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Captain Kurt
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Copyright Question
Dec 19th, 2009 at 3:27pm
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Here's a question some of my friends and I were discussing.

I noticed that the rulebook lists many of the charactes as copyright their players. Is that how it usually works? That the player owns the copyright? Or does the DM?

If it's the player, and the player leaves the group, does that mean the DM can't use the character in the game anymore? Or does the DM own the character and the player was just controlling the player at the time? Or is it only about who drew the art?

If no one here knows the answer, we might go to one of our instructors. But I'd rather not. Not sure if any of them game.
  
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The Cougar
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #1 - Dec 19th, 2009 at 4:14pm
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Basically Intellectual property is given to the creator.

If the player creates the character (die rolls, decides which power to drop, names, gives back story, develops personality, etc) then the player has rights and the GM can only use with permission.

If the GM creates the character and gives to the player to play in the game then the GM will have rights

This is the simple version.  There are IP lawyers which will get into the complications of how usage can confer rights to the user (for example, how the Disney's Winnie the Pooh is not the same IP as A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh)
« Last Edit: Dec 19th, 2009 at 4:14pm by The Cougar »  
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Captain Kurt
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #2 - Dec 19th, 2009 at 4:20pm
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How does that work for PBEM? If a player can't make it for a session or leaves the campaign, can the player tell the DM that he can't use the character that session. That as copyright holder the player doesn't allow the DM to include him anymore. How about gamesites? Can a player tell a DM to remove his character sheet or stop using the player as an NPC if he leaves? This aren't problems tabletop, but they become issues when you send out e-mail or post things online.
  
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mel
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #3 - Jan 12th, 2010 at 1:30am
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I'm not sure if there's a big difference pbem vs. tabletop. Whenever a player leaves, I've always let the PC leave with them, even if it takes a little ingenuity. Oher players seem to respect that. Unless someone gets turned into a zombie or whatnot, I don't turn former PCs into NPCs. It never would have crossed my mind, come to think of it.
  
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #4 - Mar 5th, 2010 at 6:05pm
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mel wrote on Jan 12th, 2010 at 1:30am:
I'm not sure if there's a big difference pbem vs. tabletop. Whenever a player leaves, I've always let the PC leave with them, even if it takes a little ingenuity. Oher players seem to respect that. Unless someone gets turned into a zombie or whatnot, I don't turn former PCs into NPCs. It never would have crossed my mind, come to think of it. 


I concur. If a player leaves, the player character should go too. It would feel kind of manipulative or emotionally arrested for a GM to keep hanging onto the PC. If a player wants his character written out, then the GM should follow suit--not simply turn him into an NPC.

I've been lucky never to have a railroading GM who MAKES characters do certain things (against the players' wishes) because he thinks that's what they would do.

Besides, I've seen more than one player leave a group and have his PC join another group. That gets kind of weird of the a control-freak former GM is still controlling the character in another campaign.
  
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Majestic
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #5 - Mar 9th, 2010 at 7:51pm
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Dsumner summed things up pretty accurately, as far as I understand them.  I'm not a lawyer, but I am a certified paralegal/legal assistant and have had to deal with IP copyright issues regarding a multi-billion dollare franchise before.

Copyright is really only going to come into play regarding published materials, so for gaming (table-top and/or PBEM), it doesn't make much sense to get nighties in a knot over who owns the rights to certain characters.  Most of the time, I'd say the player (technically) owns the rights to the character; there could be situations (I'm remembering Justice helping a newer player create a PC last GuardianCon) where another player or GM had so much input (the basic idea, the way the powers fit together, the look and image for the character) where that person is the true "creator".

I tend to view things like most here have: if a person left I'd come up with something creative to explain away their disappearance, even if it was that they strangely disappeared right in the middle of a turn!  If someone was being difficult about their character (and saying nobody can use them because they 'own' them), then I'd simply drop them from the group.
  
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #6 - Mar 9th, 2010 at 7:55pm
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Majestic wrote on Mar 9th, 2010 at 7:51pm:
I tend to view things like most here have: if a person left I'd come up with something creative to explain away their disappearance, even if it was that they strangely disappeared right in the middle of a turn!If someone was being difficult about their character (and saying nobody can use them because they 'own' them), then I'd simply drop them from the group. 


Plenty of DM's I've known have been able to write out a character. No reason why it can't work for a GM too.

Even if copyright doesn't come into play legally, it's just plain considerate of the player. I've benn lucky to work with a good GM who's tended to handle things that way. Smiley
  
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Lord Inar
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #7 - Mar 15th, 2010 at 11:31am
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This issue comes up in Dorkness Rising with the DM using previous dead characters. Very funny!
  
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #8 - Mar 15th, 2010 at 12:02pm
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What's Dorkness Rising? A book? A campaign?
  
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Lord Inar
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Re: Copyright Question
Reply #9 - Mar 15th, 2010 at 12:41pm
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Sorry about that: A movie

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0447166/
  
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