Wizards' DnD Downloads Dead?

[S'mon]

I don't want to be pouring gasoline on the proverbial fire, but I am genuinely curious. J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, so even in the most permissive legislations his works will not become public domain until Jan 1, 2024. Or has Tolkien Estate specifically put The Hobbit into public domain?

Something to do with the vagaries of US copyright law? If it counts as a US-published work it might be treated as out-of-copyright within the US, even though first publication was in a different Berne Convention signatory. It's definitely still in copyright in the UK.

 

[Marius Delphus]

If anything, since Berne, creative works retain copyright status in the US longer than they do elsewhere. Tolkien's works are not in the public domain in the US, AFAICT.

 

[scruffygrognard]

Are we looking at the same list? I think you are looking at the Classic Fantasy list and I am referencing the list that started this thread which led to folks finding the direct links:

RPG List

Thanks for posting that workaround link to the WotC hosted files. I made sure to grab the files again, just in case I've lost any along the way.

 

[Dire Bare]

Let's make sure we are talking about the same list of books before we go further.

Sigh. I think you already know which list Hussar is referring. No, of course the classic D&D titles are not public domain and are not legally hosted by Project Gutenberg or other such sites.

And yes, of course the list of "classic fantasy" in the article on the WotC books pages are filled with classic works of fantasy, most of which (if not all) are public domain and freely, easily, and legally available through Project Gutenberg and similar sites.

Hussar isn't trying to claim that D&D titles are out there, legally, free for the taking. And I find it hard to believe that anyone in this thread truly misunderstood him on the topic.

 

[Maggan]

And I find it hard to believe that anyone in this thread truly misunderstood him on the topic.

I can honestly say that I did, albeit only for about two seconds.

And I've seen sillier misunderstandings that this in my life, so I don't find it hard at all to believe, especially if a person was riding a whole other train of thought when posting.

I've posted more stupid things than that in my life here.

/Maggan

 

[IronWolf]

Sigh.

Nice.

I think you already know which list Hussar is referring. No, of course the classic D&D titles are not public domain and are not legally hosted by Project Gutenberg or other such sites.

Yeah, I think I have it figured out now. Seeing as the thread started about the RPG materials that were not linked to anymore and then a reply from Hussar without quoting the link to the Classic Fantasy stuff led to my genuine confusion. Quoting is a good thing to help make sure people know what you are posting about - especially when there are two lists being discussed in this thread.

Hussar isn't trying to claim that D&D titles are out there, legally, free for the taking. And I find it hard to believe that anyone in this thread truly misunderstood him on the topic.

And upon my first reading of his post I thought he was. There seem to be others that had misunderstood initially as well. A quote would have helped one know immediately which list in the thread he was referring to the initial RPG list or the classic fantasy list and avoid confusion.

It seems a lot of this thread is centering around malicious intentions being placed on genuine misunderstandings sending people to the defensive quite quickly. It is a message board, and much like email, phrasing is often misinterpreted as it is hard to get context or tone of a post through written words only. It is always good for one to remember that even though what one posted seems clear as day to you, it might not have been so to the reader and need a little additional clarification before going to your guns.

 

[Hussar]

Yeah, this sort of thing is just flying up my left nostril, so, it's time to take a break for a while.

But, yes, I was referring to the second list that Mark CMG posted the link to. The link to the various works that are in public domain that were being hosted on the WOTC site and not the TSR material that was in the first link.

 

[Voadam]

Was the Classics of Fantasy thing hosting files of the full text of them or was it essays on those classics? With the links no longer working I can't tell and I would be surprised to see The Hobbit posted for free by WotC.

 

[billd91]

See, lets say i own the rights to something. I allow people to use it for free. Now i think i can add it as a perk for people who give me money. So, i do that. Why not?

Because it's probably a bad idea unless there's something else at work. In the case of digital files, taking stuff you gave away for free (for 10 years) and putting them behind a pay wall is unlikely to generate any income. Most people who wanted them probably already have them, so demand for non-free versions will be low. There are also already plenty of digital copies out there that can be easily put up on torrent sites, so supply you can't control is high. Even as a perk, the value of the materials is very low because it's really a perk people already have or can get for minimal effort.

If these were the only free materials going behind a paywall like DDI, then I'd say it's WotC making a pointless move. They'd have to add a lot more materials to make it worth it for anyone to go DDI to get the old materials that were taken down.

 

[Mark CMG]

Was the Classics of Fantasy thing hosting files of the full text of them or was it essays on those classics?

They were links to extensive, well-written essays *about* Classics of Fantasy, not links to actual text of various works.