["Ryan S. Dancey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> SAID]:
>If the gaming business evolved the kind of trademark usage that the
>software
>business has (where in a small box somewhere on the product, without a logo
>and without any obvious attempt to represent itself as a licensed good, a
>product indicated that it was "Dungeons & Dragons Compatible"), I think we
>might see some of the same benefits that Microsoft sees, and I would not
>fear the dilution and confusion as much as I do.
Actually this is the *only* use that I or anybody in my company (and I
believe anybody ethically in the industry) would ever want to make of the
D&D trademark. I would prefer a roughly 1" x 1/2" box on the front cover,
(under, smaller than, and *significantly* less conspicuous than my companies
logo) but would be perfectly satisfied with putting it on the back cover, as
long as it was there so my customers could see it while "browsing" the
product.
We would be more than willing to sign and abide by an agreement with
stipulations similar to the Mayfair games contract of 1984 (minus the "no
'all other games'" clause - this is OGL after all.)
This seems like such a small thing and in no way harmful to WotC. Is there
a way to specify this and to make it happen? How much might WotC charge for
a license for this specific use? We would be willing to pay to have THAT
particular safe harbor.
I think with OGL the risk of this particular use being made into a "test
case" by some enterprising company approaches 100% - and it seems like it
would be wiser to make that kind of use specifically available under a
relatively inexpensive license.
Faust
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