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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrogReaver" data-source="post: 7802514" data-attributes="member: 6795602">I think I understood what argument he was making but I know nothing about legal matters to be able to really judge it.He offers a few different approaches of arriving at his belief that stat block information can't be copyrighted.  The ultimate basis is below:1.  A real world fact can't be copyrighted.  (His argument is essentially that a fictional world fact can't be copyrighted).  I don't know if it can or not, but I'd tend to think that logically any fictional world fact can be turned into a real world fact rather easily by referencing the work: "in D&D 5e an ogre has X hp."  Personally I see some merit in this claim, but legally I'm as clueless as the next.1b.  Just in case that isn't enough to convince you, consider that the courts have already ruled that game rules can't be copyrighted and the ogre stat blocks are essentially game rules for the ogre.  (if this were a rook in chess then the rules governing how to use it would not be copyrightable and that's all the ogre's stat block essentially is).1c.  Just incase anyone thinks a collection of facts is copyrightable when the individual facts aren't, it's settled law that this can't be copyrightedOn Misuse2.  From what I understand this would be the next step, again no legal expertise for me Step 2 in the lawsuit after winning the first part on the arguments in 1 above:  WOTC has copyrighted uncopyrightable material and then set up an agreement such that people have voluntarily been giving away their rights to use material that they could have used without the agreement in the first place.  This is copyright misuse and thus their whole copyright should be thrown out.In my opinion, the goal is to win on the facts listed in 1 and then after winning counter that the whole copyright should be thrown out.My analysis:  The idea of misuse throwing out a copyright even if it's a longshot to win that part presents a very big risk to WOTC.  I'm impressed by the leverage produced from that argument.  On the initial argument, Tying stat blocks to basic undisputable facts and/or game rules seems like a decent argument to the layperson (no idea what the lawyers think).</blockquote>

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