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<blockquote data-quote="maddman75" data-source="post: 1344314" data-attributes="member: 2673">Note that non-OGC materials are not patented.&nbsp; They are copyrighted.&nbsp; The difference is that patents protect an idea, while copyrights protect an expression of an idea.For instance, the idea of a cthuluesque psionic squidheaded humanoid as expressed in the D&amp;D Mind Flayer is copyrighted.&nbsp; You don't have permission to use it under the OGL, so you can't use it.&nbsp; But it isn't patented, so you can use another expression of this basic idea just fine.&nbsp; You just can't call it mind flayer, nor can it be the same thing with a different name.&nbsp; If it had a different appearance, name, stats, and abilities but still fell into the category of 'cthuluesque psionic squidheaded humanoid' you'd be okay.To use your software example, Microsoft has a copyright on Microsoft Word.&nbsp; I can't write a program that works just like Word and has the same name.&nbsp; But they don't have a patent on the idea of &quot;word processor&quot;, so you can get other programs like WordPerfect and OpenOffice.&nbsp; While they share many of the same features, tehy are different programs that follow the same idea.Oh, and IANAL, or even a publisher.&nbsp; Just another message board monkey.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="maddman75, post: 1344314, member: 2673"] Note that non-OGC materials are not patented. They are copyrighted. The difference is that patents protect an idea, while copyrights protect an expression of an idea. For instance, the idea of a cthuluesque psionic squidheaded humanoid as expressed in the D&D Mind Flayer is copyrighted. You don't have permission to use it under the OGL, so you can't use it. But it isn't patented, so you can use another expression of this basic idea just fine. You just can't call it mind flayer, nor can it be the same thing with a different name. If it had a different appearance, name, stats, and abilities but still fell into the category of 'cthuluesque psionic squidheaded humanoid' you'd be okay. To use your software example, Microsoft has a copyright on Microsoft Word. I can't write a program that works just like Word and has the same name. But they don't have a patent on the idea of "word processor", so you can get other programs like WordPerfect and OpenOffice. While they share many of the same features, tehy are different programs that follow the same idea. Oh, and IANAL, or even a publisher. Just another message board monkey. [/QUOTE]

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