Goodman Games Releasing 4e Adventures Prior to October 1st

[Filcher]

But if I am reading the quote right, it is a price point argument, not a "we stole their trademarked code and there is nothing they can do about it per fair use laws" argument. Right?

If someone creates a great horror RPG that sells for $1, sure that might be a challenge to WW. But it doesn't give folks the right to use WW IP .. unless they create a license like Wizards did.

I think I must be missing something the rest of you understand.

 

[pemerton]

Filcher, the thought is that Goodman may be publishing unlicensed 4e-compatible adventures. The legality of this would depend upon those publications not infringing on WoTC's copyrights or trademark rights. (This is why some people are calling it the "copyright-trademark" route.)

The fact that WoTC licensed some non-4e materials under the OGL is mostly a separate issue (unless one thinks that Goodman might be using the OGL to incorporate some SRD material into their adventures).

 

[Filcher]

Thank you, Pem.

I guess, not having access to the products, there's no way I can dispute their claims as to how it is being accomplished.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Back on earth, a healthy RPG hobby requires a healthy company that regularly updates D&D and produces content for it. Besides, while WotC might be the only company in the RPG industry that's not a 'small business' by any standard definition, they're certainly not a large one unless you count all of Hasbro.

A company, it doesn't need to be any particular company for our purposes. And given the behaviors of WoTC I don't see that a smaller company with more responsiveness to its user base like Paizo or SJGames couldn't fill the same niche. D&D isn't the largest revenue stream at WoTC, most of the company is devoted to other products. A company only doing the D&D rpg could be much smaller than WoTC while maintaining a profit margin and from the examples of some of the larger 3PPs meet or exceed the WoTC production standards.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Being scared of Wizards is not an excuse to use the GSL.

Says who? Are you a publisher? Do you have others' mortgages, rents and grocery bills relying on your decisions?

It may be a reason you disagree with, but it's not an invalid reason because of that.

 

[Glyfair]

Why write material for a game that has substantially smaller market share when you're probably going to have to fight a court battle anyways.

I can see a market for more multiple game system books if this becomes commonplace, though. You might see more Thieves World type books (the Chaosium version).

Say Goodman puts out a "Blahblah, Land of Possibilities" book for d20. They could include NPC stats for GURPS, 4E, Heroquest, Runequest in the book. They could release a supplement for a single game system and have conversion stats online for other game systems (for free, or for a fee ala Green Ronin).

Good or bad thing? For fans good in the short term. In the long term it's hard to predict.

 

[Ydars]

Been away from this thread for a while and it seems to have mutiplied!!

Can someone please summarise what is actually known about how GG and Adamant are managing to publish 4E adventures before the embargo?

 

[Angellis_ater]

Sure thing Ydars - nothing is known, alot is speculated.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Sure thing Ydars - nothing is known, alot is speculated.

So we still don't know if this is another example of the licensing tiers we were told wouldn't be occurring?


RC

 

[SavageRobby]

Is this the answer per Scott Rouse - http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=216035

Sort of anticlimatic, if it is.

I'm not so sure that is the answer. According to Scott, that post specifically says that GG can release "promotional (not for sale) products prior to Aug 1". The three modules in question are definitely not promotional.


If indeed some folks are going copyright, I'm glad to see to it. I don't see it as a "screw the man" mentality. I see it as a "if Wizards wants to make their license so damn onerous to work with, then we'll look at other options, because we have other options".

People keep saying, "would you want to risk your mortgage" on going the copyright/fair use route, but the question that pops into my question everytime I read that is would you want to risk your mortgage on the WotC never-go-back-to-the-OGL-terminate-at-will-and-destroy-all-your-stock license, especially given their recent behavior and attitudes?

IANAL and IANAP, but were I either, I'd give serious, serious attention to the copyright option.