Characters are probably the most unique, most recognizable aspect of a game or any other IP. You definitely do not want to use Mickey Mouse, Ms. Pac-Man, Jack Bauer, Pikachu, Harry Potter, Mario, Lisa Simpson, Columbo, Kenny, James Bond, Spongebob, or Max Payne in your game. A resounding NO to this idea. Create your own characters instead.[/font]