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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 8775534" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>Yeah, but they didn't let them lapse.</p><p></p><p>As I understand it, the fan site had a deal with WotC.</p><p></p><p></p><p>They do count, though, and trademarks don't expire. It doesn't matter whether you like how a law works; that's how it works. I dislike plenty of laws. The thing to do is try to get them changed, not pretend that it works differently.</p><p></p><p>They really aren't. One side is full of bigots who are trying to claim a bunch of IP that isn't theirs. The other side is saying, "Hey, that's not yours, and in fact it's ours, and in fact, you are making us look like a bunch of asshats by using our material to push bigoted material out. Knock that off."</p><p></p><p></p><p>Your opinion doesn't carry any legal weight here. Whether you like it or not, WotC has continually sold Star Frontiers and a bunch of other stuff bearing the marks in question on DriveThruRPG for, well, basically forever.</p><p></p><p>So what? That has nothing to do with this case. Perhaps Sasquatch didn't rise to the level where WotC noticed them. Perhaps they didn't care enough as long as Sasquatch wasn't making them look like a bunch of bigots. Perhaps Sasquatch went away because WotC sent them a C&D. I don't know, and it's not relevant to the case at hand. </p><p></p><p>Oh, I agree with you here- but that doesn't make it so. Copyright law is a whole separate discussion that isn't really germane to <em>what is actually going on here.</em></p><p></p><p>You already can. Trademarks don't expire. I'm not sure how this is a "dangerous precedent" or who it's dangerous to, though.</p><p></p><p>The purpose of trademark law is to prevent someone from selling something similar to the trademarked product under the name you use and confusing the public. I'm not sure why you think this is bad. If Pepsi goes out of business, why should someone in the future be able to swoop up their logo and use it? Make your own brand. But maybe I'm missing something here.</p><p></p><p>Yes. When the copyright expires, someone else can go ahead and strip out the trademarks and then sell their own version of the actual material. I feel like you may be confusing the differences between trademarks and copyright, but who knows? I'm not an expert on these things either.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 8775534, member: 1210"] Yeah, but they didn't let them lapse. As I understand it, the fan site had a deal with WotC. They do count, though, and trademarks don't expire. It doesn't matter whether you like how a law works; that's how it works. I dislike plenty of laws. The thing to do is try to get them changed, not pretend that it works differently. They really aren't. One side is full of bigots who are trying to claim a bunch of IP that isn't theirs. The other side is saying, "Hey, that's not yours, and in fact it's ours, and in fact, you are making us look like a bunch of asshats by using our material to push bigoted material out. Knock that off." Your opinion doesn't carry any legal weight here. Whether you like it or not, WotC has continually sold Star Frontiers and a bunch of other stuff bearing the marks in question on DriveThruRPG for, well, basically forever. So what? That has nothing to do with this case. Perhaps Sasquatch didn't rise to the level where WotC noticed them. Perhaps they didn't care enough as long as Sasquatch wasn't making them look like a bunch of bigots. Perhaps Sasquatch went away because WotC sent them a C&D. I don't know, and it's not relevant to the case at hand. Oh, I agree with you here- but that doesn't make it so. Copyright law is a whole separate discussion that isn't really germane to [I]what is actually going on here.[/I] You already can. Trademarks don't expire. I'm not sure how this is a "dangerous precedent" or who it's dangerous to, though. The purpose of trademark law is to prevent someone from selling something similar to the trademarked product under the name you use and confusing the public. I'm not sure why you think this is bad. If Pepsi goes out of business, why should someone in the future be able to swoop up their logo and use it? Make your own brand. But maybe I'm missing something here. Yes. When the copyright expires, someone else can go ahead and strip out the trademarks and then sell their own version of the actual material. I feel like you may be confusing the differences between trademarks and copyright, but who knows? I'm not an expert on these things either. [/QUOTE]
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