> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of woodelf > Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 10:56 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Martin L. Shoemaker > Subject: RE: [Ogf-l] d20 and Subabilties > > Martin: > Thank you for an excellent example--i'll try and remember that one > for reuse. I pretty much agree with you on where the line is drawn > between derivative and commentary, but i'd consider a new die > mechanic to plug into D20 to fall in the "idea" category, and not be > subject to copyright or patent, anyway.
Thanks. I'm glad it was helpful. Of course, the big publishers are prepared to spend money to contest that "idea" category. They might not win, but they're ready to try. That's why I like the OGL: it sidesteps these fuzzy issues in IP law. I have some sympathy with their position. I don't think (obviously) that the idea "2+2=4" should have any IP protection. It's just natural law. I do think (obviously) that a particular unique expression of that law may be copyrightable: "If thou shalt sum that value that is twice the multiplicative identity with that integer value which falls between the multiplicative identity and the first odd prime number, thou shalt yield a value which is exactly the second positive even number." By copyright law, that sentence is copyright to me. Anyone can comment on it, under Fair Use; but no one can include it in a math text as a theorem. Of course, they can translate it back to "2+2=4", and put that in their math text, and I can't touch them. The idea is open to all. But now let's take a more obscure mathematical construct, one where I'm listed on the patent as an inventor (and as is common in corporate life, I signed over my interest for a dollar -- so that puts me 63 cents ahead of Doug). This was an algorithmic process combined with data from two different hardware devices that both measure light frequencies, but in two entirely incompatible ways. The new device had many advantages in how it could be applied; but the old device had been around for decades, and had set the standard on how light should be measured. And conventional wisdom said that our device COULD NOT produce readings on the standard scale. But what I and the other inventors found was that, using a very convoluted calibration process and applying my knowledge of color science, we could come up with a set of conversion equations with a correlation factor of over 98% over the space of readings that interested us. These equations had to be recalculated for each individual machine, and recalibrated at intervals. Now in some sense, all I did was apply multivariate regressions to a great big pile of data that had been massaged according to known laws of color science. You could argue that, like "2+2=4", these correlations were always out there, waiting to be discovered. But I would disagree. I was there, and this "idea" took a lot of sweat and effort to produce. If that correlation was "always there", well, then, so are the laws of physics, and we should throw out any patent that simply leverages them to produce a result. And after a lot of back-and-forth, the patent office agreed with us. So I think that it's fair to say that sometimes, an idea represents creative work deserving of some IP protection. The big RPG publishers have contended in the past that their rules and the particular expressions thereof fall into this realm, and have argued that there are no definitive statutes nor court cases settling this issue, only opinions from the copyright office. Given the tendency of the Congress and the courts lately to view IP in an expansive light, their contention might well stand a court battle. And again, that's why I'm glad the OGL means we don't have to settle this question. While it would be good to have it settled, it would be very costly for all concerned. Martin L. Shoemaker Martin L. Shoemaker Consulting, Software Design and UML Training [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.MartinLShoemaker.com http://www.UMLBootCamp.com _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
