John Kim wrote: > > On Fri, 11 Jan 2002, Ryan S. Dancey wrote: > >>Unapproved use of the term is a copyright infringement under the theory >>of character copyright. "Illithid" is one of the unique aspects of D&D >>that was not lifted from PD stuff. It has the same legal status as >>"Jedi" or "Wookie". >> > > Well, but I can legally use mind flayers in my adventure -- > right?? The concept of character copyright is that there exists a > large set of creative work which goes into creating a character, not > just a name. For example, I could infringe upon Lucas' copyright > of Jedi knights even if I didn't use the term "Jedi". >
You could, but it would be a lot harder. "Order of space-knights with psi powers" is generic. Even dividing them into good and evil is -- check out the Lensmen series for the true ancestors of the Jedi. But if you CALL them "Jedi" and "Sith" -- or something close, like "Hedji" and "Slith" -- you're treading on dangerous ground. "Squid-headed psionic monsters" has a lot fewer antecedents than "space knights". If you don't step on WOTC's toes, you'll be stepping on Chaosiums. Calling them 'Illithid' really cuts too close. _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
