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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
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Ayunken-vanzan
Senior Scribe
Germany
657 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Oct 2009 : 21:11:50
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| Now that also Scott Rouse has left WotC, I don't think that anything further substantial will come in regard to Fansites. Both people who where the driving force for releasing a GSL/Fansite Policy are no more - I would be surprised if there is anyone upholding their legacy. |
"What mattered our lives now? When our world had been torn from us? Folk wept, or drank, or stood staring out over the land, wondering what new horror each dawn would bring."
Elender Stormfall of Suzail
"Anyone can kill deities, cause plagues, or destroy organizations. It takes real skill to make them live on."
Varl
FR/D&D-Links • 2ed Downloads |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2009 : 09:33:50
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| Maybe we will just have to wait until the first legal conflict starts, so that some sort of limits will have to be drawn. |
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Sandro
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
266 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2009 : 11:24:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Maybe we will just have to wait until the first legal conflict starts, so that some sort of limits will have to be drawn.
Yes, but let's make sure that we're not the target in that... circus. |
"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..." |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2009 : 11:38:28
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Disclaimer: I'm a librarian, not an IP lawyer; I know something about European and Scandinavian IP laws, but I'm not exactly an expert in legal matters.
I'm not sure about IP laws in the States, but in my own country the case of Candlekeep would fall under "silent agreement" (not sure if that is the exact legal term in English), i.e. WoTC has been aware of the site for years, and yet has not taken any action (has not sued Candlekeep or issued a CoD-letter or any sort of warning). This means they've got no legal rights to claim for any sort of compensation or misuse for the way their IP has been handled here during these years. Now, if the company policy changes, I think the law requires that said policy should be freely available to all parties it involves, or it does not have any legal power over them (i.e. we couldn't suddenly rewrite our library user agreement and retroactively apply it to our patrons, claiming it was done two years ago but we just forgot/decided not to publish it).
So, until they publish a new fan site policy, I don't think anything has changed. They've given their silent agreement to the way Candlekeep and the posters here have treated their IP. When they publish a new fan site policy, it's another matter; IP laws concerning internet and digital content are sorely outdated. Still, I think we should be pretty safe if we rely on short citations and always remember to mention the source (it falls under citation rights, I think) -- even when writing articles for Candlekeep Compendium.
A short summary: as long as Candlekeep doesn't have to sign some sort of fan site policy agreement with WoTC, or as long as WoTC hasn't publicized a fan site policy which explicitly forbids use of their IP, we do not need to worry. Even if they did the latter, I think we could use citations and references to FR lore as long as there's no profit or money-making involved (and there isn't). We could even use stat blocks for new NPCs or monsters in the Compendium. As long as Candlekeep stays away from referencing or citing 4E books or lore in the Compendium, and sticks with OGL, it should be safe.
Now, take all that with a grain of salt; it's just my interpretation of the situation, and as I said, I'm a librarian whose meager (read: "the stuff we need to know in public libraries") knowledge of IP laws is limited to Europe and Scandinavia (and IP laws vary from country to country even here). If I were Alaundo, I might approach WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization) about these matters. |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Ayunken-vanzan
Senior Scribe
Germany
657 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2009 : 14:27:48
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A fellow librarian, even if he is from Cheliax, is always good news.
Fair points, but if WotC decides to sue Candlekeep I don't think that Candlekeep has the means and the money to stand through the whole trial, so WotC would win the case even if they would not win the case normally because they are the bigger ones and have the money to send their adversaries into ruin. |
"What mattered our lives now? When our world had been torn from us? Folk wept, or drank, or stood staring out over the land, wondering what new horror each dawn would bring."
Elender Stormfall of Suzail
"Anyone can kill deities, cause plagues, or destroy organizations. It takes real skill to make them live on."
Varl
FR/D&D-Links • 2ed Downloads |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2009 : 15:09:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayunken-vanzan
A fellow librarian, even if he is from Cheliax, is always good news.
Fair points, but if WotC decides to sue Candlekeep I don't think that Candlekeep has the means and the money to stand through the whole trial, so WotC would win the case even if they would not win the case normally because they are the bigger ones and have the money to send their adversaries into ruin.
Ah, but if we only had the Asmodean Disciples and a contingent of Hellknights to rely on, all the answers to this dilemma would be obvious! In fact, we could ignore the whole mess about Intellectual Property...  
What you say is, sadly, true; it doesn't matter if Candlekeep has actually violated any IP laws or not... WoTC/Hasbro has enough funds to prolong the process so long that it's just not worth the fight. I also suspect that US legal processes work a bit differently than they do over here -- for example, we have an Intellectual Property Council which often issues statements in such cases; they're legally non-binding, but still often considered "official rulings" in the court (so you could practically win a case by obtaining a positive statement; it would not *guarantee* that you win, but *most* judges would likely abide by the IP Council's decision). |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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WotC Fan Site Policy released
