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Report sellers who infringe copyrights!
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SimperingToad
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:57 pm

Might be fun to get a copy, then post the file on various websites for free and undercut his 'business'. :twisted:

Echohawk
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 12:25 am

JasonZavoda wrote:Ah, it's just fraud then and links to sites offering bootleg copies, which makes him part of the bootlegging process.

It really doesn't seem as if he/she is doing anything fraudulent...

ebay wrote:It is important to note that none of the game content is on the CD, only links to where they can be found for FREE online with NO ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING at all. Everything is on regular websites, no Torrent program or other shady Peer-To-Peer file sharing, no memberships or registering anywhere is involved in any way.

JasonZavoda
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:41 am

It is important to note that none of the game content is on the CD, only links to where they can be found for FREE online with NO ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING at all. Everything is on regular websites, no Torrent program or other shady Peer-To-Peer file sharing, no memberships or registering anywhere is involved in any way.

It would depend on the truth of this statement. There is only the one WotC website that I'm aware of that has legal downloads of the TSR and WotC material. If he is selling a CD with only one legal or active link it's fraud, and if he selling links to torrents or other illegal downloads, then it is still bootlegging and fraud.

It is a small thing, but it seems ridiculous to defend this guy. Have at it, certainly, if you feel this seller isn't being a particular kind of scumbag.

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sauromatian
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 7:42 am

Wouldn't this thread, which provides links to bootlegs, also fall under the same condemnation? Maybe sellers of links to bootlegs should market their wares as follows: "This CD contains links provided as a caution to honest web surfers, identifying what you should NEVER click on."

Kingofpain89
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 9:16 am

JasonZavoda wrote:It is a small thing, but it seems ridiculous to defend this guy. Have at it, certainly, if you feel this seller isn't being a particular kind of scumbag.

Scumbag or not, Ebay isnt likely to do a damn thing about this guy. According to the auction description he isnt breaking any of their rules. If you want to buy a copy of his CD and check it out, by all means do so. Let Ebay know that he is selling CD's with links to illegal downloads (if that is really what he is doing). They still wont do anything about it since he isnt actually selling or hosting the files. WizBro won't care either. And even if they decided to care, not much they can do about it since most of the websites that host this stuff are in foreign countries that dont really give a rats ass.

And I dont see where anyone is defending him. Defending Ebay's rules perhaps, but not the individual. It amazes me that anyone would actually create media like this. And it amazes me more that anyone would even consider buying shit like this. Not that they have to since the seller adds a free copy in every auction. Hell, I would be surprised if half the links on the disk even worked.

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Mars
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:00 pm

JasonZavoda wrote:It would depend on the truth of this statement. There is only the one WotC website that I'm aware of that has legal downloads of the TSR and WotC material.

This sounds a lot like shoot first and ask questions later.

As far as I know there is only 1 official website that has this stuff but there are a bunch that fall into the grey area - which I really don't know the legality of such as the places that have the Gamma World or Star Frontiers stuff or that wargaming one with all the General magazines, etc.

TheHistorian
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:11 pm

A careful reading of the description leads me to think that this will be links to lots of people's homebrew material, not copyrighted material. The specific TSR/WotC items listed are pretty clearly the ones that were actually released for free, so it's a fair guess that there will be links to those pages.

So either the seller is telling the truth, and he's selling information about where to find free stuff; or he's lying and he's selling links to copyright violating material. This is unknowable without getting the CD.

As such, it's different from someone selling an obvious fake that we can spot or a CD that contains scans of known copyrighted material.

Areas of interest/knowledge: Harn, WFRP, Ars Magica, anything BRP based such as CoC, Runequest, Pendragon and all their related games

EOTB
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 1:25 am

Heck, the guy could probably get close to 40 pages of links of "free RPG material" by mining Dragonsfoot's extensive free download section and the various RPG blogs, where people are giving away their own material.

He's taking $5 from lazy people who don't want to use their google-fu. But if you think about the potential market of lapsed 1E players out there who are in no way connected to the RPG internet scene, he could get a few sales and have free stocking stuffer money at Christmas.

ashmire13
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:09 am

** expired/removed eBay auction **

The guy even advertises his friends email address for a further 40,000 items... :roll:

Rolls a '3'

"Did I hit.....?"

Nogrod
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:44 pm

I am going to guess this is a violation of copyrights.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/D-D-AD-D-Advanc ... _699wt_922

The description clearly says copies. Dunno who would buy them though.

stofferm
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:15 pm

Clever one this is, selling the miniatures - but giving a way the photocopy of D&D - yet only a photo of d&d has been given on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/dungeons-and- ... 3372331cb8

Gnat the Beggar
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:44 pm

stofferm wrote:Clever one this is, selling the miniatures - but giving a way the photocopy of D&D - yet only a photo of d&d has been given on ebay:

** eBay auction listing blocked. Please enable cookies in your browser for this site and for eBay! **

The seller CLEARLY states that the papers are copies, not original books.

The main problem I have with this is that seller does not offer any pictures of the miniatures.

Nogrod wrote:I am going to guess this is a violation of copyrights.

** eBay auction listing blocked. Please enable cookies in your browser for this site and for eBay! **

The description clearly says copies. Dunno who would buy them though.

This one I do have problems with.

TSR allows owners of the ORIGINAL character sheet products to make copies for PERSONAL Use of those sheets, but selling copies clearly goes WAY beyond that line.

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mbassoc2003
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:00 pm

eBay don't give. It's the seller who pays their fee, not the buyer.

Everything this guy has ever sold for the past two years has been shipped with a pirate CD. eBay know about it and actively promote his sales because of it, and there is nothing anyone here can do to stop it.

** eBay auction listing blocked. Please enable cookies in your browser for this site and for eBay! **

eBay as a company, like Google, are so large that they get to write US law. Google do not need to follow copyright law in the US and the US courts agree. So why would eBay not be allowed to sell copyright infringing materials. They are ostensibly a US company trading out of the US. So long as the seller is iin the US they can't be prosecuted for operating under eBay's umbrella of protection. Besides, as the argument always goes, no-one is being hurt and Hasbro don't give a F, so why should anyone care. There's money to be made here.

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stofferm
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:31 pm

Gnat the Beggar wrote:The seller CLEARLY states that the papers are copies, not original books.

Gnat the Beggar wrote:TSR allows owners of the ORIGINAL character sheet products to make copies for PERSONAL Use of those sheets, but selling copies clearly goes WAY beyond that line.

Yearh; I am guessing selling a copy of a brothers copy is way beyond the same line. Stating something is a copy doesn't make it more legal - it just takes the scamming away.

mbassoc2003
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:22 pm

Surely, if the IP owner does not care whether people distribute and photocopy their product, then there is no IP infringement? That is why copyright law requires that an IP owner demonstrate an intent to defend their copyright.

Hasbro own the IP. No-one else has any claim to it. Hasbro don't care (in some cases actually providing the PDFs themselves) therefor these actions are legal.

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

Tyrannosaurs
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:47 pm

mbassoc2003 wrote:Surely, if the IP owner does not care whether people distribute and photocopy their product, then there is no IP infringement? That is why copyright law requires that an IP owner demonstrate an intent to defend their copyright.

Hasbro own the IP. No-one else has any claim to it. Hasbro don't care (in some cases actually providing the PDFs themselves) therefor these actions are legal.

Yes it has to be enforced but it's not like trademarks where if you don't enforce it you lose it. They retain the rights and this is an infringement, just in these instances they've chosen not to do anything.

I'm guessing that the main reason is that it's simply not worth their time and it would potentially engender bad feeling in the gaming community.

But if someone started mass printing and selling stuff I'm guessing you'd see a response.

Tyrannosaurs
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:50 pm

Curious to know the legal status of the Star Frontiers books on Lulu. They're branded as Star Frontiers so it's not a clone.

Seems a blatant infringement but am guessing that Hasbro really don't care. Anyone know if there's an endorsement of any sort?

Edit: Answering my own question - apparently permission seems to have been granted to distribute stuff so long as its not for profit seemingly.

bbarsh
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:39 pm

Tyrannosaurs wrote:Curious to know the legal status of the Star Frontiers books on Lulu. They're branded as Star Frontiers so it's not a clone.

Seems a blatant infringement but am guessing that Hasbro really don't care. Anyone know if there's an endorsement of any sort?

Edit: Answering my own question - apparently permission seems to have been granted to distribute stuff so long as its not for profit seemingly.

I am very doubtful that someone received permission to distribute so long as they don't profit from it. In fact, I am gonna say that is flat out wrong.

And I could've bought these damn modules off the 1$ rack!!!

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