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<blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 4395725" data-attributes="member: 3448">But the situation of a publisher printing 4e compatible works that don't use WotC's trademarks or copy blocks of text from WotC's works isn't a cut and dried situation.&nbsp; I think it's clear that if someone tries to publish a clear copy of their works-- using the trademarks or using large blocks of text-- WotC would sue, at least if the infringer were large enough to be worth the money spent litigating.&nbsp; But if a small press company arguably infringes their copyright in a gray area, will WotC sue?&nbsp; I'm not at all sure.&nbsp; The risks to WotC are substantial-- it costs money to sue and they could establish precedents that give other future companies cover-- and the upsides are relatively small-- they could get some damages, likely to be small and possibly hard to collect, and they could establish some useful precedents, and they could deter other similar attempts in the future.&nbsp; If I were WotC's lawyer, I wouldn't recommend that they sue unless (A) I thought there was a real chance of a significant monetary recovery, (B) I thought that WotC was losing substantial amounts of money, or (C) I thought the principle and the precedent was likely to be very valuable to WotC (in concrete money terms).Of course, sending cease and desist letters is cheap, and negotiating a side deal to avoid having to litigate the issue can also be cheap.&nbsp; So they may well send some cease and desist letters and rattle their sabers even if they are not ultimately willing to sue.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Cerebral Paladin, post: 4395725, member: 3448"] But the situation of a publisher printing 4e compatible works that don't use WotC's trademarks or copy blocks of text from WotC's works isn't a cut and dried situation. I think it's clear that if someone tries to publish a clear copy of their works-- using the trademarks or using large blocks of text-- WotC would sue, at least if the infringer were large enough to be worth the money spent litigating. But if a small press company arguably infringes their copyright in a gray area, will WotC sue? I'm not at all sure. The risks to WotC are substantial-- it costs money to sue and they could establish precedents that give other future companies cover-- and the upsides are relatively small-- they could get some damages, likely to be small and possibly hard to collect, and they could establish some useful precedents, and they could deter other similar attempts in the future. If I were WotC's lawyer, I wouldn't recommend that they sue unless (A) I thought there was a real chance of a significant monetary recovery, (B) I thought that WotC was losing substantial amounts of money, or (C) I thought the principle and the precedent was likely to be very valuable to WotC (in concrete money terms). Of course, sending cease and desist letters is cheap, and negotiating a side deal to avoid having to litigate the issue can also be cheap. So they may well send some cease and desist letters and rattle their sabers even if they are not ultimately willing to sue. [/QUOTE]

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