[Milar]

[Tavish]

God I am going to kick myself later for this I know, but.....






Being the major fan of the SoT series, I had really thought about using the world as a setting or at least integrating some of the themes and mechanics he used.  Some authors it may just be better to move on from instead of taking the chance of shutdown.   Best of luck.



EDIT ADDED:

Almost forgot the one right from the Author's mouth:

[Netwyrm]

Tavish,

Those links are wonderful!

Thank you so much for taking the time to add them to your post!

While I am not interested in running a MUD based on someone elses intellectual property, having spent decades creating my own, I really got a lot out of your references in regards to the issues involved in IP licensing.

N.

[Kylotan]

Bear in mind that Mr Goodkind is in fact wrong about copyright laws. Maybe he's lying, or maybe his lawyers brainwashed him.

[Sarolite]

I disagree. If you don't actively protect your copyright, when you decide that someone has infringed on it badly enough and take them to court, their lawyers will just say "but he lets everyone else use it." It's perhaps not the letter of the law, but the reality of the legal system.

For an example, check this out:

[KaVir]

Sarolite, the link you provided refers to trademark law, not copyright law. You might find this link of interest:



10 Big Myths about copyright explained

5) "If you don't defend your copyright you lose it." -- "Somebody has that name copyrighted!"

False. Copyright is effectively never lost these days, unless explicitly given away. You also can't "copyright a name" or anything short like that, such as almost all titles. You may be thinking of trade marks, which apply to names, and can be weakened or lost if not defended.

[Sarolite]

Ahh, my apologies then. Does this mean, Kavir, that there is nothing that authors can do if they do not want their works used by others? Can they trademark characters and other things in books like one would trademark a cartoon character?

[Tavish]

I think you are misinterpreting what KaVir was saying. Author's works are copyrighted and can be protected in many ways ( cease & desist, infringement lawsuits, etc). What the myth pertains to is that those copyrights do not just go away if the author does not pursue violators. While Goodkind's reasoning behind going after infringers may be flawed, it is certainly within his power to protect his property.

[KaVir]

Thank you Tavish, that's exactly what I was getting at. In fact Goodkind's reasoning isn't entirely flawed - were he to knowingly ignore people using his work, it could potentially make it more difficult for him to defend against similar use in the future, which in turn would make his work less desirable to license to others (for example a commercial MMORPG with exclusive rights to use his theme would have to deal with a load of free competitors, making his work less appealing).

By dealing with those individuals now, he's saving himself future headaches - but unlike trademark law, he's not forced to defend his copyright or risk losing it. Indeed some authors are more than happy to see any kind of fan fiction - so it is always worth asking.

But as pointed out in Tavish's first reply, when the author says "no" it is better to just move on. Even if you're not bothered about the ethics of using someone's work against their expressed wishes, the fact remains that it only takes one disgruntled player who reports you and you'll be forced to discard many hours of work.