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<blockquote data-quote="babomb" data-source="post: 5922090" data-attributes="member: 1316"><p>IANAL, but I take in interest in legal matters. This is not legal advice.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Strictly speaking, I think you're correct based on the wording of the agreement. However, the FAQ specifically allows making copies for your group as long as they've all signed up.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>They're not technically employing you. "Work-for-hire" is a standard legal term that basically just means they own the copyright outright. Under US law, works created by employees are "works-for-hire" and the copyright belongs to the company, whereas works created by freelancers are owned by the freelancer, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. This is a little redundant with the part that says they own the copyright on your submissions, but they're basically just making sure they cover all their bases here.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't think that's the meaning of derivative works here. Derivative work is a term in copyright law. Creating your own monster using the rules is not a derivative work, because the rules can't be copyrighted, only the expression of them. A derivative work would be copying parts of the playtest material and incorporating it into your own RPG. Theoretically, you could create your own RPG with the same rules as long as your careful not to explain them too similarly. (That wouldn't be ethical, but I think it would be both legal and not a violation of this agreement.)</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>They can kick you out of the playtest, but they can do that for any reason, including not liking your face.</p><p></p><p>They could also sue you for breach of contract. My understanding, which may be wrong, is that breach of contract in the absence of a penalty clause generally only recovers actual damages (including, e.g., damage to Wizards of the Coast's reputation), and punitive damages only kick in if you're deemed to have breached it maliciously. Maybe I'm wrong, but if I were a juror, you'd have a hard time convincing me that actual damage for you playing over the Internet amounts to much. I'm also not convinced the agreement prohibits playing over the Internet despite the FAQ's claims otherwise. But it wouldn't really be worth going to court to test it.</p><p></p><p>If you reproduce a portion of the materials that is too large to be fair use, they could sue you for copyright infringement, which can include substantial statutory damages.</p><p></p><p>Of course, most likely, if they found you've violated the agreement, they would first send you a letter demanding you take it down (or send a DMCA notice to the website demanding they take it down). They would probably only sue if you persisted.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="babomb, post: 5922090, member: 1316"] IANAL, but I take in interest in legal matters. This is not legal advice. Strictly speaking, I think you're correct based on the wording of the agreement. However, the FAQ specifically allows making copies for your group as long as they've all signed up. They're not technically employing you. "Work-for-hire" is a standard legal term that basically just means they own the copyright outright. Under US law, works created by employees are "works-for-hire" and the copyright belongs to the company, whereas works created by freelancers are owned by the freelancer, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. This is a little redundant with the part that says they own the copyright on your submissions, but they're basically just making sure they cover all their bases here. I don't think that's the meaning of derivative works here. Derivative work is a term in copyright law. Creating your own monster using the rules is not a derivative work, because the rules can't be copyrighted, only the expression of them. A derivative work would be copying parts of the playtest material and incorporating it into your own RPG. Theoretically, you could create your own RPG with the same rules as long as your careful not to explain them too similarly. (That wouldn't be ethical, but I think it would be both legal and not a violation of this agreement.) They can kick you out of the playtest, but they can do that for any reason, including not liking your face. They could also sue you for breach of contract. My understanding, which may be wrong, is that breach of contract in the absence of a penalty clause generally only recovers actual damages (including, e.g., damage to Wizards of the Coast's reputation), and punitive damages only kick in if you're deemed to have breached it maliciously. Maybe I'm wrong, but if I were a juror, you'd have a hard time convincing me that actual damage for you playing over the Internet amounts to much. I'm also not convinced the agreement prohibits playing over the Internet despite the FAQ's claims otherwise. But it wouldn't really be worth going to court to test it. If you reproduce a portion of the materials that is too large to be fair use, they could sue you for copyright infringement, which can include substantial statutory damages. Of course, most likely, if they found you've violated the agreement, they would first send you a letter demanding you take it down (or send a DMCA notice to the website demanding they take it down). They would probably only sue if you persisted. [/QUOTE]
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