grodog wrote:Just like the previous thread, I called Tadashi's attention to this thread, since he is in fact the owner of the rights for all GL products. I can't imagine that Different Worlds will allow someone to steal revenue by using our intellectual property, especially when we a) are still selling legitimate, original copies of the books, and b) have plans to reprint GL material under a d20 conversion.
Badmike wrote:bclarkie wrote:BTW, it is also illegal to sell photocopies of pages for which WOTC will be notified of as well.Brian, what was he selling photocopies of from WOTC? On his site he's only selling the fake GameLords stuff right now.Mike B.
bclarkie wrote:BTW, it is also illegal to sell photocopies of pages for which WOTC will be notified of as well.
copyright thief seller wrote:1) Let's see...would you reveal where you get your items so others can get them and compete with your sales? No? So shut up. 2) I am not selling photocopies. Contact anyone you want. 3) You know what happens when you ass u me? 4) Kindly go away unless you have a legitimate question. e-mail to harass is a violation of eBay rules; your e-mails have no merit and will be reported.
3) You know what happens when you ass u me?
Adam Shultz wrote:3) You know what happens when you ass u me? I am not sure what that means but it doesn't sound good.
bclarkie wrote:Badmike wrote:bclarkie wrote:BTW, it is also illegal to sell photocopies of pages for which WOTC will be notified of as well.Brian, what was he selling photocopies of from WOTC? On his site he's only selling the fake GameLords stuff right now.Mike B.Mike, he is selling Deities & Demigods with photocopied pages of the Cthulhu and Melniboinean mythos. I do have an update as well, here is his response to my latest query:
Badmike wrote:As long as he's giving the photocopies away and not selling them, he's in the clear.
mbassoc2003 wrote:Badmike wrote:As long as he's giving the photocopies away and not selling them, he's in the clear.By that rationale, if you sell a 3E rule book and give away a free DVD of PDFs, you're also in the clear. The buyer has the option of not receiving the free DVD if they choose.
Badmike wrote:Legally, it's a very sticky issue. ...Same with photocopies. Generally anything already freely distributed (say, the free downloads at the WOTC site) can be given away for free without represcussion.
deimos3428 wrote:Badmike wrote:Legally, it's a very sticky issue. ...Same with photocopies. Generally anything already freely distributed (say, the free downloads at the WOTC site) can be given away for free without represcussion. Ok, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm seriously considering becoming one now. Legally, it's a very clear issue. Practically, it is very difficult to enforce every PDF out there and usually not worth the hassle of taking these morons to court. Just because WotC is allowing people to download material for free from their website does not imply others have the right to redistribute that material. As the copyright holder, WotC has that exclusive right. They may authorize others to do so, or they may not. Perhaps they want customers to visit their site and be subjected to their advertising whilst downloading the files, for example. (Section 106(3))D&D articles photocopied/quoted from magazines are a different issue. Assuming you're just photocopying an article or quoting a passage, for criticism or comment, that can be considered fair use. The amount of the material copied is significant. (Section 107(2))As far as throwing in a bunch of copyrighted "free" material along with a legitimate sale, no dice. It's infringement of copyright either way, only the punishment differs. This is precisely why distribution rights are so important. (Section 501)Trying to prove actual damages and profits would futile as the infringer is giving away the material for free. They should be electing to recover statutory damages instead. (Section 504(c))In most cases, nobody will care or do anything about it, but I would. Statutory damages can result in a fine of $750 to $30,000 as the court considers just. There are additional possible penalties and way too much legalese, but that seems good enough to me. (Section 504(c)(2))If you want to read more, get the PDF (how's that for irony) of the US Copyright Law, it's really not a very difficult read: http://www.copyright.gov/title17