Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Geek Talk & Media
Are Lovecraft's writings in public domain; Cthulu names free to use?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="TerraDave" data-source="post: 1944298" data-attributes="member: 22260"><p>Turanil,</p><p></p><p>Don't give up hope!</p><p></p><p>This has been discussed here before:</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40097&page=1&pp=20" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40097&page=1&pp=20</a></p><p></p><p>here is one list of HPL's public domain work:</p><p></p><p><a href="http://acadine.org/index.php/H.P._Lovecraft" target="_blank">http://acadine.org/index.php/H.P._Lovecraft</a></p><p></p><p>The say the Cthulhu series of stories are still copyrighted (a lot of earlier work is public domain), but there are a lot of indications that the stuff in the stories is public domain, like this quote from <a href="http://lumumba.bumpclub.ee/add_faq4.txt" target="_blank">here</a></p><p></p><p>E8: What was removed from Deities & Demigods?</p><p></p><p>A: The first printing of Deities & Demigods included the mythoi of Cthulhu and Melnibone. The ideas behind the Cthulhu mythos were in the public domain at that time, but copyright on the Cthulhu books in print was owned by Arkham House, who had licensed Chaosium to create a Cthulhu RPG based on those books. TSR thought the public domain status allowed</p><p> them to create game representations of whatever Cthulhu creatures they desired, and so that mythos was added to Deities & Demigods. TSR then contacted Michael Moorcock, who gave permission for TSR to include the Melnibonean mythos in Deities & Demigods. However, again, Chaosium had already arranged for a license to create an Elric RPG. Chaosium became upset that TSR was apparently violating Chaosium's licenses, and the print run of Deities & Demigods was halted while the two companies sat down to talk. Eventually, they agreed that TSR could continue printing the books with the two mythoi as is, on the condition that a note be added to the preface: "Special thanks are given to Chaosium, Inc. for permission to use the material found in the Cthulhu Mythos and the</p><p> Melnibonean Mythos." The printing plates were changed, and the first printing continued.</p><p> When the time for a second printing came, the Blume brothers decided that a TSR book should not contain such a prominent reference to one of their competitors. They decided to remove the two mythoi, and thus the need for the note. (Apparently, Gary Gygax offered to write up two new mythoi to fill the space, but the Blumes decided they could make more money charging the same price for a book with fewer pages.) Later, the book--still without the two mythoi and the note--was republished under the name "Legends & Lore."</p><p> </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>Appropriately, there is a lot of confusion and un-clarity when it comes to the status of the Cthulhu and others part of that mythos...but with a little digging, I am sure you will get closer to the truth (and then you will be beyond hope)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TerraDave, post: 1944298, member: 22260"] Turanil, Don't give up hope! This has been discussed here before: [url]http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40097&page=1&pp=20[/url] here is one list of HPL's public domain work: [url]http://acadine.org/index.php/H.P._Lovecraft[/url] The say the Cthulhu series of stories are still copyrighted (a lot of earlier work is public domain), but there are a lot of indications that the stuff in the stories is public domain, like this quote from [URL=http://lumumba.bumpclub.ee/add_faq4.txt]here[/URL] E8: What was removed from Deities & Demigods? A: The first printing of Deities & Demigods included the mythoi of Cthulhu and Melnibone. The ideas behind the Cthulhu mythos were in the public domain at that time, but copyright on the Cthulhu books in print was owned by Arkham House, who had licensed Chaosium to create a Cthulhu RPG based on those books. TSR thought the public domain status allowed them to create game representations of whatever Cthulhu creatures they desired, and so that mythos was added to Deities & Demigods. TSR then contacted Michael Moorcock, who gave permission for TSR to include the Melnibonean mythos in Deities & Demigods. However, again, Chaosium had already arranged for a license to create an Elric RPG. Chaosium became upset that TSR was apparently violating Chaosium's licenses, and the print run of Deities & Demigods was halted while the two companies sat down to talk. Eventually, they agreed that TSR could continue printing the books with the two mythoi as is, on the condition that a note be added to the preface: "Special thanks are given to Chaosium, Inc. for permission to use the material found in the Cthulhu Mythos and the Melnibonean Mythos." The printing plates were changed, and the first printing continued. When the time for a second printing came, the Blume brothers decided that a TSR book should not contain such a prominent reference to one of their competitors. They decided to remove the two mythoi, and thus the need for the note. (Apparently, Gary Gygax offered to write up two new mythoi to fill the space, but the Blumes decided they could make more money charging the same price for a book with fewer pages.) Later, the book--still without the two mythoi and the note--was republished under the name "Legends & Lore." ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appropriately, there is a lot of confusion and un-clarity when it comes to the status of the Cthulhu and others part of that mythos...but with a little digging, I am sure you will get closer to the truth (and then you will be beyond hope) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Geek Talk & Media
Are Lovecraft's writings in public domain; Cthulu names free to use?
Top