> > woodelf >> >> actually, if you want to really puzzle over all of this, re-read the >> copyright law on what consitutes "derivative work". > >It is probably more practical to look at how judges have interpreted the >copyright statutes, since the judges will look at the caselaw as much as >anything when making a decision. It goes a long way towards answering your >question of "what is derivative", but it also leaves a fair bit up in the >air. Quite deliberately, I think. Regarding your "sequel" question, I
[bunch of copyright cases. snip.] i'll look at the links when i get a chance, but you still didn't answer my question: did any (or all) of those cases explicitly cite "derivative work" as the reason that the new work was illegal? i'm actually not at all surprised that each of those was ruled a violation (with the exception of the Breakout case (about which i don't know enough to reach an opinion), that's exactly the conclusions i would have come to, based on the statute alone. i'm reasonably certain that a non-parody/satire sequel to a novel is a copyright violation. what i don't know is if it's a copyright violation because it's a derivative work, or for some other reason. similarly, i'm not so much questioning whether certain things that the D20/WOGL licenses allow would be illegal without them, as i am questioning the conventional wisdom that the *reason* they would be illegal is because they are "derivative works". it may seem like splitting hairs to some, but i think it matters *why* something is illegal, not just that it is (because that then gives you more info to extrapolate from). >I found a great site on the net that has a lot of copyright cases summarized >with comments on the implications of the decisions. I strongly recommend it >to anyone who wishes to enter into a gray area of the OGL. i'll take a look at that. thanks. -- woodelf <*> [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.home.net/woodelph/ If any religion is right, maybe they all have to be right. Maybe God doesn't care how you say your prayers, just as long as you say them. --Sinclair _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
