[ObDisclaimer - No soy abogado.]
>RPGs allow derivitive works by definition, which implicitly gives the
>kind of rights you're are talking about Marion Zimmer Bradley giving by
>default when see didn't "aggresively pursue" her copyright.
RPGs by definition allow you to *create* derivative works, yes. Publishing 'em is a whole 'nother legal kettle of Sun gods.
>Exactly...I think the the Quake analogy provides an even "closer-to-home"
>example. How can someone publish a game that requires you to create
>*and distribute* derivitive material in order to play and then
>try to deny that you have the right to do so?
Granted that I'm not a big fan of first-person shooters, and granted I could be wrong on this, but since when does Quake *require* you to distribute derivative material in order to play the game?
>That's my point. RPGs have always encapsulated worlds within them
As a sometime owner of the original Dungeons & Dragons (three-book box edition), 1st editions ofTraveller and Tunnels & Trolls, and assorted other pre-Dawn RPG relics, I can assure you that this is by no means the case. Indeed, even some modern stuff (GURPS Basic, frexample) doesn't encapsulate a world.
>Exactly. It's a small industry and nobody wants to upset the status-quo,
>and no RPG publisher wants to face up to how much of their copyrights
>they give up when they put their world into an expandable game system.
Actually I think that it's more that publishers are looking at the examples of people who *did* rock the boat, looking at what happened to them, and deciding that it isn't worth the risk of getting sued into oblivion. (Plus people don't want to get snubbed at the Gencon beer-bashes for the rest of their lives).
About the only way this issue is ever going to be resolved is if somebody with *very* deep pockets and a good team of intellectual property lawyers publishes a Blatant Derived Work, gets sued and wins in court (emphasis here on *wins in court* - yet another out of court settlement either way wouldn't be worth much). Win or lose, such a person would probably gain the neverending gratitude of many RPGing 'netizens (hell, rec.games.frp.dnd's volume alone would drop by half if the Never-ending Copyright Flamewar were finally resolved one way or another).
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