> Rogers Cadenhead
>
> As you can see, the term "d20 system" had meaning in the public
> domain prior to
> Wizards' use of it (even Wizards was using it generically).
Um, I have to disagree with you here. All of the examples cited used the
term 'd20' with the word 'system', but not together as a proper noun. The
term 'd20' has certainly been in public use for at least 25 years, but
nobody has been referring to a particular set of rules as the 'd20 System',
but rather just use the words to describe a system that used a d20 to
resolve most of the mechanics.
This type of thing is very common, and not against Trademark law. If I
wanted to create a line of furniture called 'Danish Design' (assuming it
didn't already exist), it wouldn't matter how many people said that they
liked furniture of Danish design. I could still have my mark. It wouldn't
be as strong as if I'd use "Inga's Danish Designs", but it would still be
valid.
It will be much more interesting to hear what WotC legal has to say about
parties who use the term 'd20' in their product names to refer to Open
Gaming Content based on the rules for the 'd20 System'. I hope that WotC
issues a non-binding public opinion statement on this issue soon, because
people are already using 'd20' in conjunction with their own works. (the
d20 FAQ and d20-xml come to mind, though at least the latter will be OGC...)
-Brad
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