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<blockquote data-quote="Belen" data-source="post: 1061922" data-attributes="member: 1405">Well, I have a somewhat different view of things.&nbsp; I work in publishing, so I know the type of damage that stealing material can cause.Yes, if WOTC asked permission from Elizabeth Moon, and then acknowledges that the idea came from her novels, then that would be great.&nbsp; It helps both parties if they entered that type of arrangement.However, companies rarely think to ask for permission to use ideas and material.&nbsp; I know, because I deal with the permissions side of things at my job.&nbsp; If it IS materially the same concept as the Marshals from Moon's books, and they publish it without giving credit for the idea, then they are materially damaging Moon's work.&nbsp; People will begin to believe that WOTC came up with the concept and start to believe that Moon's work came later, despite its earlier publication date.I have seen it happen.&nbsp; I am not saying that this is the case; however, we should not ignore something like this either.&nbsp; Sometimes, it seems as if the game publishers in our hobby do not take these things very seriously.I could be wrong and the class could bear no resemblance to the Marshals from Moon, but I could also be right.And, it is not as if Wizards has a very large R&amp;D department any longer.....</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Belen, post: 1061922, member: 1405"] Well, I have a somewhat different view of things. I work in publishing, so I know the type of damage that stealing material can cause. Yes, if WOTC asked permission from Elizabeth Moon, and then acknowledges that the idea came from her novels, then that would be great. It helps both parties if they entered that type of arrangement. However, companies rarely think to ask for permission to use ideas and material. I know, because I deal with the permissions side of things at my job. If it IS materially the same concept as the Marshals from Moon's books, and they publish it without giving credit for the idea, then they are materially damaging Moon's work. People will begin to believe that WOTC came up with the concept and start to believe that Moon's work came later, despite its earlier publication date. I have seen it happen. I am not saying that this is the case; however, we should not ignore something like this either. Sometimes, it seems as if the game publishers in our hobby do not take these things very seriously. I could be wrong and the class could bear no resemblance to the Marshals from Moon, but I could also be right. And, it is not as if Wizards has a very large R&D department any longer..... [/QUOTE]

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