[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> In a message dated 12/13/00 7:09:21 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> >This is so wrong I don't even know where to begin. We aren't talking about
> >tools, we're talking about explicitly licensed copyrighted material. If
> >it is a 'derivative work' under copyright law, it isn't really yours, and
> >thus you have no rights to distribute it.
> >
> >Your examples do not translate to OGL.
>
> Huh?
>
> If I write a story with the characters from Gilligan's Island, its my story.
> I own it. It is derivative.
Assuming that a court finds Gilligan, the Skipper, etc. sufficiently
delineated
so as to warrant copyright protection, then yes, it is a derivative
work. (And
who wouldn't grant copyright to those lovable castaways?)
> I can even distribute it. If I do so *for profit*
> I have a problem, but otherwise I'm fine.
Technically, no. Intent to profit is not an element of copyright
infringement.
The noncommercial use might factor into a fair use analysis, but
distributing
copyrighted material/unauthorized derivative works (for free or
otherwise) is
generally an infringement of the copyright holder's exclusive rights
under 17 USC
106.
> And even though they can tell me
> not to distribute it, *I* still own the story, not them.
Do you have a cite for that proposition? The only applicable case I
know off the
top of my head is Anderson v. Stallone (the Rocky V case; I'll dig up
the cite on
request), which holds that no copyright protection can arise in an
unauthorized
derivative work.
That said, the use of copyrighted characters to create an unauthorized
derivative
work is a more clearly defined area of the law then the question of when
games
spawn derivative works. I remain unconvinced that a D&D advenure (for
example)
is necessarily an unauthorized derivative work by virtue of its use of
the D&D
system. But until someone has the resources/patience/desire to
litigate, it's an
academic point.
On a different and odd note, my one published Dungeon Magazine adventure
is
dotted with Gilligan's Island references...
GG
fn1 Yes, that term is a stretch when applied to Gilligan & co.
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