At 03:28 PM 11/29/01 -0700, you wrote: >I think Martin was trying to say that since the Wizards websites no longer >carry this policy it's not clear if Wizards still has such a policy. The >internet policy has always been something Wizards has been free to change >at their whim - they have no obligation to continue to allow such >violations of copyright to continue forever. Now they also aren't likely >to drum up the bad publicy of an internet crackdown at the moment. But >they could certainly start encouraging fan sites to move toward OGL >compliance. And no longer publishing the internet policy would be one way >of mildly encouraging that.
This topic came up a few months ago. As I recall, WotC removed the Internet Use Policy because it could be construed as granting legal rights to the world at large to use WotC intellectual property...fansite publishers could use the document as a basis for claiming legitimate "squatter's rights" (i.e., "laches") on WotC's trademarks and PI. From a legal standpoint, removing the written policy was probably the smart move. The problem with expecting all nonprofit fan sites to adopt OGL compliance is that so many of them are specific to campaign worlds or settings, and thus fall hopelessly outside of the SRD. There are hundreds of fan sites pertaining to the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, Planescape, etc. settings. My understanding is that WotC currently employs a "blind eye" policy with regard to such websites...that is, they won't bother you over them as long as you don't make any money off them, you credit WotC's IP and don't claim it as your own, don't reprint copyrighted text or graphics in large amounts, and don't do anything to harm the reputation or public image of WotC and its property (such as by incorporating racist, criminal or pornographic elements into the material, for example). But this policy is a privilege rather than a license or a right, and WotC can make anyone take down any of these sites at any time, for any reason. They do not seem to have any desire to do so on any broad basis, since this network of sites holds a great deal of promotional value for these special settings, especially the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. It so happens I just put up a Forgotten Realms fan site of my own, entitled "Ixinos: Island of Amazons" and presenting in great detail the small island of Ixinos in the Vilhon Reach section of the Forgotten Realms, which is home to a society of Amazons. http://www.aeolia.net/ixinos It is the culmination of nearly 10 years of on-and-off work, but it was a hobby rather than a profession, and so I could remove this site (if I had to) without any economic consequences. If I was directed to remove it, I'd probably (reluctantly) re-work it as a generic non-Realms setting, deleting a few non-SRD items like psionic powers and some prestige classes, and re-release it as an OGL web site with 100% open content. To be on the safe side, I compiled a list of every proper name derived from any WotC or TSR product and put it on the index page as "possible trademarks or PI", thus minimizing any fear of trademark dilution. Andrew Crossett [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
