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

[Morrus]

One of the biggest problems that I can see, is that two of his products are entitled "DnD 5th Ed Beginning Adventure Pack" and "DnD 5th Ed Adventure Pack".

"DnD 5th Ed" isn't a trademark. It's too close that I would risk it if I were him, but there's certainly wiggle room there. The ripped off art in the Kickstarter campaigns looks like being the biggest issue.

I glanced at the quick preview. It does mention Dungeons & Dragons inside. No art or layout, columns, or spacing, from what I can see - it's just a Word document exported to PDF.




He charges $5.99 for it.

 

[ExploderWizard]

He has a beginning adventure pack of THREE adventures to take the PCs from 1st to 2nd level. How trivial do these adventures need to be to only generate 100 XP for each character per adventure? Based on the sample file that Morrus included, there are no monster stats either. No thanks.

That KS art piece was certainly an Elmore Dragonlance piece. He needs to get slapped down for the blatant art copyright violations if nothing else.

 

[MasterTrancer]

I was actually wondering about the same issues some days ago, in the comments to [MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] reviews, seems like my doubts were legit...

 

[Sacrosanct]

Has anyone actually contacted HIM yet and told him? I think most people probably just don't know. I know, ignorance is no excuse, but if you can fix the issue with a quick email to him wouldn't that be the optimal solution?

And like others have said, you don't have to use the OGL. And if you don't use the OGL, you don't have to adhere to it and can use Fair Use guidelines. Of course, you can't violate anything else, which is what seems to be happening here, but there are people who have said "compatible with D&D 5th edition" who have not used the OGL and it's fine because they weren't violating any other copyright or trademark.

 

[Morrus]

Has anyone actually contacted HIM yet and told him? I think most people probably just don't know. I know, ignorance is no excuse, but if you can fix the issue with a quick email to him wouldn't that be the optimal solution?

I certainly don't feel it's my place to do so. Unsolicited advice is often unwelcome.

 

[Mark CMG]

Has anyone actually contacted HIM yet and told him? I think most people probably just don't know. I know, ignorance is no excuse, but if you can fix the issue with a quick email to him wouldn't that be the optimal solution?

And like others have said, you don't have to use the OGL. And if you don't use the OGL, you don't have to adhere to it and can use Fair Use guidelines. Of course, you can't violate anything else, which is what seems to be happening here, but there are people who have said "compatible with D&D 5th edition" who have not used the OGL and it's fine because they weren't violating any other copyright or trademark.

From his first Kickstarter project -

"Risks and challenges

The thing that I most have to be careful of is not to impinge on Wizards of the Coasts' copyrights. I've studied this pretty well, and I'm sure I can put in place a solution to these use cases that is completely acceptable."

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-dragons-player-dm-online-tool-site?ref=users

 

[Sacrosanct]

From his first Kickstarter project -

"Risks and challenges

The thing that I most have to be careful of is not to impinge on Wizards of the Coasts' copyrights. I've studied this pretty well, and I'm sure I can put in place a solution to these use cases that is completely acceptable."

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-dragons-player-dm-online-tool-site?ref=users

Seriously? hahahaaha. Oh my....


He's said he's in contact with WoTC re: copyrights and thinks he's in the good. Well, using protected images isn't a good start...

 

[Dausuul]

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?

(Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice, just commentary based on my understanding of all this stuff. 'Kay?)

Nominative use of someone else's trademark is legal as long as you follow certain rules. KenzerCo did it with 4E; "Kingdoms of Kalamar" said on the cover that it was "For use with 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons."

http://www.kenzerco.com/popup_image.php?pID=625&image=0&osCsid=799cb3ad5edbfe55a5410e3f67ff2d23

The reason most publishers don't do it that way is that trademark and copyright law are nasty tricky beasts, full of traps for the unwary non-lawyer. You have to be real careful that your product can't be construed as trying to pass itself off as "official." If you aren't a lawyer and can't afford to retain one, it's easier to play it safe. (Not coincidentally, Dave Kenzer, president of KenzerCo, is an expert in copyright law.)

It looks like this Hass person is not being careful. Calling them "5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures," rather than "adventures compatible with etc. etc.," certainly seems like it could be taken as an attempt to look official. And if he is indeed ripping off the art as well, he's cooked.

 

[Dausuul]

Is the image that shows up before you run the first KS video an Elmore piece?

Yes. I forget exactly where it's from, but it's the cover art on some Dragonlance book. Blatant copyright violation.

The guy is a software developer? Not surprising. Thinking we can solve any problem through the application of raw brainpower is a common failing for those of us in the software biz. We get so used to bending machines to our will, we forget the analog world doesn't always work that way.

 

[Mistwell]

The drivethroughrpg page looks like very clear trademark violation. Also, he doesn't say compatible. He just says straight-up "A Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Adventure". That's outright trademark infringement. He doesn't even try to let you know he's not D&D, or that D&D is trademarked to someone else, or anything of the kind. He's just blatantly infringing on a registered trademark. Not cool, and not smart either. WOTC doesn't even need to prove damages, as there are automatic statutory damages included with the Trademark Act.

Edit - Also, the Kickstarter page doesn't use the word "compatible" either. It also just outright violates trademark. It just says, "Dungeon and Dragons 5th Ed 2nd-3rd level adventure package".