It's a complicated area that extends well beyond games. There is an extent to which you have to defend your IP even if you don't actually want to, not just so you can retain all rights to that IP but also to futureproof yourself for making new stuff later so you avoid someone claiming you copied their stuff which was actually a copy of your work in the first place. You have to show you have defended your trademarks to keep them, for example. Messier still is that it is split between copyright, trademarks and patents and they all work different ways. If you were to bring in a fanproject and show support for these, you can be sure you would need a lot of consultation with legal first if you've gone anywhere above being a small company.
Edit: Not really on-topic but, as essential as copyright is to me and my livelihood, I have become convinced over the years that about 90% of the messiness of copyright and IP laws has been created with the sole purpose of keeping lawyers employed.
Edit: Not really on-topic but, as essential as copyright is to me and my livelihood, I have become convinced over the years that about 90% of the messiness of copyright and IP laws has been created with the sole purpose of keeping lawyers employed.
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