[ObDisclaimer: I'm still not a lawyer, this still isn't legal advice]
>I agree with Alex's later post that the Spider Man example is poor.
>The notion of a derivative work applies clearly to works of fiction,
>like comic books and novels, but I assert that it's much less clear
>for RPGs.
Assert away, but be prepared to back your assertions up with a well-paid intellectual property lawyer or three should push come to shove. The problem is that, legally speaking, whether RPGs are closer to an instructional manual or a novel is about as obvious as the God Learner's Secret and arguments can be made both ways (me, I come down solidly in the middle of the fence - a most uncomfortable position, let me assure you - and argue that they're both; mechanics are one, game worlds are the other).
>An RPG is not, as its essence, a work of fiction -- I
>don't buy an RPG to read it as a story.
Lots of people *do* buy RPG material to read as a story (Gods know I've got scads of stuff I've never actually run).
>My own gaming sessions are all derivative works, by your definition,
They are, but not all derivative works are copyright infringements. One thing that *is* fairly clear is that creating derivative works for personal use is legit (in much the same way that making a backup copy of a piece of computer software is perfectly legal). Distribution of derivative works is a whole 'nother question.
>If not, let's
>wander down a path:
>
>1. I, a GM, derive a scenario from a few RPG sourcebooks.
So far, so good.
>2. I run the scenario with some friends.
You're still on firm legal ground.
>3. I lend my write-up to one of those friends.
At this point you're busted (theoretically, anyway. Passing a copy of a scenario to a friend may be illegal (in the same way that passing the same friend a copy of the latest version of Wordperfect would be), but the Powers What Is are unlikely to notice, and even if they do they're unlikely to be terribly worried about it).
> He runs it for
> yet more friends. The circle widens. It's no longer just a
> private work in a drawer; it's "published" insofar as quite
> a few people know about it now. Perhaps a fair number of
> copies are floating about.
By this point you should probably be looking for a lawyer if the copyright holder(s) are sticklers, unless they've established a policy explicitly saying this is OK. By the time you get to putting it up on the Web, failing some sort of permission expect the cease and desist letters to start rolling in (cf. TSR vs. the Internet).
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