Translating the SRD

[Ranger REG]

As others have said, translating the SRD requires no special permission in theory. However, from what I've seen, the publishers of the translated versions tend to be heavily against that idea.

Oh, joy. That must keep WotC's lawyers all warmed up inside.

The former german publisher Amigo even asked Flyspeck23 once to take down portions of the english SRD that he posted on his site.

Of course. After all, the publiser can afford a group of lawyers and just tie the civil suit in court, which Flyspeck23 may not be able to keep retaining his lone defense lawyer long enough to finally meet with the judge, who is more interested in making tee time.

But that's the court system for ya, never always favor the little men.

 

[Ranger REG]

As others have said, translating the SRD requires no special permission in theory. However, from what I've seen, the publishers of the translated versions tend to be heavily against that idea.

Oh, joy. That must keep WotC's lawyers all warmed up inside.

The former german publisher Amigo even asked Flyspeck23 once to take down portions of the english SRD that he posted on his site.

Of course. After all, the publiser can afford a group of lawyers and just tie the civil suit in court, which Flyspeck23 may not be able to keep retaining his lone defense lawyer long enough to finally meet with the judge, who is more interested in making tee time.

But that's the court system for ya, never always favor the little men.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

As others have said, translating the SRD requires no special permission in theory. However, from what I've seen, the publishers of the translated versions tend to be heavily against that idea.
The former german publisher Amigo even asked Flyspeck23 once to take down portions of the english SRD that he posted on his site.

If you want to want to translate the SRD into a language that already has D&D books translated into it, the best advice is - do not own those books, and don't look into them.

(And it definitely wasn't the Creature Collection killed this way - I've seen the german translation for it in my FLGS)

I wonder what the reason is for Amigo being the _former_ publisher.

Amigo definitely sucked, it took them years to translate any meaningful amount of WotC books.
And then there was the incident where we created a "Rage Mage" class and presented it on our website. We got an email that we should take it off because it had the same name as a class from a Dungeon Magazine... That wasn't available in Germany!
I believe such emails are never a good sign for a RPG corporation - FASA sent similar letters to fans, and you know what happened to them...

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I believe such emails are never a good sign for a RPG corporation - FASA sent similar letters to fans, and you know what happened to them...

And yet, Palladium remains in business...

 

[Ranger REG]

And yet, Palladium remains in business...

I know. It's depressing they're still here.

 

[Flyspeck23]

The former german publisher Amigo even asked Flyspeck23 once to take down portions of the english SRD that he posted on his site.

Ah, yes the SRD Handouts. Amigo's POV: the SRD is meant for publishers, not the general public

They said they'd notify WotC if I didn't remove the handouts. All my explanations of the OGL and the d20 System License went on deaf ears. So I removed the handouts... and notified WotC

Then again, I understand (or at least I think I do) why they reacted the way they did: they paid good money to aquire the D&D license, and I didn't pay a dime to republish the SRD - which, in the eye of the uninformed, is basically the same thing.

So tread with care - if there's a D&D publisher other than WotC involved.
And if they bully you, contact WotC ASAP. That's what I did, and 48 hours later all threats stopped...

 

[Flyspeck23]

Of course. After all, the publiser can afford a group of lawyers and just tie the civil suit in court, which Flyspeck23 may not be able to keep retaining his lone defense lawyer long enough to finally meet with the judge, who is more interested in making tee time.

Note that they never wanted to bring this to the court - they thought WotC would do that for them

 

[Knight Otu]

That's what I did, and 48 hours later all threats stopped...

I thought they died from heart attacks seeing the SRD files being sold on RPGNow?

 

[Vrecknidj]

Well, you can't translate it into the language of the yuan-ti, the mindlflayers, or any of the other non-OGC critters. ;-)

Dave

 

[Ranger REG]

Note that they never wanted to bring this to the court - they thought WotC would do that for them

Well, WotC will only step in if there is a violation of copyright, which is their primary concern. But if OGL is being used, then only violating the terms of the license will prompt a legal action.

It's egg on Amigo's faces if they have no inkling about the application of the Open Gaming License. Maybe it's an honest mistake, but if not, then they don't deserve to stay in business.