We want to use video game character's images on our trailer wrap for our mobile gaming biz. Do we need permission?

Most likely. The video game character certainly falls under common law copyright law protection and may even be protected by trademark law, both federal and common law. Think: Disney's Mickey Mouse.

Regarding copyright, there are exceptions to the owner's rights, one of those is "fair use." However, the typical fair use exception occurs when someone is using the copyrighted material (the VG character in this case) for educational or news purposes, NOT for profit.

Regarding trademark, if the VG character owner is using its character to mark its goods/services, the owner will want to protect how its mark is used. Again, think: Disney and Mickey Mouse. Disney would probably be upset if 1) a gaming company tries to use MM to market rated M games, for instance, in ways that Disney can't control and 2) that Disney gets no $ for the use of MM. Stated another way, the gaming company would be profiting on the "good will" that Disney has built up in the MM character for 100 years.

Unless there's an overwhelming business reason for using the video game character, you might be better off creating your own images.

Of course, my working assumption has been that the video game character owner is a relatively large company which wants to control the use of its character. However, if it's a small company in need of money, you might be able to strike a win-win deal with the other company, maybe some kind of royalty agreement with them.

Please see my answer to your other similar question. Yes. Your use of the game characters would unfairly piggyback on the property rights of others who have invested their time and effort and money to make those characters well known. Your use of those characters in advertising, would imply that the rightsholders of the games (including the games' characters) are promoting your business. That's why you want to use those well-known characters, right? Because you want to attract the fans of those games? Since your intended business competes with the game owners' business, they'd have every reason to take action against you for infringing their rights.

As for your use of the games for commercial purposes, check the games' terms of use - they may restrict buyers' use to "end users" and personal use only, and to prohibit commercial use.

Consult an IP lawyer before you launch your business to make sure your business name, tradename, trademark, domain name, advertising, etc. are structured, named, marketed and protected properly.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.