> I include it in my zine with the OGL
> and the D20 trademark.
So far, so good.
> However, I have other articles in the zine as well. Let's
> say I have two other articles in particular:
>
> (1) is a review which trashes a WotC product. It uses the WotC
> trademark [correctly identified] and some quotes of text in a manner
> which is perfectly legal for a review under normal conditions.
Faerieland is derived from d20, and d20 is copyright to WotC, making WotC a
prior contributor. Therefore, you can't reference trademarks owned by WotC
without separate permission, if you want to include Open Game Content
derived from WotC owned copyrights.
> (2) is an OGL article -- this one submitted by someone who read
> the alpha version of Faerieland and loved it. He submits a new
> alternate character generation system for Faerieland. It abides
> by the OGL, and it does not mention the D20 trademark.
The only way you can publish this article is to forego the use of the d20
Trademark License.
Now, in the real world, you are far more likely to be sued for the latter
than the former, especially if the review stays within the boundaries of
"fair use". To cover yourself completely, you might want to write to WotC
and ask for a waiver to its right to restrict your use of it's Product
Identity in your magazine on a limited basis.
Ryan
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