Re: Copyright Schtuff...

At 11:24 AM 1/28/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Anyone know what constitutes violation of US copyright?  I borrowed
some
>ideas from Star Fleet Battles for the Full Thrust tactical rules we've
>written and I'm wondering if using system names from SFB violates their
>copyright.
>
>I designed Hellbore, Expanding Sphere Generator, and Phasors for Full
Thrust
>and I'm wondering if I should change the name of these systems before 
>submitting the rules to the Unofficial Full Thrust page.

I don't know US copyright, but since the US adheres to the Berne
convention,
it is close to Canadian law. As for Canadian law, my wife is a law clerk
specializing in litigation, so this isn't just off the top of my head.

You should be okay. You can't copyright rules or names. You can
copyright
the specific wording of game rules, but you can not copyright the rules
themselves. You can't copyright names but you can trademark them. This
is
easy to check, as there should be a trademark (TM) or registered
trademark
(R) beside the name of the weapon system. There should also be a
trademark
blurb for these systems in the front of the book if they are
trademarked, too.

Even if they ARE trademarked, you may still be in the clear. If you use
the
name and acknowledge the trademark, you're pretty safe. The reason
corporations get antsy about trademarks is that you can LOSE your
trademark
if you don't defend it. If you don't defend the trademark, the law feels
that you are no longer interested in it and it goes back out into the
public
domain. 

However, even if you do acknowledge the trademark, you aren't totally
safe.
You could still be sued. For instance, Wal-Mart sued an Alberta store
called
Walmart (or Wallmart) when the huge US chain started to make in roads
into
Canada. This is in spite of the fact that the other store has been
around
longer and "Wal-Mart" hadn't been registered in Canada. A lot of
Americans
don't realize that US trademarks don't apply in Canada. So, you could
still
be sued. This is HIGHLY unlikely as it costs money and if you simply
pull
the document, they are out of the money for the Statement of Claim (or
US
equivalent). You would probably just get a "big foot" letter. This is
the
kind of letter that says "cease and desist or we'll sick the lawyers on
you." At that point, you can change the names without a problem.

So, look for the Trademark or Registered Trademark symbol or blurb. If
they
aren't there, you are safe. If they are there, make use of them but give
proper credit. If you get a message from Task Force Games telling you to
not
use their trademarks (and I think this would fall under the fair use
clause
in US trademark law anyway) change them. If you are REALLY worried, send
a
copy to Task Force Games and see what they say (include a SASE to be
totally
up front about it).

Hope this helps.

Allan Goodall:	agoodall@sympatico.ca 
"You'll want to hear about my new obsession.
 I'm riding high upon a deep depression. 
 I'm only happy when it rains."    - Garbage