Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Frylock's Gaming & Geekery Challenges WotC's Copyright Claims
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7788949" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>I'm happy to be corrected by [USER=463]@S'mon[/USER], but I don't think very much in this issue turns on Frylock's assertion of copyright over his published work. (As I posted upthread, it's not entirely clear what he is claiming copyright over but his publication certainly includes text that goes beyond the content of MM stat blocks.)</p><p></p><p>Confusion of producers is a concept that pertains to TM law, not copyright law.</p><p></p><p>But my understanding is that visual design/formatting is a copyrightable work. Although the content may not be.</p><p></p><p>The OGL is a standing offer by WotC to enter into a conract (in the form of a license of IP rights) on certain terms. WotC can withrdraw that offer at any time (given that no one has paid them to make it),</p><p></p><p>Anyone who has taken up the offer and entered into the contract has rights which are, according to the terms of the licence, irrevocable. Whether those terms actually govern the agreement or whether there are other legal rules affect the term of the licence is something I don't know. [USER=463]@S'mon[/USER]?</p><p></p><p>As far as Frylock is concerned, he has long been a critic of the OGL on the grounds that, under it, WotC asserts IP rights that it does not actually enjoy and gets people to contract away rights that they otherwise would enjoy. So I don't think he is interested in himself becoming a party to it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7788949, member: 42582"] I'm happy to be corrected by [USER=463]@S'mon[/USER], but I don't think very much in this issue turns on Frylock's assertion of copyright over his published work. (As I posted upthread, it's not entirely clear what he is claiming copyright over but his publication certainly includes text that goes beyond the content of MM stat blocks.) Confusion of producers is a concept that pertains to TM law, not copyright law. But my understanding is that visual design/formatting is a copyrightable work. Although the content may not be. The OGL is a standing offer by WotC to enter into a conract (in the form of a license of IP rights) on certain terms. WotC can withrdraw that offer at any time (given that no one has paid them to make it), Anyone who has taken up the offer and entered into the contract has rights which are, according to the terms of the licence, irrevocable. Whether those terms actually govern the agreement or whether there are other legal rules affect the term of the licence is something I don't know. [USER=463]@S'mon[/USER]? As far as Frylock is concerned, he has long been a critic of the OGL on the grounds that, under it, WotC asserts IP rights that it does not actually enjoy and gets people to contract away rights that they otherwise would enjoy. So I don't think he is interested in himself becoming a party to it. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Frylock's Gaming & Geekery Challenges WotC's Copyright Claims
Top