In a message dated 09/06/2000 1:35:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Actually, this is legal regardless of the OGL and D20STL. > There is a fairly direct case precedent of "Allen v. Academic Games". > There a company (Academic Games) ran tournaments using games copyright > by Robert Allen, selling players copies of the games and adding on > tournament rules. In fact, their tournament rules books even included > some of copyrighted rules in question. Still, the court found > against Robert Allen's suit for copyright infringement. You can > read the case results online at > > http://www.limbach.com/articles/allen.html > > - John So, if I read the judges ruling accurately, then the new D20 license will set up a new legal precedent with respect to games in general.... or, lol the first court case that it is involved in. The part I'm referring to: "Here, Allen has not shown that it is possible to distinguish the expression of the rules of his game manuals from the idea of the rules themselves. Thus, the doctrine of merger applies and although Allen may be entitled to copyright protection for the physical form of his games, he is not afforded protection for the premises or ideas underlying those games. To hold otherwise would give Allen a monopoly on such commonplace ideas as a simple rule on how youngsters should play their games." If all courts are likely to rule this way, then what will the OGL accomplish? Am I right, then, in saying that this is the first time a rule _system_ has been formally trademarked (d20)? : ), Maggie ------------- For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
