"Glowing" review from a product not available yet?

[der_kluge]

How does that work?

This morning, Caesar Slaad posted on www.circvsmaximvs.com that he was unable to purchase this product:
"Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars: Shadows of a Dying World" from here:
http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=51403

And it indicated that it would not be available until December the 11th - tomorrow, as I write this.

This thread seems to confirm that
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=213857

However, it seems to be available now (a day early) and also shows a "glowing" review from the 9th.

This is, for sure, one of the best gaming books I have bought in a long time! I have long been a fan of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and it is pretty cool to see the various creatures from his stories put into game terms. It is also refreshing to find a book that has clearly had some effort put into its writing and editing, what with the increasing and deplorable tendency toward low quality supplements for the d20 game system. This book sets the bar pretty high and those of us in the gaming public should hold all publishers to a similar standard.

Someone want to explain to me how a product that's not supposed to be available until tomorrow acquires a 5-star review two days beforehand?

Furthermore, does Adamant actually have the license to create products based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' works?

 

[jdrakeh]

Furthermore, does Adamant actually have the license to create products based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' works?

No. But since this isn't an Adamant product, I'm not entirely certain how that is relevant.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Hmmm... It could be that the book was released early at the review's FLGS. I know that, when I was working Wizards retail, I often had boxes of books nearly a week before they were supposed to be sold. While I never SOLD them early, you best bet that I READ them.

 

[Morrus]

Plenty of people are reporting in detail the contents of Races & Classes, and that's not supposed to be out yet. Just depends where you are and how much of a stickler for rules the shop owner is.

 

[cerberus2112]

Perhaps the reviewer was given an advanced copy in order to make a review. That is done frequently.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Perhaps the reviewer was given an advanced copy in order to make a review. That is done frequently.

That was my first guess, but because the reviewer said it was purchased, I figured that it was not, in fact, a review copy.

 

[C.W.Richeson]

Perhaps the reviewer was given an advanced copy in order to make a review. That is done frequently.

Yeah, this isn't unusual. I published a review of Spirit of the Century before it shipped, for example.

Maybe a button was just misclicked? It's easy enough to do in RPG.net's system, though I don't know how RPGnow reviews are setup.

 

[jmucchiello]

actually have the license to create products based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' works?

Perpetual copyright only dates back to 1926 (or there about). Most things dated before that year are public domain. Problem is figuring out if older material wasn't reregistered at the copyright office as this was an option up until 1976. I do believe much of the Mars ERB books are public domain or at least Project Gutenberg believes they are.

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

The issue (in this instance) isn't one of copyright but trademark. Many of the elements of ERB's Mars series are trademarked.

I ran across this issue when I was working on Passages. I knew Dr. Fu Manchu was in the public domain and used his name a couple of times. I only learned right before going to print that the name is trademarked and, thus, off-limits.

According to the website for the publisher of this book (not Adamant), they have reviewed the trademarks thoroughly and have not run afoul of them.

I am curious about a third element that they haven't fully explained: using ERB's name. They assert that there is no trademark on the ERB name (which I'm sure is true), but I don't think that ends the discussion on possible IP issues.

 

[S'mon]

In principle, if you're using a TM'd term descriptively rather than to designate the origin of goods and services, it is not an infringement. EU law on free competition is also relevant, I expect US anti-trust law may also apply - using TM law to prevent a market in public domain copyright works is likely a no-no.