notbobsmith wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:56 pm
I haven't really been following the drama surrounding the D&D licensing too closely, but this is a pretty good legal analysis of what is going on:
One of the big takeaways is that he doesn't feel that rules to a game can be copyrighted or trademarked (anymore than the NFL owning the rules to football) and are free to use regardless of any license.
Youtube video doesn't work; as for copyright/trademarking the way D&D runs, I'd say they do.
Not only the monsters, the stats, the spells, etc., that are specifically created for the game.
I'd say it's akin to the
NFL Logos which, according to said attorney can not be used without written expression.
So, while D&D can't trademark rolling a dice to do combat for a Pen & Paper game, they probably can trademark how their version works.
So the context of what's in these books is very much copyrighted, just not the mechanics of how the game is fully played.
So I could make a pen & paper, where a D20 determines a hit; I'd just need to change how Armor Class is probably justified (or even, possibly, called).
And this law bit
confirms just as much.
The "drama" (which has now ended since WotC rescinded their new OLG (Open License Agreement) changes) is now over, anyway.
Sindri_Voodoo_Doll.mp3