Copyrights in a campaign tiddlywiki

[Halivar]

Here are my questions, in machine-gun "ratatat" fashion:

How does it work?
Do I have to mention the OGL?
Do I have to link to it?
Do I have to place the text of the OGL in the tiddlywiki?
Do I have to place the OGL in a default tiddler ("front-page")?
Am I supposed to attribute to WotC?
HOW do I attribute to WotC?
Am I allowed to mention classes/spells/feats from non-OGC for stat'ing NPC's?
How do I attribute to myself?
What about collaborative work?
Do I have to use my real name, or is a nom de plume that is verifiably me sufficient?
Must I explicitly lay out a usage license?

 

[Ry]

If you're posting OGL material, you'll need to put up the OGL.

For a lot of your questions I'd recommend reading the hosting service's Terms of Service. These are often a lot easier than you think. If they say you retain copyright of what you post and you must have the right to post what you post, then you should be OK. If there's a more restrictive license (i.e. everything you post is Creative Commons) then you'll have to look for another host.

In terms of "attributing to WotC", you can't post blocks of WotC text / statblocks / etc. But there if you made an NPC yourself and that NPC has a spell from Frostburn, just post * Frostburn spell and you'll be fine. I mean, dying-gasps net-phobic TSR might have had problems with that, but I've never heard of WotC troubling those who are basically saying "Hey, my character has a spell from X!" Just don't post the text of the spell itself.

By way of disclaimer: IANAL.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Post as little IP as you can manage. You'll still technically be in violation, but I've never heard of any IP owner coming around and stomping a hole in anyone's ass over it, even if they were legally entitled to. But for the sake of their future sales, post as little as you can manage.

This is a battle everyone with a campaign wiki faces if they're not going 100 percent homebrew.

 

[smootrk]

If your wiki is private, then you have little to worry about as well. If you are sharing your material with the general public, then I would suggest posting OGL, and disclaimers otherwise. Or simply post links to material hosted elsewhere such as to www.d20srd.org or similar locations.

 

[Ry]

Alternatively, you could do what I've done with Legacies and post your setting information in the wiki as mechanics-neutral.

 

[Relique du Madde]

If you're posting OGL material, you'll need to put up the OGL.

For a lot of your questions I'd recommend reading the hosting service's Terms of Service. These are often a lot easier than you think. If they say you retain copyright of what you post and you must have the right to post what you post, then you should be OK. If there's a more restrictive license (i.e. everything you post is Creative Commons) then you'll have to look for another host.

In terms of "attributing to WotC", you can't post blocks of WotC text / statblocks / etc. But there if you made an NPC yourself and that NPC has a spell from Frostburn, just post * Frostburn spell and you'll be fine. I mean, dying-gasps net-phobic TSR might have had problems with that, but I've never heard of WotC troubling those who are basically saying "Hey, my character has a spell from X!" Just don't post the text of the spell itself.

By way of disclaimer: IANAL.

There is a catch here Ryan. Once he states that his site is OGL he would be in violation if he mentions ANY material OR any information that is labled non-OGC OR if he even tries to mention where he found the material without permission. The best and only thing he could do is plop the sources of his feats/spells in the OGL's copywrite section w/o explaining what material he got from what book.

Unfrotunately, with that said... Most products from WoTC are NOT OPEN GAME CONTENT so posting any info from those products are for the most parts off-limits for both d20 STL and OGL usage. However... there is also a matter of "fair use" that comes but here and complicates everything...

 

[Ry]

There is a catch here Ryan. Once he states that his site is OGL he would be in violation if he mentions ANY material OR any information that is labled non-OGC OR if he even tries to mention where he found the material without permission. The best and only thing he could do is plop the sources of his feats/spells in the OGL's copywrite section w/o explaining what material he got from what book.

Unfrotunately, with that said... Most products from WoTC are NOT OPEN GAME CONTENT so posting any info from those products are for the most parts off-limits for both d20 STL and OGL usage. However... there is also a matter of "fair use" that comes but here and complicates everything...

Yeah, you're quite right. I was just thinking that if you're posting NPC stat blocks and referencing say, Frostburn, you're not MORE in violoation of copyright because you posted the OGL. But maybe you are.

 

[Halivar]

I wasn't planning on including any text from any WotC source (not even the SRD). At most, I'm simply saying "This NPC is this class, and has these abilities, listed by name." As for trade dress, I'm going to follow the standard stat-block laid out on the online SRD's I see.

I also wasn't planning on releasing my original content as OGC, since I didn't want to restrict what would otherwise be fair use of non-OGC material. Instead, it's going under a "free-to-use, not-free-to-steal" license.

So, given that I'm not going to quote any text of the SRD, but instead only make references to magic missile from the PHB and samurai from Complete Warrior, does that affect whether I need to post a copy of the OGL?

 

[Flynn]

I created a tiddler for the OGL, and included the website in my Section 15.

I added a link for the OGL tiddler to my main menu, so it could be accessed at any time by whoever will be visiting the tiddlywiki.

I then added a style that draws a box around material and colors it blue.

I posted a note in the welcome tiddler that says anything with this box and shading is open content.

Finally, I surround any of my OGC with the tags for that style.

If you like this approach, let me know, and I'll post the specifics on how to do it in your own tiddlywiki.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Halivar]

Flynn, I think that's the way to go. I'm going to implement that now. I may just have to restrain myself from even mentioning non-OGC stuff (which sucks).

Now, interesting question: if publicly mentioning non-OGC mechanics is wrong, how does that affect play-by-post in forums such as EnWorld, where character sheets are public, and such?