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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pauper" data-source="post: 6793532" data-attributes="member: 17607">Note as well that infringement of trade dress is not technically a copyright infringement, but a trademark infringement -- you're infringing on WotC's trademark for D&D, not on their copyrights, by making something that looks enough like an 'official' D&D product that people might confuse it for one.Kalani is correct that the mechanics of a game cannot be copyrighted -- you could come up with your own RPG where you roll a d20 and high numbers on the die are good. You might even be able to call it a 'd20 system' game; although WotC owns the trademark on that phrase as well, they haven't used it 'in commerce' (i.e.: as part of a published product) since the days of D&D 3.5, and the validity of a trademark is explicitly tied to its use in commerce. What you couldn't do is take all the old d20 system logos and such and use them to promote your game.Of course, chances are good that even if you did something that is allowed under patent and trademark law, you'd likely have to prove in court that your use wasn't infringing, which is the real limiting factor -- you probably shouldn't even consider this unless you're wealthy enough to be able to take on WotC/Hasbro in court to get a ruling in your favor (and if it became obvious that you were likely to win, WotC/Hasbro would be likely to offer you a settlement to prevent the court from establishing the result in law).</blockquote>