How to protect my work from being stolen

[System Ufera]

Hello, everyone! As some of you may know, I'm working on my own Pen n' Paper RPG, which I'm currently calling "Uferan Heroes." Unfortunately, the flash drive on which I keep most of my work is missing, and while it's highly unlikely that it's been stolen by anyone who would publish it themselves, I still want to know how I can protect my work from being taken away from me, just in case. So... what steps should I take to ensure that no one steals my work and calls it their own?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nellisir]

Um...keep closer track of your flash drives?

I'm not totally sure what the question is here, but I'm guessing that it's actually about the OGL, and not about your flash drive being stolen, since this is the OGL forum.

First of all, I don't know of anyone "stealing" someone else's RPG. Most RPGs are a labor of love, and frankly, no one loves yours as much as you do.

Second, if you're using the OGL, anything you reuse from the SRD or other open sources has to be open.

Third, I suggest labeling campaign-specific names (countries, characters, gods, and so forth) as closed content. Everything else (including spell names, feats, monsters, and races) label open content. This allows people to reuse the mechanical parts of your RPG that they like, and they have to give you attribution in the S.15. You can write up a separate license to allow people to indicate compatibility if you wish.

If the question is about your flash drive, then put your files online (Google Drive or Dropbox) so you don't lose them.

 

[System Ufera]

Um...keep closer track of your flash drives?

I'm not totally sure what the question is here, but I'm guessing that it's actually about the OGL, and not about your flash drive being stolen, since this is the OGL forum.

First of all, I don't know of anyone "stealing" someone else's RPG. Most RPGs are a labor of love, and frankly, no one loves yours as much as you do.

Second, if you're using the OGL, anything you reuse from the SRD or other open sources has to be open.

Third, I suggest labeling campaign-specific names (countries, characters, gods, and so forth) as closed content. Everything else (including spell names, feats, monsters, and races) label open content. This allows people to reuse the mechanical parts of your RPG that they like, and they have to give you attribution in the S.15. You can write up a separate license to allow people to indicate compatibility if you wish.

If the question is about your flash drive, then put your files online (Google Drive or Dropbox) so you don't lose them.

Well, I posted in this section because the section was summarized with "Discuss open gaming topics, the OGL, open gaming licenses, SRDs, and other licensing issues (even non-open ones!)." In other words, my game is made completely from scratch, and has nothing to do with OGL (as far as I know), but this section seemed most relevant to the issue. I've been wrong about forum sections before, though...

Maybe I am being a little paranoid about my work falling into the hands of someone with ill intent, but I've always been the type to, as they say, "prepare for the worst before hoping for the best." As for the flash drive itself, I'm certainly upset that it's gone, but there's really nothing that can be done about that on these forums.

​

 

[Morrus]

Do you have another copy? There's the old trick of mailing a copy to yourself in case you need to prove the timing.

 

[System Ufera]

Do you have another copy? There's the old trick of mailing a copy to yourself in case you need to prove the timing.

Would that work with emails?

 

[Nellisir]

Well, I posted in this section because the section was summarized with "Discuss open gaming topics, the OGL, open gaming licenses, SRDs, and other licensing issues (even non-open ones!)." In other words, my game is made completely from scratch, and has nothing to do with OGL (as far as I know), but this section seemed most relevant to the issue. I've been wrong about forum sections before, though...

Maybe I am being a little paranoid about my work falling into the hands of someone with ill intent, but I've always been the type to, as they say, "prepare for the worst before hoping for the best." As for the flash drive itself, I'm certainly upset that it's gone, but there's really nothing that can be done about that on these forums.

​

Well, to keep from losing it, put it on Google Drive or Dropbox, and update that file periodically.
As far as keeping someone from stealing your files...are you looking for advice on encrypting files? Or legal advice? Legally, one protects creative works through copyright (which you get automatically) and trademarking (which you must apply for and is very limited). And lawyers. A license doesn't protect you; copyright already gives the maximum control over your work you can have, licensing is always about allowing others to use something of yours. Thus my confusion. You've automatically got as much legal protection as you're going to have.

You could (and should) save a copy of your master file at least once a week, so you have backups from various points in time. I use the date, so "masterfile5-1-13.txt", for instance. That allows you to "roll back" the clock if you need to for some reason, and provides evidence of the creation of the work, which is something a thief wouldn't have.

 

[Nagol]

Would that work with emails?

It doesn't work with any type of mail -- copyright law in any country I know doesn't need / doesn't recognise the tactic.

 

[Morrus]

It doesn't work with any type of mail -- copyright law in any country I know doesn't need / doesn't recognise the tactic.

It's simply dated evidence should someone try to claim they wrote it first. All law recognises evidence.

 

[Nagol]

It's simply dated evidence should someone try to claim they wrote it first. All law recognises evidence.

The problem is it is very poor evidence -- it is too easy to tamper with for it to be considered reliable.

Here's a summary.

http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright/

 

[Morrus]

The problem is it is very poor evidence -- it is too easy to tamper with for it to be considered reliable.

Here's a summary.

http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright/

Sure, but no evidence is even poorer