I am in a similar position. I have a vast homebrew campaign setting I want to share. To do so legally I have to leave certain things out, I might need to change an NPC statblock to remove feats or PRCs from non-OGL material or even omit entire plotlines because they involve mindflayers. Though I suppose I could include those plotlines with cannibalistic anthropomorphic squid with a psionic template...
Game settings and copyright law
- Thread starter ChimericDream
- Start date
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
Catavarie said:
Better err on the safe side. After all, lawsuits cost lots of money and time, even if you do win at the end...
Check out coyright law (in the United States) for yourself:
http://www.copyright.gov/
I'm a writer myself. I've never published OGL material, I have only done screenplays so far. But it seems like you could use this material if you rewrote it so it susbtantially did not look like the original.
There's alot that's not covered under copyright law.
What Is Not Protected by Copyright?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)
This is the basis under which studios will listen to a pitch, decline to pay a writer for his script, and then get one of their staff writers (they're usually credited as 'producers') to write their own version of a script. They can legally get away from listening to your idea for a movie, paying nothing for it, and then using it as long as they change the specifics of the names, locations, and dialogue. This is one of the big reasons that most everybody that writes scripts is a member of the WGA or at least registers their scripts with them.
Furthermore, the ideas and procedures for a game itself are expressly not covered under copyright law right now:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html
The idea for a game is not protected by copyright. The same is true of the name or title given to the game and of the method or methods for playing it.
Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Copyright protection does not extend to any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in the development, merchandising, or playing of a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.
Some material prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text matter describing the rules of the game, or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container, may be registrable.
T$R tried to stop people from publishing material on their own personal sites in the mid-90's and couldn't get it to court on this basis. It'd seem to me that you could rephrase these elements into your own words and be on reasonably solid ground, as long as you weren't using the exact phrasing or copying illustrations from the manuals or anything like that.
But still, what's legal and what's ethical are two very different things. There'd be alot of people who'd think that's awful shady. I'd certainly wonder why you couldn't get clearances. I'd try to secure permission so you could use the exact material first. Although I can't imagine what material you want to use that's so vitally important to your material.
http://www.copyright.gov/
I'm a writer myself. I've never published OGL material, I have only done screenplays so far. But it seems like you could use this material if you rewrote it so it susbtantially did not look like the original.
There's alot that's not covered under copyright law.
What Is Not Protected by Copyright?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)
This is the basis under which studios will listen to a pitch, decline to pay a writer for his script, and then get one of their staff writers (they're usually credited as 'producers') to write their own version of a script. They can legally get away from listening to your idea for a movie, paying nothing for it, and then using it as long as they change the specifics of the names, locations, and dialogue. This is one of the big reasons that most everybody that writes scripts is a member of the WGA or at least registers their scripts with them.
Furthermore, the ideas and procedures for a game itself are expressly not covered under copyright law right now:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html
The idea for a game is not protected by copyright. The same is true of the name or title given to the game and of the method or methods for playing it.
Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Copyright protection does not extend to any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in the development, merchandising, or playing of a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.
Some material prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text matter describing the rules of the game, or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container, may be registrable.
T$R tried to stop people from publishing material on their own personal sites in the mid-90's and couldn't get it to court on this basis. It'd seem to me that you could rephrase these elements into your own words and be on reasonably solid ground, as long as you weren't using the exact phrasing or copying illustrations from the manuals or anything like that.
But still, what's legal and what's ethical are two very different things. There'd be alot of people who'd think that's awful shady. I'd certainly wonder why you couldn't get clearances. I'd try to secure permission so you could use the exact material first. Although I can't imagine what material you want to use that's so vitally important to your material.
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
That's interesting, given that WotC has copyrighted the "tap" mechanic (turning a card sideways to show it is in a different game state [usually, that an ability has been used]) used in Magic and other WotC games. Wonder how they pulled that one off?Dykstrav said:
Lanefan
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
Lanefan said:
My guess is that they patented it, which is something else entirely...
Lanefan said:
Really? It's been ten years since I've played Magic, I didn't know that. That kinda surprises me- doesn't seem like the idea of turning a card sideways would be something that you could protect.
But like I've said, most of my experience with IP law has to do with screenplays and the motion picture industry. Would be nice if we could find an IP lawyer to chime in on this.
A quick look on wikipedia makes me think it make be trademarked. Especially since tapping uses its own little symbol and Magic uses alot of little symbols to distinguish itself and its mechanics.
Bardsandsages
First Post
Catavarie said:
Um, where did you come up with that? Please provide a source, as I am pretty well versed in copyright law, and I have never seen such a thing.
Bardsandsages
First Post
From the official government site:
As per the government regulations, there is NO word count or percentage that defines fair use.
As per the government regulations, there is NO word count or percentage that defines fair use.
Voadam
Legend
muzick said:
Use existing similar OGC spells or feats or make up your own ones for those niches that you can derive from OGC (such as the srd).
Start by looking at things like the net book of feats which is free and possibly followed up by OGC spell compilation books such as Green Ronin and Mongoose put out or the AEG feats book.
Psion
Adventurer
muzick said:
The long and short is, to be legit, you are going to have to rewrite portions of it if you are going to distribute it.
Do not underestimate the pain of this task if your campaign setting is at all detailed.
This is part of the reason I lean towards OGC material when writing up campaign material.
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