D&D 5E Is this guy legally publishing 5e stuff?

[ColinChapman]

So, saw this Dan Hass guy has run several successful Kickstarters specifically referring to them being adventures for "Dungeons &Dragons 5th Edition". Given that everyone else says stuff like, " For the 5th Edition of the world's most popular fantasy RPG" are publishers allowed to directly state compatibility so boldly?

Also, weirdly, I noticed he doesn't ever mention his cover artists despite the fact that they are clearly professional artists. This item features cover art done by Eric Belisle for Paizo, for example:http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/145135/DG8-Red-Blades-Diplomacy

Is this guy on the up-and-up or is he playing fast and loose with IP and copyright?

Jargogle

 

[Paraxis]

Yeah good catch, I downloaded one of the pay what you want items for 0.00 and there is no OGL included and it use Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition repeatedly without any trademark acknowledgments. The cover art images all look like things that show up on google image searches.

I don't know what the next step in reporting this guy is.

 

[was]

I'm not an expert, but it does appear that he might be stepping on some toes here. Seeing how touchy the companies have been about their licenses lately, they might be getting in touch with him.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Its more than likely Wizards know about this guy already.

 

[was]

I don't know what the next step in reporting this guy is.

probably finding a contact email for WotC/Paizo/Eric Belisle and sending them the link

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Just did so to the customer service email address at WOTC. Its up to them now.

 

[Coredump]

I'm pretty sure there isn't actually any law preventing him from mentioning DnD 5E if he wants to; as long as it is clear he is not affiliated nor is it an endorsement.

 

[Dragonblade]

I'm pretty sure there isn't actually any law preventing him from mentioning DnD 5E if he wants to; as long as it is clear he is not affiliated nor is it an endorsement.

Mentioning it? No. But indicating compatibility with "Dungeons and Dragons" by name as opposed to the generic "Fifth edition of the world's more popular RPG" is a straight up violation of the OGL. Not including a copy of the OGL with his materials is also a violation. With the OGL revoked due to his violation(s), he cannot use any of the copyrighted rules text included in the SRD which is what all d20 products must use, including Pathfinder.

Furthermore, using "Dungeons and Dragons" in the name or cover of his product without a separate license from WotC violates their trademark. In the d20 era, WotC had a separate d20 trademark license (the d20 STL) which let users refer to their product as being compatible with "D&D" when combined with the OGL. This other license was revoked by WotC when 3e was retired. Although the OGL remains, and you can still publish your d20 content with it, you can no longer mention any compatibility with D&D.

Likewise, all of the classic D&D art images he is using are copyrighted, which means he can't legally use those either without permission from the copyright holder.

He is a C&D/lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[Evenglare]

If he didn't use the OGL then he can't violate the OGL and can say his game is compatible with D&D. Atleast thats what everyone was yelling to me over on the RPG General board when I asked about the OGL and being bound to it. That art stuff is a definite violation and all of that, but from what everyone has said here you CAN use compatible with "whatever game" since he is not bound by OGL. So I'll go ahead and open the flood gates now so people can tell me how I'm wrong here now.

 

[ColinChapman]

He's not saying "compatible with" though. Here's the title of his newest 5e kickstarter:

"Dungeons and Dragons 5th Ed 3rd & 4th Level Package"

Here's a title description of one of his modules:

"A Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Adventure for 1-8 third - fourth level characters."

There's no element of "compatible with/may be used with" here. He straight out says they are Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition adventures.

He even used Elmore's Dragonlance art on his prior Kickstarters.

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...agons-5th-ed-campaign-starter-packa?ref=users

He either has the worst knowledge of IP and copyright I have encountered, or he simply doesn't care and is grabbing as much money as he can before WotC (and Paizo, and various artists) notice and slap him down.