Writing a novel. Can I use Neuro/Evil as a basis for a character?

[bright kiln]

The story is a sci-fi murder mystery. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic future.

The character in question is an AI that is designed to assist and befriend children with disabilities. They're taking care of a child that's been isolated. The point of them being based off of Neuro/Evil is that the AI is supposed to be child-like to be able to befriend and resonate with kids better, and N/E are good examples of how the AI can act.

Just wanted to ask for permission to use their resemblance, and possibly make pop-culture references regarding them.

[regal compass]

ur doing what i want to do
i HOPE you can do it

[bright kiln]

Thanks! Yea, I thought it would be cool of having the AI mention once or twice that their earliest iterations were "internet celebrities" (leaving it vague), but I didn't want to just assume that I could do something like that without permission first.

I got a few (completely unrelated) artists letting me use some of their work for this novel too, so I want to make sure I cover all bases

[thin flame]

This doesn't apply exactly but it's in a related area

Is it ok if I make fan-made merch of Neuro/Evil/Vedal?
havent really known how to answer this question for a while now but I think hobby level fan stuff like artist alleys is totally okay! but obviously selling bootleg neuro plushes online is not :nodd:

#1149175037295857786 message

[bright kiln]

I guess it's sort of a gray area then. I just want to make sure that, if I can publish the novel with this in mind, that I don't get into any legal issues

[thin flame]

From what I linked, I imagine self-published works (i.e. doujins) sold in person would be fine, because they would fall under 'artist alleys'.
However, anything larger scale would require liasing with vedal.

[clever ridge]

I mean, legally speaking if you keep it as vague as you said, then copyright laws can't be applied, for "inspired" but largely transformed characters. It would only be a problem if you just flat-out steal the characters

[bright kiln]

Makes perfect sense. I'd never mention Neuro or Vedal's name, but it'd might be cool just to have some references so that, in the very rare chance that someone who watches Vedal/Neuro reads it, could be like "Oh shit! That's based off of Neuro!"

[clever ridge]

Yeah definitely it would be really cool to have vedal's permission! Just making sure the legal side is clearer

[bright kiln]

Any idea how I could get his permission? I know this isn't the most important thing to address... but a quick "Yea sure" or "nah please don't" is all I'd need to hear

[clever ridge]

I suppose that might be through the stream. I am fairly new here myself so I don't know a lot more than you. But you could try highlighting your message with bits/channel points at an adequate time when they are likely to be reading (if you can't find a time vedal reads them, maybe find a way to word it that prompts neuro to ask him in a clear way)

[bright kiln]

Great idea! Thanks!

[clever ridge]

Good luck, i hope it works

[thin flame]

just DM him or a mod (tbh I was expecting him to have already weighed in)

[clever ridge]

wait, he actually responds to dms? 🤨

[signal harbor]

doubt it

but probably worth a shot

[bright kiln]

True. Maybe I'll try DMing one of the mods first

[thin flame]

yea

[clever ridge]

surprising honestly with th amount of people

[earnest granite]

No offense, but I don't think you all realize the potential complexity of the situation and the tough position Vedal is in. I doubt you'll be getting a casual response from him, regardless of the channel of communication. Like...there's a good chance everything would be fine so he probably doesn't want to seem like a jerk and say "No, don't do it", but for the sake of his own IP protection it makes zero sense to just give a straight-up "Yes, go ahead", especially when you haven't even finalized the content yet, let alone started working with publishers/marketing/lawyers on your end if it ever gets to that point.

[clever ridge]

He can easily repeat that one / say it's fine if the references stay obscure

[past tiger]

https://tenor.com/view/writing-fire-gif-523038869044733220

[thin flame]

yea good point, it is quite a hefty thing to say

[bright kiln]

Very good point. I'm not sure if I should ask him/mods right now then. I'm about 8 chapters in written, and 39/50-60 chapters in set up, so I don't know if I should just ask for permission yet before even saying what it'll look like.

Either way, I'm going to include an AI character, but I wanted permission to include very vague lines like "My earliest iterations included live virtual theatrical performances, so I can appreciate [CHARACTER]'s efforts in their performances too," or "Before I was designed to be a program to assist children with disabilities, my primary function was online entertainment."

I can easily take out those vague references, it's no problem at all! I'm just trying to include some pop culture references that readers of all audiences would find and think "Oh, that's neat!" But it's not something that's absolutely necessary for the character.

[clever ridge]

What you just said really isn't pursuable in court and doesn't hit copyright laws, I suggest you get more familiar with them

Vedal didn't invent the concept of an AI doing online entertainment

It would be different if you name-dropped or did something a lot clearer