Third Party Character Creation iOS App Removed

The d20 Fight Club for D&D 5th Edition iOS app has been removed from the Apple App Store by its creator at the request of WotC. The creator reports that he received a Cease & Desist demand (although it's worth noting that some supposed recent C&Ds appear to have turned out to be amicable requests). This follows on from the removal of the D&D Tools website and the more recent online character generator.

The creator reports that "I received a cease and desist order from Wizards of the Coast. All D&D apps will be removed from the App Store as they weren't compliant with WotC's copyrights and trademarks. Hopefully they'll be back in some form someday. Til then, thanks for all the support."

Nobody has actually shared one of these C&Ds yet, and others have indicated that what they actually received was simply a friendly email asking that they respect WotC's trademarks, so it's not entirely clear what is happening. Hopefully somebody will share one soon!

It does look like this particular app contained text and stat blocks copied directly from the D&D books. Below is the DM version of the app (the companion to the character creation app).

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[ren1999]

I certainly feel like a fool working with all the fans who did all the play-testing for WOTC for free and made free apps that WOTC has no official versions for yet. I guess the joke is on the fans.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

The only fan base that would be in question are those that use digital tools, but tie that to social media (also online) and the perception may radiate out farther.

Actually, we can make a good estimate of how big the effect on the fan base is. Morrus gives an estimate that 10,000 people have read this thread. Of those one (or maybe two) have decided to ditch 5e because of it. I'd tend to think that anyone who would care enough to do so would likely post, but let's assume that for every vocal quitter there are 5-10 "silent quitters".

So, yes, this issue will split 5e.

99.9% to 0.1%

Maybe.

 

[Shasarak]

That's precisely what is happening here. You paid your money to buy the Dungeons and Dragons game. There is absolutely no contract stating that WOTC will produce ANYTHING beyond that. If you feel that buying the Dungeons and Dragons game somehow entitles you to have a digital character generator available, you would be very, very wrong. You can want such a thing, but, at no point in time are you actually entitled to it.

If WOTC decides to produce a digital character generator, fine and dandy, but, that is THEIR decision, not yours. Nor is the decision of some third guy who puts it online for you to use. IT'S NOT HIS PROPERTY. Full stop. There's no other way to look at this. Charging for it or for free, he or she has absolutely no right to do so. None.

Just remember, WOTC is not your bitch.

George and WotC can of course do what ever they want but not if they really want that precious $10 that is currently in my pocket.

 

[Dannager]

I certainly feel like a fool working with all the fans who did all the play-testing for WOTC for free and made free apps that WOTC has no official versions for yet. I guess the joke is on the fans.

I thought you were done with your pulpit.

You felt like a fool playing a game - for free - that someone else designed for you? Yeah, how disrespectful of them.

You felt like a fool for being loosely affiliated with some other people who infringed on WotC's intellectual property? Uh huh.

You need to start looking for the joke and its punchline elsewhere. Who do you think is laughing, here, exactly? It's not you. And it's not WotC.

 

[Dannager]

George and WotC can of course do what ever they want but not if they really want that precious $10 that is currently in my pocket.

Why would WotC consider a handful of $10 bills worth being blackmailed into allowing their intellectual property to be freely infringed upon? Your money doesn't have the power that you think it does. You are a fickle consumer, and long-running businesses know that fickle consumers aren't worth going out of their way to cater to.

 

[Shasarak]

Why would WotC consider a handful of $10 bills worth being blackmailed into allowing their intellectual property to be freely infringed upon? Your money doesn't have the power that you think it does. You are a fickle consumer, and long-running businesses know that fickle consumers aren't worth going out of their way to cater to.

I am sure all long-running businesses know that customers are in fact worth going out of their way to cater to.

That is why they are long running businesses after all.

 

[Gecko85]

Long running companies understand their core competencies and actively ignore the noise from everywhere else. Remember when the blogosphere, tech pundits, and message boards were all saying Apple MUST release a netbook, because everyone else was, or they were DOOMED! They ignored the noise. Seemed to work out pretty well. Chasing the whims of the vocal minority on blogs and message boards is a guaanteed recipe for failure.

 

[Hussar]

George and WotC can of course do what ever they want but not if they really want that precious $10 that is currently in my pocket.

And that's fair. Vote with your wallet. Give you money to someone else who is providing you with the products that you want.

That still, in no way, means that WOTC should not protect its IP. Say, just for arguments sake, they leave this character builder alone. They let it run. It was priced as what, a 99 cent download from iTunes? Should that mean that not only should WOTC allow someone else to freeload off of its IP, but should also let that freeloader dictate their own price points? After all, if WOTC's character builder is $ 2.99 (for example) wouldn't you just buy the cheaper one?

In your mind, what rights does creating something and having the copyright to it confer?

 

[Mistwell]

Did anyone notice there is a Fan Site Kit up? As in an official WOTC one?

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/fan-site-kit

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Did anyone notice there is a Fan Site Kit up? As in an official WOTC one?

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/fan-site-kit

so is this over, is that what people wanted?