D&D 5E For DM Guild products, what - exactly - should the copyright notice look like?

Yaarel · Jan 22, 2016

For DM Guild products, what - exactly - should the copyright notice look like?

The product would need the copyright of its author.

It also needs the special shared copyright of those participating in the DM Guild.

It needs to call attention to the use of WotC products, with special permission via the DM Guild. And, it might need to mention by name, specific WotC products, such as the 5e Players Handbook, Dungeon magazine article, and so on, that the product references.

If future authors use any material in this product for their own products, via the DM Guild special permission, the copyright notice needs to help them know how to cite the product.

I know those at the DM Guild have thought most of this thru. But can people spell out the form and any issues here.

Dannyalcatraz · Jan 22, 2016

Start here:

Pauper · Jan 22, 2016

Yaarel said:
The product would need the copyright of its author.

Actually, it doesn't -- in every country that's agreed to a copyright treaty (including the US, and likely most nations that can access the DMs Guild), you automatically have copyright in any work you author. Adding the notice really is a convenience, not a requirement.

If you plan to register the copyright with the US Copyright Office (assuming you're in the US, of course), that's a different animal, but it does give you additional benefits, such as the ability to bring a lawsuit for infringement, as well as the right to claim damages and attorney's fees as part of the judgement of any successful defense of your copyright in court. (For the record, I Am Not A Lawyer, but I'm pretty confident of the material here.)

As for the notice WotC requires, a suitable notice is included in each of the templates that's been uploaded to the DMs Guild. I'd just copy those verbatim.

--
Pauper

Ovinomancer · Jan 22, 2016

Pauper said:
Actually, it doesn't -- in every country that's agreed to a copyright treaty (including the US, and likely most nations that can access the DMs Guild), you automatically have copyright in any work you author. Adding the notice really is a convenience, not a requirement.

If you plan to register the copyright with the US Copyright Office (assuming you're in the US, of course), that's a different animal, but it does give you additional benefits, such as the ability to bring a lawsuit for infringement, as well as the right to claim damages and attorney's fees as part of the judgement of any successful defense of your copyright in court. (For the record, I Am Not A Lawyer, but I'm pretty confident of the material here.)

As for the notice WotC requires, a suitable notice is included in each of the templates that's been uploaded to the DMs Guild. I'd just copy those verbatim.

--
Pauper

Not quite. You automatically have the ability to sue for infringement, even without registration, and to receive actual damages and profits arising from the infringement. However, as part of your lawsuit, you'd also have to register the copyright (which is kinda crappy fee-grubing from the government). Registering your copyright prior to a claim provides the benefit of a clear documentation of your copyright (very helpful in court), and, in some cases, also allows for the collection of statutory damages and attorney's fees for infringement (not that you'd get the statutory damages).

To sum up, you don't need to register to be able to protect your IP, however, registering provides a public record of your copyright and allows a modicum of additional sticks to beat people that infringe (and get judgments against them, which is really the hard part).

GX.Sigma · Jan 22, 2016

From the DMs Guild website:

We recommend a legal line in this general format:
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright [2016] by [your legal name or company name] and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

Yaarel · Jan 23, 2016

Personally I feel, if an author borrows heavily from the product of an other author, then the copyright notice should mention use of their material. Contributors to the DM Guild should gain recognition for their efforts - especially if their material is being reused without economic compensation.

I can see it unnecessary to cite WotC products, since simply mentioning WotC in the context of the DMs Guild is clear enough. But even then it helps to specify which products are in use. For example, it is useful to distinguish a product if it refers to content in the Players Handbook versus content in a Dragon article.

Maybe adding a bibliography of pertinent DM Guild products helps.

Jeremy E Grenemyer · Jan 23, 2016

I have not borrowed content from other Guild users, but if I do then I would like to include some sort of list of products, their creators and links to those products in my work. Least I can do for the people who helped me along on my projects.