dema wrote:
>
> >The idea for a game is not protected by copyright. The same is true
> >: of the name or title given to the game and of the method or methods
> >: for playing it.
>
> Ok, so we know anyone can make a role-playing game.
>
> What does it mean by name? does that mean only role-playing game as in this
> is a role-playing game and not this is the Dungeons and Dragons game. But
> can dungeons and dragons be considered the name for a game. I still think in
> court they would tag DND as falling under RPGs and not RPGs falling under
> DND.
>
> The section on Copyright does not extend to >>:any idea, system, method,
> device, or trademark material
> : involved in the development, merchandising, or playing of a game.<< Does
> that mean that DND is illegally copyrighted? or not really protected? or
> perhaps only that the idea (again) of a role-playing game is not
> copyrightable. So ineffect is the D20 rules set and D20 name
> uncopyrightable? I guess you can not copyright a system nor it's method nor
> it's name??
You will probably find things make more sense when you study the
difference between copyrights, trademarks, and patents, and learn which
applies to which situations.
You cannot copyright the words 'Dungeons and Dragons'. You CAN trademark
it. You can also copyright the text of the rules. It is my understanding
that, in at least some cases, a simple 'rewriting' of a work does NOT
allow you to avoid copyright infringement -- if I took the novel "Lord
Of The Rings" and just changed Frodo's name to Smedley, the Tolkein
estate would still get me on copyright. They'd even have a case if I
actually rephrased each sentence. But they can't do anything about a
generic 'quest' novel, even one featuring a magic ring, if the actual
novel clearly was not a copy of LOTR. (A good example of how to do it
right is "There And Back Again", a retelling of 'The Hobbit' as science
fiction. It hits every 'beat' of Tolkeins original, but it is also
clearly not a transcription or a rephrasing, but a wholly original work
that is merely (heavily) inspired by the original.)
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