Law about the use of other game assets

Something I have been trying to understand and read upon is the act of using another games sprites, or any form of asset created for that game and the legality of it?

A game like IWBTB, surely he didn't have all the rights by contacting each individual developer asking permission to use their intellectual property? (technically, he could and i could be wrong)

So there must be a law allowing us to use other games sprites? I really wanna make a game clashing all my favourite 8 bit platforming games and it would save me a bunch of time just using sprite sheets on the internet for the game, am I allowed to do this? If so, do I have boundaries on what I can do with my game etc.?

Thank you =]

There is no law that allows it.

There are people that steal, and people who sue them.

If you're still not sure, the rule of thumb is: do unto others.

So basically, if I ever wanna make a game like this, just don't distribute it.

How did the guy who created IWBTB get away with it? That got some success, did he have the rights?

I haven't really talked to Kayin a lot.

Maybe you could ask who made the other game.

I wouldn't want to be the guy that gets in a lawsuit.

I really wanna make a game clashing all my favourite 8 bit platforming games and it would save me a bunch of time just using sprite sheets on the internet for the game, am I allowed to do this? If so, do I have boundaries on what I can do with my game etc.?

The question is easy to answer: No, you are not allowed to do this. The use of other peoples property always requires a written consent, and only those people can grant you rights like using them for commercial use.

In almost all cases you will have to pay for a licensed use.

You can, however, wait until something falls into public domain. It is hard to tell, when exactly this happens, but as a rule of thumb the life of the original author plus 70 years. I'm afraid this is more of interest for the next, or next next, generation of game designers