Is it allowed to &quot;copy&quot; a video game concept?
<p>I am developing a little mobile MMORPG which is Google Maps based and uses your GPS position to make you play around your area. </p>

<p>I came up with the idea after a famous and beloved game called "Parallel Kingdom" shut down their servers two years ago. It was a game with a huge playerbase and they had basically exact the same game concept. You played on the Google Map, could fight different monsters, meet other players, level up your equipment and co. So basically I am using the same idea, and many of my content is based on "Parallel Kingdoms".</p>

<p>Now I asked my self: am I allowed to do that? To use the exact game concept?</p>

<p>I researched a bit and found following on their website: </p>

<blockquote>
  <h3>7. Content Ownership</h3>
  
  <p>All of the content on PK including, without limitation text, graphics, maps, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, moving images, illustrations, files, trademarks, logos, service marks, sounds, music,  artwork and computer code, design, structure, selection, coordination, "look and feel" and arrangement of such content ("Content"), is owned by PerBlue, its licensors, vendors, agents or content providers. All elements of PK including, without limitation the general design and the Content, are protected by copyright, trademark, trade dress, moral rights or other intellectual property regimes. </p>
  
  <p>PK may only be used for the intended purpose for which PK is being made available. Except as may be expressly set forth herein, You hereby agree not to modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from any Content. Except as may be expressly set forth herein, the Terms of Use only allow You to display, view, play, print, and download Content for Your own personal, informational, and noncommercial purposes. PK and the Content will remain the exclusive property of PerBlue or its licensors, vendors, agents or content providers unless otherwise expressly agreed. You will remove no copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices from material found on PK. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Followed by the following: </p>

<blockquote>
  <h3>Digital Millennium Copyright Act</h3>
  
  <p>PerBlue respects the intellectual property of others and requires that You 
      do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 
      ("DMCA"), the text of which may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office site 
      at <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf</a>, We will respond 
      expeditiously to notices of alleged copyright infringement that are duly 
      reported to Our Designated Copyright Agent identified in the notice below. 
      We will disable and/or terminate the accounts of Users who are repeat 
      infringers. If You believe Your content has been copied in a way that 
      constitutes copyright infringement, or Your intellectual property rights 
      have been otherwise violated, please provide Our designated Copyright Agent 
      the following information:
      A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf 
      of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
      Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, 
      if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a 
      single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
      Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the 
      subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which 
      is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the 
      service provider to locate the material;
      Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact 
      You, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic 
      mail address;
      A statement that You have a good faith belief that use of the material in 
      the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its 
      agent, or the law; and
      A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under 
      penalty of perjury, that You are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of 
      an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
      PerBlue's designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed 
      infringement is: Justin Beck legal@parallelkingdom.com or mail to PO Box 
      1861 Madison, WI 53701. You acknowledge that if You fail to comply with all 
      of the requirements of this Section, Your DMCA notice may not be valid. </p>
  
  <p>We may give notice to Our Users of any infringement notice by means of a general notice on any of Our Websites, electronic mail to a User's e-mail address in Our records, or by written communication sent by first-class mail to a User's physical address in Our records. If You believe that Your User Submission that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that You have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content in Your User Submission, You may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:
  Your physical or electronic signature;
  Identification of the content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
  A statement that You have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the content; and
  Your name, physical address and telephone number, and a statement that You consent to the jurisdiction of a Federal District Court for the judicial district in which Your physical address is located, or if Your physical address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which We may be found, and that You will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of allegedly infringing material or an agent of such person.</p>
  
  <p>Modification of the Content or use of the Content for any purpose other than specified in the Terms of Use is a violation of PerBlue's legal rights. For purposes of these Terms of Use, the use of Content on any other website or networked computer environment is prohibited unless explicitly stated otherwise. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>So what am I allowed to do and what now? Is it ok to copy the game concept and even with mostly similar content like "fighting", "building houses" etc.?
I'm completly unsure about this because my simple English skills don't really understand that law slang.</p>

<p>I should also mention that pretty much my whole user interface is based on the user interface from "Parallel Kingdoms". I didn't use any of their assets or code. I just use the same structure, as you can see in the pictures below. </p>

<p>Heres the original menu from "Parallel Kingdom": </p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iCAkA.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/iCAkA.png" alt=""></a></p>

<p>Here's what I created for my game: </p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/JShiH.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/JShiH.png" alt=""></a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Is it ok to copy the game concept and even with mostly similar content like "fighting", "building houses" etc ?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes, but ...</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I should also mention that pretty much my whole User Interface is based on the User Interface from "Parallel Kingdoms"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Is copyright violation.</p>

<p>Ideas are <strong>not</strong> protected by IP law. The tangible representation of those ideas (art, words, layout, format etc.) <em>is</em> protected.</p>

united-states copyright germany