The GSL continues to fail?

Jul 09, 2008 09:58

Kenzer's new '4e' product is available in PDF. According to their site, a Lulu-version will be available soon.

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_grimtales_ July 9 2008, 15:32:59 UTC
So... what's going on here?

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philreed July 9 2008, 16:23:45 UTC
Kenzer appears to be following trademark/copyright law.

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_grimtales_ July 9 2008, 16:30:10 UTC
Testing the waters perhaps?

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philreed July 9 2008, 17:22:32 UTC
NOTE: What follows is memory (of rumor, knowledge passed down from others) and may be very, very inaccurate.

I _think_ I've heard that David Kenzer was/is a lawyer. If that's true, I suspect he has a very good idea of how best to proceed.

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dqg_neal July 9 2008, 15:34:04 UTC
I don't know so much about their bypassing of GSL, but I'm surprised by the statement that it will be a lulu version. Their print numbers can't possibly be that low can they?

Or is it a gimick to see how many they can sell with minimal risk before they get blocked?

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philreed July 9 2008, 16:22:51 UTC
They're skipping the GSL. In a thread at their forum David Kenzer writes:

"Correct, we no longer have an agreement with Wizards. Why? Is there some "magic" restriction in IP law that restricts people from making new creative material that doesn't use any TMs, patents or copyrights of another company?"

And then writes:

"that is not copyright infringement.

copyright infringement is basing your work on someone else's creative expression. Rules are not creative expression. Also, it is not "based" on their rules. It happens to "work with" their rules."

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rob_donoghue July 9 2008, 18:19:55 UTC
That said, even if they're 100% above board, WOTC may still challenge them, which could block things up for some period of time. Not having money tied up in inventory seems like a smart precaution, and if they're doing the sales directly through lulu, the increase in per-unit printing cost will be more than made up for by the increased margin of direct sales,

So all in all, caution is a smart approach.

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stevenehrbar July 9 2008, 21:54:21 UTC
One thing the OGL did, it kept people on the inside, pissing out.

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