I just wanted to point out some misinformation on the list.
This contributed to my confusion regarding the restricted terms.
Regards,
--Kal
On Fri, 14 Apr 2000, Faustus von Goethe wrote:
> Sorry for the cross-posting and my earnest apologies to those who received
> this letter twice...
>
> >... copyrights
> >and traditionally the better-paid lawyer wins.
> >
>
> Copyrights - so what!
>
> In designing a game product INTENDED FOR USE WITH, or DESIGNED UPON another
> gaming system, it is not copyright you need to worry about, it is TRADEMARK
> infringements. The issue is not how close you can come to the rules - you
> can completely mimic them if you want - provided you use your own verbiage.
>
> IT IS about whether you use terms or phrases in your game that the owner of
> the other game feels are so integral to their system that they constitute a
> Trademark. The legalities are sometimes very gray here, and this generally
> means that the folks willing to spend the most $$$$ in court will win.
>
> One of the things that is seriously lacking (and very critical) in the
> current draft D20 is the list of "Restricted Terms and Definitions"
> described in section 3.1.3 of the D20 draft.
>
> These will be the "words" that WotC will reserve as their Trademarks, and
> will (presumably) spend gobs of money to fight in court to protect. This is
> where I believe this effort will come to a crashing halt, because by
> defining such a list up front, effectively WotC will be outlining for EVERY
> GAMER exactally what they can get away with stealing. They must be having
> some VERY hot-tempered discussions about this right now, because if they
> have NO LIST, then they open up their whole source document. If the list is
> very short, it can be used in court to show that phrases like "Hit Points,
> "Armor Class", "Experience Levels", "THACO", etc were not intended to be
> protected.
>
> If, on the other hand, the LIST is very restrictive and does include such
> words, then it will be against your better interests to even develop in the
> D20 system - as WotC will effectively own ALL of it - or be able to screw
> you in court for a long time if they don;t like you.
>
> WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT? Because T$R was the original 300 pound gorilla -
> by never defining specifically WHAT their trademarks were, they could
> effectively pay gobs of attorney money and claim trademark violation on
> almost anything that used their original wording or even concepts - ie Hit
> Points, THACO, etc. (Imagine trying to explain the D&D combat system
> without using common phrases such as Armor Class, Experience level, Armor
> Class Zero, and Hit Points.) This is one reason why the Mayfair Games'
> supplements (for T$R products) used HTK (or "Hits to Kill" for their
> creatures, rather than the phrase "Hit Points".
>
> Incidentally, if T$R was the 300 pond Gorilla, Hasbro weighs in at well over
> 2 Tons. It is basically going to be their show - because (unlike Mayfair
> vs. T$R) no gaming company currently in existence will be able to spend the
> money to stand up to them in court on even a trivial matter.
>
> Faust
>
> >From: "JNielsen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Subject: RE: [Open_Gaming] "Not D20!"
> >Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 17:27:22 -0400
> >
> > > For example, anyone can design a game that uses six attributes that
> >range
> > > from 3 to 18 and are determined through various means of rolling
> >standard
> > > six-sided die. But they cannot describe this game mechanic the same way
> > > it has been done in AD&D, as that would violate WotC's (and formerly
> > > TSR's) copyrights.
> >
> >Anyone can then expend the money required for the fourteen challenges to
> >this patent application. It's not as simple as it sounds. It's expensive
> >and traditionally the better-paid lawyer wins.
> >
> >Jared Nielsen
> >www.GameCodex.com
> >
> >-------------
> >For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
>
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