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Third Party Character Creation iOS App Removed
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7661132" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>I'll have a go, though American contract law is not exactly my field.</p><p></p><p>The Fan Site Kit Policy defines itself as being part of the Website Terms of Use. And the Terms of Use (that are linked to on the Fan Site Kit Policy page) talk about compliance with the Fan Site Kit Policy.</p><p></p><p>So if the Terms of Use are binding, then that line in the policy is probably binding also.</p><p></p><p>On general principles as they apply in Anglo-Australian contract law I don't see how the Terms of Use could be binding, and hence don't see how that line in the policy could be binding. For instance, neither the WotC home page nor the D&D page prominently display the Terms of Use: you have to scroll to the bottom of the page and then follow a link to find them. Only once you start reading the Terms of Use do you find the line that "Your use of our Websites or Services constitutes your acceptance of these Terms of Use . . ."</p><p></p><p>That said, anyone who <em>has</em> read the Terms of Use or the Fan Site Kit Policy is probably bound at that point. There may also be special rules that apply to online/website contracts that I'm not aware of, that override the general rules about display of fine print that I am applying in my reasoning in the previous paragraph.</p><p></p><p>But in any event being bound by the policy doesn't seem to amount to much: the prohibitions on altering downloaded Tool Kit material or on merchandising material bearing WotC trademarks or material probably already apply as part of general IP law.</p><p></p><p>The other rules seem to apply only to Fan Sites, which are defined as being "for your own personal use" as one of the game's "fans, collectors and commentators". So I don't think they apply to someone running a site like ENworld. Hence, for instance, I don't see that - say, by reading the 5e Basic PDF - you as owner of ENworld have contractually promised not to "publish, display, exhibit or use any information about products (including any photographs, game text, rules, or drawings of such new products or their prototypes) that has not already been released to the general public by Wizards or that Wizards has otherwise expressly authorized for release to the collector community".</p><p></p><p>Another possible construction would be that, if you use the tool kit material on your site - and hence bring your site into the category of "fan site" - you have promised not to also have that prohibited material on your site.</p><p></p><p>(A further complexity is that most such material wouldn't count as "Wizards Material" (which is defined as the stuff in the tool kit), but the prohibition appears under the heading "guidelines and policies for use of Wizards Material". But this wouldn't be the first time a contract had an unhelpful heading.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7661132, member: 42582"] I'll have a go, though American contract law is not exactly my field. The Fan Site Kit Policy defines itself as being part of the Website Terms of Use. And the Terms of Use (that are linked to on the Fan Site Kit Policy page) talk about compliance with the Fan Site Kit Policy. So if the Terms of Use are binding, then that line in the policy is probably binding also. On general principles as they apply in Anglo-Australian contract law I don't see how the Terms of Use could be binding, and hence don't see how that line in the policy could be binding. For instance, neither the WotC home page nor the D&D page prominently display the Terms of Use: you have to scroll to the bottom of the page and then follow a link to find them. Only once you start reading the Terms of Use do you find the line that "Your use of our Websites or Services constitutes your acceptance of these Terms of Use . . ." That said, anyone who [I]has[/I] read the Terms of Use or the Fan Site Kit Policy is probably bound at that point. There may also be special rules that apply to online/website contracts that I'm not aware of, that override the general rules about display of fine print that I am applying in my reasoning in the previous paragraph. But in any event being bound by the policy doesn't seem to amount to much: the prohibitions on altering downloaded Tool Kit material or on merchandising material bearing WotC trademarks or material probably already apply as part of general IP law. The other rules seem to apply only to Fan Sites, which are defined as being "for your own personal use" as one of the game's "fans, collectors and commentators". So I don't think they apply to someone running a site like ENworld. Hence, for instance, I don't see that - say, by reading the 5e Basic PDF - you as owner of ENworld have contractually promised not to "publish, display, exhibit or use any information about products (including any photographs, game text, rules, or drawings of such new products or their prototypes) that has not already been released to the general public by Wizards or that Wizards has otherwise expressly authorized for release to the collector community". Another possible construction would be that, if you use the tool kit material on your site - and hence bring your site into the category of "fan site" - you have promised not to also have that prohibited material on your site. (A further complexity is that most such material wouldn't count as "Wizards Material" (which is defined as the stuff in the tool kit), but the prohibition appears under the heading "guidelines and policies for use of Wizards Material". But this wouldn't be the first time a contract had an unhelpful heading.) [/QUOTE]
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