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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 4852298" data-attributes="member: 177">Copyright is Federal.  The rules have changed over time, but they don't vary with location within the United States.  Mark linked to a nice resource above.  The exact date the rulebooks would come into the public domain depends on whether the books are considered "corporate authorship" - I expect this is the case, as WotC holds the rights, rather than the Gygax and Arneson.  Either way, though, it'd be at least several decades from now.As I understand it, you cannot "abandon" copyright through inactivity or lack of defense - that's a separate issue that affects trademarks.  You don't have to defend your copyright for it to be valid.  If you hold a copyright, you can go after an infringing work decades after its publication.He has clearly and unequivocally stated that he feels it is infringing.  I've not seen him list exact points why he feels that way.Dude, he asked for reasons why publishers might not get into OSRIC.  At least one (and, if grodog is correct, then others as well) has stated this as a reason.  That's not a "bugaboo" that needs to be put to bed, it is a reason of record.  Each publisher makes his own risk assessment.</blockquote>