In a message dated 1/21/02 11:22:13 PM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< However, if I draw a guy in black, with a wide hat, a sword, and a Mexican accent, I'm treading on dangerous ground. >> Whether or not you are depends on a number of factors. The mere act of drawing such an image means diddly squat. I can doodle all day long and there is no court in the land that will convict me of any wrong doing. Now, if you were to *publish* the same illustration, then you *may* be treading on dangerous legal ground. But again, it depends on the use and a variety of other factors *(though I would tend to err on the side of caution, myself). << If I call him "Zorro", I'm violating a character copyright. (I'm guessing, having not seen the license.) >> Our license is irrelevant. You would be violating a trademark. << I cannot write my own Zorro books, >> Yes you can. You just can't legally publish them without a license. << ...or publish my own Zorro game, even though all the *ideas* of Zorro are not copyrightable, because the CHARACTER is. >> Not arguing the specific character. And even a very similar character could illicit a legal challenge from the owners of Zorro (just as the Queen of Swords show did). But this is not about a single, specific, unique character. it's about illustrations and an idea; a theme (squid-headed psionic dudes). << And, under modern "trademark dilution" laws (enacted in the late 1990s) you could probably sue me, if you wanted to, even if my game didn't explicitly mention "Zorro", as long as it was close enough to "dilute" your trademark. A lot of hard-own trademark cases in the past would have been lost under modern law. >> [ Editorializing deleted ] << Now, the SRD case is more complex, because we have the right to use the term "Mind Flayer" in conjunction with a set of statistics (whereas I DON'T have the right to use the name "Zorro"). What is being denied is the right to link the term "Mind Flayer" to the image "Octopus headed humanoid". >> And that is just plain silly unless both parties agree to it (which in itself is just plain silly, IMO). Mark Arsenault President, Gold Rush Games | http://www.goldrushgames.com Executive Director, Game Publishers Association | http://www.thegpa.org ------------------------------------------------------- Action! System Beta rules! - http://www.action-system.com _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
