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The Playtest Agreement
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<blockquote data-quote="babomb" data-source="post: 5927642" data-attributes="member: 1316"><p>The agreement doesn't explicitly make that distinction, because it doesn't need to. "Derivative work" has a specific meaning in the context of copyright.</p><p></p><p>Furthermore, <strong>RULES ARE NOT COPYRIGHTABLE</strong>, only the specific expression of them. So adding a theme to the fighter isn't making a derivative of a copyrighted work because the fighter rules aren't copyrighted to begin with! The sentences that explain the fighter rules are. See the difference?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Your understanding is incorrect. That's no more a derivative work than if you write the name on a blank sheet. Now if you take the character sheet and make a new one with some of the parts moved around, THAT is a derivative work. Filling it out is not.</p><p></p><p>Scribbling in the margins of a book isn't creating a derivative work; copying three of the chapters into your own book is.</p><p></p><p>Even supposing that filling out a character sheet or making some house rules were creating a derivative work (and again, it's absolutely not), there's a little thing called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use" target="_blank">fair use</a> that would protect you.</p><p></p><p>The problem is that you're (a) over-thinking this and (b) trying to interpret legal terms using their non-legal meanings.</p><p></p><p>Honestly, this agreement is about WotC protecting themselves, so that YOU can't sue THEM for copyright infringement if they add something that is similar to your feedback. They're not being evil money-grubbing jerks or any other such thing. The no-online-play thing in the FAQ is a bit weird, I'll admit, but otherwise, this agreement is really, really, not a big deal.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="babomb, post: 5927642, member: 1316"] The agreement doesn't explicitly make that distinction, because it doesn't need to. "Derivative work" has a specific meaning in the context of copyright. Furthermore, [B]RULES ARE NOT COPYRIGHTABLE[/B], only the specific expression of them. So adding a theme to the fighter isn't making a derivative of a copyrighted work because the fighter rules aren't copyrighted to begin with! The sentences that explain the fighter rules are. See the difference? Your understanding is incorrect. That's no more a derivative work than if you write the name on a blank sheet. Now if you take the character sheet and make a new one with some of the parts moved around, THAT is a derivative work. Filling it out is not. Scribbling in the margins of a book isn't creating a derivative work; copying three of the chapters into your own book is. Even supposing that filling out a character sheet or making some house rules were creating a derivative work (and again, it's absolutely not), there's a little thing called [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use"]fair use[/URL] that would protect you. The problem is that you're (a) over-thinking this and (b) trying to interpret legal terms using their non-legal meanings. Honestly, this agreement is about WotC protecting themselves, so that YOU can't sue THEM for copyright infringement if they add something that is similar to your feedback. They're not being evil money-grubbing jerks or any other such thing. The no-online-play thing in the FAQ is a bit weird, I'll admit, but otherwise, this agreement is really, really, not a big deal. [/QUOTE]
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