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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 7:47PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Aug 21, 2011
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Apparently Wrecan believes he can community.wizards.com/wrecan/blog/2011/0...Do you think this is viable? Can you come up with a new magic item, new spell and then make it 'copyright' so that nobody else can use it except for the wizards of the sword coast? Think its possible?
Ever wanted to design and build your own MMORPG? Join us at http://dragonadventures.org and participate !
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 8:01PM
#2
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Yes he can. And did you really need to make a thread for no other reason than to call him out?
That said, thank you. I've been generally unaware of that stuff and its been an awesome read.
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."-Douglas Adams
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 8:06PM
#3
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Date Joined:
Apr 12, 2008
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You can claim intellectual ownership of anything you create.
However...
WotC policy states that anything you put on their website becomes usable by them, and by putting it on their website you are granting them permission to use it however they wish. In effect, if they wanted to, they could take Wrecan's material (much of which is quite good, BTW), and slip it into the next supplement they release without any prior notice to Wrecan. I doubt highly that he would mind, but it is worth pointing out nevertheless.
So...do you own it? Sure. You can copyright it. But by sticking it on the website, you basically just gave it to WotC. If you cared too much about the rights of your creation, you would not put it on the site.
In fond memory of Mark "Wrecan" Monack.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 8:15PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Aug 21, 2011
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Yes he can. And did you really need to make a thread for no other reason than to call him out?
That said, thank you. I've been generally unaware of that stuff and its been an awesome read.
I liked it too.
I thought the, no you cant use it, but only wizards can, was a little facetious and somewhat wizard sucking, but each to their own.
I think if he intended such the content to be unusable by anyone else, it would be prudent to include a copyright notice.
Ever wanted to design and build your own MMORPG? Join us at http://dragonadventures.org and participate !
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 8:33PM
#5
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I think it is fair.
The forumers retain their copyrights, but WotC gets to borrow for them.
I cant think of a better arrangement for the D&D community.
D&D gamers benefit from all the good ideas that crowdsourcing can produce, since WotC retains the right to include any of the ideas that show during a discussions (and even modify them) in future D&D products. At the same time, individuals with profitable ideas can still own the rights to create indy D&D expansions.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 8:38PM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 30, 2010
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No, as you cannot copyright an idea at all. All that you can copyright is the particular series of words that you use to express that idea. And you own the copyright to those arrangements by default. So, for instance, I own the copyright for this post, and for every post I have made on this forum. Whether those copyrights are valuable is another matter entirely. But rest assured, if someone went out and released a book titled "joanne71's Greatest Threads" and it wasn't WotC, you could sue them.
Edit: Also, if you're going to cite the law, you should quote the law as it is now, not as it was 23 years ago. The US is a party to the Berne convention.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 9:16PM
#7
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No, as you cannot copyright an idea at all. All that you can copyright is the particular series of words that you use to express that idea. And you own the copyright to those arrangements by default. So, for instance, I own the copyright for this post, and for every post I have made on this forum. Whether those copyrights are valuable is another matter entirely. But rest assured, if someone went out and released a book titled "joanne71's Greatest Threads" and it wasn't WotC, you could sue them.
Edit: Also, if you're going to cite the law, you should quote the law as it is now, not as it was 23 years ago. The US is a party to the Berne convention.
Yeah, but you can copyright terminology, if not systems.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 9:36PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Aug 30, 2010
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Yeah, but you can copyright terminology, if not systems.
Nope, you cannot copyright terminology. Copyright extends to works only.
You are likely thinking of trademarks, which is what prevents you from making a third-party game involving beholders(TM) and illithids(TM), although it could have floating eye beasts and squid-faced brain eaters. And trademarks need to be vigorously defended or you lose them. Copyrights do not need to be defended at all for you to retain ownership.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 10:19PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Jan 15, 2009
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Which is why you could legally create an analog of any game even without OGL
Note its still a buttocks load of work to do it. Basically a rewrite in mostly your own words.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 28, 2011 - 7:12AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2001
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Can you copyright your ideas posted in the forum for DD?
Yes. You can copyright anything you write. Technically, it is copyrighted by the very act of writing it.
Apparently Wrecan believes he can.
He is correct.
Do you think this is viable?
Quite viable.
Can you come up with a new magic item, new spell and then make it 'copyright' so that nobody else can use it except for the wizards of the sword coast?
No. But you can post a new magic item, new spell and then make it 'copyright' so that nobody else can publish it as written except for the Wizards of the Coast.
Think its possible?
Quite so.
Here are the PHB essentia, in my opinion: - Three Basic Rules (p 11)
- Power Types and Usage (p 54)
- Skills (p178-179)
- Feats (p 192)
- Rest and Recovery (p 263)
- All of Chapter 9 [Combat] (p 264-295)
A player needs to read the sections for building his or her character -- race, class, powers, feats, equipment, etc. But those are PC-specific. The above list is for everyone, regardless of the race or class or build or concept they are playing.
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