> >7. Players of RQ3 have a right to share these materials with whomever
> >they please as long as they give credits for copyrighted material and as
>
> >long as they do not "copy" the original products (by releasing a "new"
> >set of RQ3 rules for sale to the public, for example, or simply copying
> a
> >scenario, putting a new cover on it, and re-selling it). BTW, if you're
>
> >having a tough time swallowing this one, consider Lotus who tried to
> claim
> >a while back that they "owned" all Lotus 1-2-3 macros ever written.
> This
> >claim failed, and Lotus users are free to write, distribute, and *sell*
> any
> >macros they write.
>
> Avalon Hill apparently tried to do the same thing with Tales. But your
> example is misleading -- Lotus did not write the macros, so they don't
> own them. However, the actual word Glorantha and all of its component
> parts are owned by Greg or Chaosium. Just as you can't publish a comic
> book starring Captain America without Marvel Comics' permission, you
> can't use Glorantha without permission.
Well, although the word 'Glorantha' is owned, the rest of the *ideas* and
names AFAIK are not - Lunar, Jareel, Sartar, Harmast etc. As long as you
don't use the *word* Glorantha in you publication...
As I wrote a while ago, Greg's statements about the openness of Glorantha
are crud - until he and Chaosium agree to waive ownership of the word. Now,
he can still vet material, and material from Greg will carry the increased
kudos and respectability, but he can't 'open up Glorantha' and still hold the
strings. Again, let's be honest and not say that Glorantha is open in any
way: it's like have a democracy where only one political party is allowed...
you can vote for whoever you like but there's only one name on the ballot
paper!
Robert McArthur
PS. Yes, Greg has put a lot of time, effort and himself into Glorantha. Let's
just not say it is an open world. Except in the privacy of your living room,
it is Greg's world full-stop.