--- dema <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >Simply being "compatible with" a copyrighted system
> does not by itself
> constitute infringement. If the compatible work
> substantially >reproduces
> material from the original, then it may be an
> infringement of copyright.
> Whether it is legal then rests on the question of
> "fair use".
>
> I found this under that games copyright site someone
> sent before. But I
> suppose we still can not use the words Dungeons and
> Dragons with out
> infringment, or can we?
Can't use them in an OGL product without violating the
license, but this has nothing to do with what is
allowable in conventional copyright or trademark law.
In the real world, you can buy vacuum cleaner bags
that are compatible with Eureka upright vacuum
cleaners but that aren't made by Eureka. As long as
the 3rd party vac bags aren't marketed as official
Eureka bags and the 3rd party acknowledges Eureka as a
trademark, the proprieties have been observed, AFAIK.
Same thing happens with Java books, Windows for
Dummies books, and all kinds of things. I have seen
lots of generic RPG adventure books that say they're
compatible with 'most popular roleplaying systems,
including Dungeons & Dragons' over the years. I seem
to remember a post somewhere, may have been Keith
Strohm or someone, who said that WOTC did not think
these were infringements per se but felt it was not a
nice thing to do. Or something like that. Sorry that
I can't remember exactly where I saw it, but it think
it was either on Usenet or one of the lists like
dnd-l.
Neal
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