JimmyLee wrote:I have contacted them first.
As they have released the latest DD game I heard of, I have asked if they bought the franchise, and asked if they could give me permission to distribute my fangame for free.
Brizo called me a PIRATE and told me to stop developing and distributing the game.
A couple of years before, I have e-mailed Atlus many times to ask, but they never answered me.
More serious gaming companies like Sega officially don't mind about fangames. And there are a lot of Sonic fangames around. Capcom actually endorses fangames.
I happen to have a law degree, so I'd like to volunteer my opinion. I'll try not to be too dry or boring.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT take this as actionable, legal advice, just an educated, but untested opinion. I don't actually practice law (boring), and I stayed away from anything concerning intellectual property (more boring). Moreover, as you know, different countries have different laws, so things might be slightly different, for Brizo.
Still with me? Here we go:
Piracy generally requires that you make money, or at least receive some benefit or consideration. So, distributing it for free pretty much precluded you from being a pirate.
With intellectual piracy, there is an issue with using someone else's property or work, without their permission. So, if you had distributed the official Double Dragon game online, that could present a problem. But you didn't.
Or, if you had marketed DDF as an official Double Dragon product, again that could present a problem. But as far as I'm aware, the game made it clear that it was a fan-creation, so that's not an issue. Even less so, if none of its content was illegally obtained. Since you created the engine yourself, DDF still seems to be in the clear.
There might be some issue with sprites taken from other games, though. But since this is a wide internet practice, all over MUGEN and BOR, I can't see it being actionable, so long as you keep it clear that DDF is a fan-creation, and make no money (or benefit or consideration).
Free fan-creations which are openly not official are generally not a problem. If I wanted to, say, make a Batman fancomic, I could put it in the web, for anyone to see. So long as I charge nothing, and make it clear that it's not "real", DC couldn't do anything about it. Look at all the fanfilms on youtube.
HOWEVER, since you asked Brizo for permission and got denied, it might be unwise to defy them. You acknowledged them as the rightful owners, and that could lead to an argument that any persistance was done so with the knowledge that you were infringing on their intellectual property rights to Double Dragon.
On the other hand, I would argue that, since it's only a fan game, and importantly, it's free, you still wouldn't be in any violation of anything. DON'T test my theory, but that's how I see it.
To me, the biggest issue is the sprites. Not the usage of the name "Double Dragon", or any of the characters.
Bottom line:
1. DDF is NOT software piracy.
2. It MIGHT still be a theft of intellectual property, but I don't think so.
3. Brizo are $#!+ers. In fact, having re-read the message you first received, I get the impression that they thought you were trying to market a commercial Double Dragon game (again, maybe a problem in translation). This explains the abruptness. If some programming company had created a Double Dragon game for sale, and only then asked the owners, well, they SHOULD have asked BEFORE.
Afterthought: My guess is that Atlus didn't have a problem with a fan creation, but didn't want to acknowledge it either, because it's not an official creation. So, they never sent you a "Yes", but they never sent you a "No", either.