Derp & Dragons
The contemplation of translating the Worlds for B&B into a D&D rules format for a wider audience.
Would WotC (a subsidiary of Hasbro), current copyright holders of D&D accept any third party independently profiting from their property?
Does it matter that they did not invent D&D which I have been playing since before they were born? Legally, no.
US legislation states a game rules system cannot be copyrighted, only the words used to teach it can be copyrighted.
The legal precedent says I can do it regardless of WotC fiercely protecting their property by ‘phrasing things just so’ (“aggressively pursue anyone infringing their copyright”) for the last few years to scare people away from creating independent content.
My big deciding factor to this question is what would I do if a third party began profiting from products designed for my franchise independently of me?
I would want the quality to be sufficient that I could put a Seal of Approval stamp on it, make it official and lease the license in some way so we can both mutually profit from an official product line for a game I invented and own.
Does the third party have to play that game? No.
Could I stop them from doing it? I would have to sue them for copyright infringement of use of my intellectual property without consent. This would only potentially work if I had previously registered the title as a trademark.
Has this ever happened to me? Yes.
My own RPG product has a third party currently reading and using my registered trademark and without my consent. His product is similar to mine and it occupies the same cultural space. He has even used the same title for an expansion pack as I used for an expansion pack.
Am I upset and wealthy enough to sue the guy?
This is variable. As my product expands it will become more of a problem.
Have I attempted to discuss this with him honourably?
Yes. He told me to piss off and blocked me. He is continuing to expand his product range using my registered trademark without my consent.
Here are the receipts:
LINKS (tba)
Should I allow the wolf of anger to consume the wolf of love within me?