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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Frylock" data-source="post: 5915449" data-attributes="member: 38140">Misinformation and MisunderstandingI'm not your typical attorney, and one of the ways in which I stand out is that I do have a healthy sense of humor, so much so that some people can't handle it. I didn't read your Kickstarter comments (unless they were reproduced in the Facebook thread), but I'm sure any problems with translation are a reflection of the nature of online (and print, generally) media rather than the reader's sense of humor. Similarly, you may have taken greater offense to criticism than was intended, or people may have misunderstood what you wrote. It's tough writing online, especially when people like me are criticized <a href="http://rbodine.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/language-matters-chicagomanual-oxfordwords-word-grammar/" target="_blank">for encouraging better language skills</a> as being too rigid or nerdy.Nevertheless, I'll probably sue you anyway. It's what I do. What's your address? I have to mail you something.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The statement, "Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited," <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/02/challenging-copyright-at-the-nfl/" target="_blank">is, in many cases, a lie</a>. My guess is that if WotC doesn't pursue this, it's because much of what you've copied would arguably infringe the copyrights of the adventure authors, who (as far as I know) never assigned the copyrights to their creations to WotC. <a href="http://www.loremaster.org/content.php/192-Protection-from-Chaos-Part-VI-Works-for-Hire" target="_blank">The work-for-hire doctrine is inapplicable to much (if not all) of what living campaigns produce</a>, so some of the material belongs to WotC, some of it belongs to the adventure writers, and some of it is public domain (e.g., the mere concept of an elf). Whether someone has a reasonable argument of infringement can be quite complex when addressing these materials, and whether WotC sees it as being in their best interest to sue you even if you did infringe their work further complicates their decision. This is why no one can make a definitive statement about whether there's actually copyright infringement here. Most of us either lack the facts (e.g., me) or the knowledge of copyright law (e.g., [list too long; will break ENWorld]) to form knowledgeable opinions.I suggest you hop over to Loremaster.org and read my <a href="http://www.loremaster.org/content.php/203-Protection-from-Chaos-Part-VIII-Intellectual-Property-Primer" target="_blank">IP primer</a>. It appears from this statement, and the one you quoted on the Facebook thread, that you think trademark rights don't exist in materials unless they're registered federally. That's not true. Federal registration is a great idea, but it isn't necessary, especially for a company that does business at almost every point in the United States (though companies that large can afford to register most of their trademarks, so they often do anyway). This isn't a dangerous misconception, but if you're curious as to how IP works, the article is a good start.One last note. I'm happy if this issue is truly resolved. Much of the materials gamers use are fan-written. WotC can't possibly produce all the good material out there. However, there are certainly plenty of instances where the market is harmed by true infringement. Infringement sucks, because it cuts into WotC's profits. If WotC, et al. can't make a profit, WotC will no longer produce D&D. Who wants that? Whether you believe WotC has done enough to embrace online publication (I don't think they have) is irrelevant. There are certain third-party publications that are, and should be, illegal, and thus damage all of us as consumers. If someone has a concern and brings it to WotC's attention, that's not a bad thing in and of itself. I wouldn't be so harsh on someone who sees his hobby threatened by potentially unscrupulous 3PPs. After all, the quote above was accusing you only of "encouraging" infringement, and that might be true even if what you did is perfectly legal. Did you even attempt to contact WotC before publishing this work? If you had, I can assure you from personal experience that it wouldn't have helped -- their legal department won't answer any questions, even, "Is the sky blue?" -- but at least you'd have had the moral high ground to say, "I tried," and you couldn't (fairly) be accused of even encouraging infringement.  Just a thought.</blockquote>

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