Re: [piecepack] Re: New game added to the wiki: Piecepack Isle

[Jorge Arroyo <trozo@...>]

Copyright only covers the actual text used to write the rules of a
game and the actual art on the components, but not the mechanics
themselves. See: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html

So you're free to make a game based on another game as long as you
write your own set of rules and don't use any graphics from the
original. You'll then own the copyright for the text in your rules.
You won't own the game mechanics unless you patent those...

Else about half of the games in the market today could be called
copyright violations as most of the mechanics used are derived from
older ones... And even when a mechanic is patented (see tapping in
Magic) it didn't prevent it from being used in many other games...

So, Roger, as long as you wrote your own rules without copying
anything from the original game, don't worry. Put your (c) in your
rules, say the game is based on Forbidden Island and use any CC
license you want :) You're doing nothing wrong, as you're basically
giving the original game a new way to gain exposure. If someone
really likes it on the piecepack, they may even buy the original game
for the nicer components :)

-Jorge


On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 1:29 AM, sshum2003 <sshum2003@...> wrote:
>  Ron Hale-Evans <rwhe@...> wrote:
>>
>> Yes. The rules for the Good Portsmanship contest covered this.
>>
>> http://www.ludism.org/piecepack/pp7.html
>>
>> Ron
>
> sshum2003:  Meaningless and doesn't comply with copyright law.  That comes from the Copyright Office website but doesn't refect copyright law.
>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 12:53 AM, littlebrothertimmy
>> <littlebrothertimmy@...> wrote:
>> > You're welcome :-)
>> >
>> > I explicitly did not add anything about the rights, since the original game is still available. The rules I made are not mine, so I have no rights over them. I just adapted the original rules, so this game can be played with the piecepack system.
>> >
>> > Does anyone know how to handle a situation like this? Am I allowed to have some kind of power over rules that aren't really mine (in the sense that I can say these rules can be coppied, modified, and/or redistributed)?
>
> sshum2003:  Given a port is a derivative work, the "porter" only has right in "translation" into a piecepack.  The base game still is copyrighted by the original designer.
>
> So Piecepack Isle's copyright info should read:
>
> Piecepack Isle
> (c) Roger
> based on Forbidden Island (c) original designer (or company)
>
>
>
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