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<blockquote data-quote="Dykstrav" data-source="post: 3198051" data-attributes="member: 40522"><p>"Completely illegal?"</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html" target="_blank">http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html</a></p><p></p><p>I'm not an intellectual property lawyer (although I know a few as I work in the entertainment industry), but this seems pretty cut and dried. As long as you're not trying to claim copyright on another company's work you can essentially publish what gaming material that you want to as United States copyright law stands right now. Just put a nice big disclaimer up front about how D&D is not yours and you're not claiming that it is and you should be good. Games don't follow the same provisions of copyright that scripts, finished movies, and music do.</p><p></p><p>Like I said, I'm not a lawyer myself. If any lawyers read this feel free to chime in. What is reasonably common knowledge is that TSR tried to stop people from making their own content and it was under these provisions that they couldn't even get it to court.</p><p></p><p>As far as having "the public on its side," this thread or most any other should give a strong indication that not everyone wants to jump on the WotC side with any particular issue just because they're WotC. People weren't willing to jump on TSR's side when they started making a game that people didn't want to buy.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"Balance" and quality of content are really an entirely different can of worms. It's always been my opinion that if people have to ask if it's balanced or not, then it isn't. Tell ten different players that the warlock is balanced and see if you get a consensus, much less an agreement that it is indeed "balanced." Or what about reserve feats? Or anything in <em>Tome of Battle</em>? Without getting into this issue too deeply, suffice to say that "official" doesn't equal "balanced." Six years after the release of 3E people still debate the balance of material found in the three core rulebooks.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dykstrav, post: 3198051, member: 40522"] "Completely illegal?" [url]http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html[/url] I'm not an intellectual property lawyer (although I know a few as I work in the entertainment industry), but this seems pretty cut and dried. As long as you're not trying to claim copyright on another company's work you can essentially publish what gaming material that you want to as United States copyright law stands right now. Just put a nice big disclaimer up front about how D&D is not yours and you're not claiming that it is and you should be good. Games don't follow the same provisions of copyright that scripts, finished movies, and music do. Like I said, I'm not a lawyer myself. If any lawyers read this feel free to chime in. What is reasonably common knowledge is that TSR tried to stop people from making their own content and it was under these provisions that they couldn't even get it to court. As far as having "the public on its side," this thread or most any other should give a strong indication that not everyone wants to jump on the WotC side with any particular issue just because they're WotC. People weren't willing to jump on TSR's side when they started making a game that people didn't want to buy. "Balance" and quality of content are really an entirely different can of worms. It's always been my opinion that if people have to ask if it's balanced or not, then it isn't. Tell ten different players that the warlock is balanced and see if you get a consensus, much less an agreement that it is indeed "balanced." Or what about reserve feats? Or anything in [I]Tome of Battle[/I]? Without getting into this issue too deeply, suffice to say that "official" doesn't equal "balanced." Six years after the release of 3E people still debate the balance of material found in the three core rulebooks. [/QUOTE]
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