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The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR
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<blockquote data-quote="Deset Gled" data-source="post: 8775536" data-attributes="member: 7808"><p>I want to double up on what [USER=6804070]@LordEntrails[/USER] said, that there's just so much wrong in your post I don't think I can address all of it. But I'll start here.</p><p></p><p>First, and most importantly, there are multiple times in your post when you conflate trademark and copyright laws, and this paragraph is a big case of it. Second, you have to actively maintain a trademark, which is what WotC/Hasbro has done by continuing to sell the product. Third, because of the previous point, the idea of "orphaned" IP is a generally a copyright issue, not a trademark one. Finally, the original intent of trademark law is to protect consumers by not allowing a third party to trick customers into buying a product with a fake name. Which is exactly what NuTSR did when they claimed to be the "original" TSR and that their version of Star Frontiers was a "reboot".</p><p></p><p>This case is not going to set a precedent; what you describe above is exactly how trademark law works and has always worked. This is the reason Edgar Rice Burrows trademarked "Tarzan" in 1912. It's why you can write a story about Tarzan or reprint public domain works, but can't make a comic called "Tarzan" without permission.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deset Gled, post: 8775536, member: 7808"] I want to double up on what [USER=6804070]@LordEntrails[/USER] said, that there's just so much wrong in your post I don't think I can address all of it. But I'll start here. First, and most importantly, there are multiple times in your post when you conflate trademark and copyright laws, and this paragraph is a big case of it. Second, you have to actively maintain a trademark, which is what WotC/Hasbro has done by continuing to sell the product. Third, because of the previous point, the idea of "orphaned" IP is a generally a copyright issue, not a trademark one. Finally, the original intent of trademark law is to protect consumers by not allowing a third party to trick customers into buying a product with a fake name. Which is exactly what NuTSR did when they claimed to be the "original" TSR and that their version of Star Frontiers was a "reboot". This case is not going to set a precedent; what you describe above is exactly how trademark law works and has always worked. This is the reason Edgar Rice Burrows trademarked "Tarzan" in 1912. It's why you can write a story about Tarzan or reprint public domain works, but can't make a comic called "Tarzan" without permission. [/QUOTE]
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