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Originally Posted by Morrus Ah, that's the " WotC owns the word "the" argument"! It's in the core Rulebooks, right? 
I think that the important part of the section is "“Wizards Intellectual Property” means any patent, copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade name or trade secret right and any other intellectual property or proprietary right owned by Wizards"; however, I can see how that is open to interpretation your way.
I didn't put that in my FAQ because - frankly - it's not clear-cut enough that I'd want to comment without an IP lawyer; I only wanted to address the clear stuff and the common misapprehensions. This little issue is far too subtle for me!
More worrying, I think, is "nor will Licensee attack the validity of this License". |
I agree that its not a very clear-cut section, and that Wizards would have a tough time making headway with it in court, however the opening would still be there. If Wizards were to sue another publisher who had never been a licensee of the
GSL, over the use of something trivial such as dragons or demons in a fantasy based game, they would most likely lose in court, and the defendant would have a chance at countersuing for damages and or legal expenses. If the defendant however had at one time been a
GSL licensee, then Wizards would be able to use section 10 of the
GSL as the basis for their suit, and while they would still most likely lose in the end, the defendant would have a much harder time making any headway with a countersuit. I think that's the biggest risk of section 10 is that it gives Wizards an opening to file what would otherwise be considered a baseless or frivilous lawsuit.
Also, I seem to remember TSR at one point threatening legal action against anyone who used the concept of "dragons" in a fantasy game, so its not like such behavior isn't unheard of.