Hi, I've read the FAQ topic, but I didn't found what I am looking for.

I have an idea for a game, which is based on a japanese manga. I will make it to go through its story and using its clans( the game would be for naruto manga). But the game would be not based at all to the manga. We would create also own clans, techniques and quests.

I'll not take copyrights of the story and to rewrite it as mine. I'll just patent my own game system(there are many differences of the most games existed now), not the manga's story.

There are many mini games which uses the characters, but I don't think that they pay something.

Also there is one big game, with a thousands players which also uses the story of naruto, but they present it in their style.

So, do I need permissions or some kind of license, to use the story even if I point the story owner ?

I am really sorry for my english. I hope that I am understandable.

If we are talking about a big web game from some years back with a big german speaking community, I think I know which game you are talking about. Friends of mine played it for a while...

The original creator did NOT have any kind of license, and as far as I have heard was not only pretty much aware of his infringement, but also quite possesive of his creation and thus quite pissed off when such questions came up. Seems he was of the opinion that "If its for free, there is no need for a license"... a pretty common self delusion in die hard fan circles.

Now, from your wording it seems you know yourself pretty much that you might be infringing someones copyright with your idea... in this case you guessed right, because you would be.

If you use names, characters, stories right from the manga, you are infringing. Doesn't matter what else "is different". Just... don't.

Now, come up with your own story. Can be a ninja story, can have alls kind of weird jutsus in it (as long as it is not something unique to the manga... the ninetailed fox for example is a common japanese myth as far as I know, so you COULD use that in your story)... you can call the factions clans, as again, nobody can put a trademark or copyright on the name clan (not that people didn't try... don't use it in your games name, or the "clash of clans" creators might be after you... see the whole "candycrush saga" vs. "banner saga" case).

As to when you will be overstepping the boundary and make it to obvious you are creating a simple naruto clone, most probably even a lawyer might not be able to tell you.

If you want to be sure, create your own, UNIQUE story that is as far from existing stories as possible.... will you be able to attract die hard Naruto fans this way? Probably not. But that is kind of the point of putting a copyright on something like Naruto, no?

There is "fair use". It allows you to ignore copyrights for parody: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Use ... personally, I think it is a legal minefield and would avoid it. No idea if it has been used concerning games before. And even then, a parody is a parody... if you don't make fun of Naruto, its not a parody. And IDK if japan even knows "fair use"... if it doesn't, you are out of luck.

I will make it to go through its story and using its clans( the game would be for naruto manga).

Using their storylines and their names is likely a copyright violation as it is a derivative work, possibly a trademark violation as you are using their names and marks, possibly a publicity rights violation if you are using broader identities or personas.

There are potentially additional IP violations as well, but those are the common issues with fan products.

There are many mini games which uses the characters

Just because other people have not been caught does not mean it is legal.

As a driving analogy, just because other people get away with speeding does not make it legal. Telling the judge that other people were also infringing will not protect you.

Any use, not just fan-based video games but also fan fiction, typically violate many laws. Some organizations do not take issue with minor infringement, but as infringement grows they will invest effort in shutting those down or requiring licensing. Other organizations will shut down anything, no matter how minor. Still others will quietly encourage their fans and only shut down items that violate the spirit of the product, such as product-based porn.

Exactly how much enforcement the property owner does depends on the details, but they still posses the right to enforce it.

There are many mini games which uses the characters, but I don't think that they pay something.

Just because they are exposing themselves to risk doesn't mean it is legal.

Also there is one big game, with a thousands players which also uses the story of naruto, but they present it in their style.

Is the manga's story based around public domain? If so, are the elements you are interested in part of that public domain, or naruto-centric elements.

So, do I need permissions or some kind of license, to use the story even if I point the story owner ?

Most likely you'd need a license, however this could be tricky. Several media (especially mangas) are exploited by an entity, but refer to a 3rd party who owns the license (hereby referred to as Licensor). If some of the elements you are interested in are not canon, it is quite possible you would need to deal with both parties at the same time.

Note that just because the Licensor has all the rights, he may or may not choose to enforce his rights (which may lead to people developing almost unheard of software without prior agreement or without source of profit).

Your first step should be to identify who currently has exploitation rights for this brand, and who has the original license and build from there (some who have exploitation rights may also have the ability to extend such rights, but are responsible of vetting all necessary content through licensor).

From a perfectly subjective standpoint, based on my experience working with asian first party licensors, I'd say the odds of you striking any form of deal with just the above is extremely thin, so I would need to go with the general consensus that it might be better to rework your ideas in such a way that they can't be considered a pure rip-off (changing names and significantly alter the background to make it impossible to trace it back to its source).

If you take a look at Warcraft, for example, you'll notice how similar it is to the Warhammer franchise, and this was intended: when they made that game, they originally wanted to strike a deal and use the Warhammer brand, but they chose against it (and went on to create a brand that is radically similar but entirely theirs).

Thank you guys. All posts here were very helpful for me. I understand everything, so I think to rework my idea. Me and my mates already got a good idea. We had very good idea for naruto game, but no one will see it. :D

@Tom Sloper I understand your anger, but all posts here are much better descriptive than the FAQs.

Sorry for my late answer.