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.
3) You know what happens when you ass u me?
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: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.
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
Badmike wrote:No one cares unless you are a huge corporation with hordes of lawyers willing to spend time and money. The best, absolute best, result is to get the listings removed from Ebay or the internet.
deimos3428 wrote:I figured the copyright holder could stomp them with a quick $750 (minimum) fine and be done with it. They're distributing the material without authorization, which is a copyright infringement, and very easily provable as it's for auction on frickin' eBay! It looked good on paper, anyway. :roll:
bclarkie wrote:Allan, I am assuming that Tadashie is going to follow up with EBay about these fakes that are being sold. If need be I will forward my fake coipies to yourself or him directly for that matter as proof. Let me know.
killjoy32 wrote:if tadashi contacts ebay and tells them that his copyright is being breached by persons X Y and Z with listings A B and C, ebay will pull them.he just needs to go through the VERO programme and they WILL sort it - believe me they are as sharp as feck when you start down that route. i've been on the receiving end of that once (totally unknowingly) - the listing took 2 hrs 30 mins or so, to be removed.