> William Olander
>
>|It might well be that if you derive a work from the SRD (only)
|and then use
|the marks of one of Wizards' competitors in a manner which is
|unauthorized
|by the OGL, AND IT DOESN'T HURT Wizards, that they would have
|no interest in
|pursuing a breach of contract suit with your work. That has
|interesting
|implications for 'compatibility guides', doesn't it? If you
|want to go this
|route be sure you check with your lawyer first, I might be
|smoking crack.
|
|-Brad
> 2. Assuming they keep the d20 logo off it, the conversion is still a
conversion to WW material. They have to be VERY careful about the wording.
Under the OGL they are still fine though. There has been no breach of the
OGL at all, but they have used WhiteWolf material without asking and will
probably be getting a letter in the mail soon enough unless they were good
and made very vague references to Aberrant. Which I don't see them capable
of doing because on my Web Page I was kinda explicit about it being an
Abberant conversion, you really have to since while I like the game alot,
it's not instantly recognizable quite the way '3rd Edition' is.
The compatibility trick only works with trademarks of a third party
referring to a d20 conversion without being that third party, and don't step
on Wizards toes in the process. Everything you described is a mix of
legitimate work and borrowing of copyrighted material you may or may not
have the right to contribute. Fair Use doesn't allow this kind of
borrowing. Trademarks have different rules that copyrighted material.
Also, Wizards (as an ancestor copyright holder on these works) would have
the right to sue for breach if they thought it was in their best interest to
do so. A third party could PAY THEM to be a party, thus making it in their
best interest. Still, it is an interesting situation...placing Wizards in a
position of enormous power.
-Brad
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