Re: (TFT) Open Source TFT

[Joe Hartley <jh@brainiac.com>]

On Fri, 8 Jul 2005 10:32:46 -0500
"Ty Beard" <tybeard@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> My 
> current take is that (for instance) "Roll three dice and if the total is 
> less than your DX, you hit" is a copyrighted sentence. To simply repeat this 
> sentence verbatim might constitute copyright infringement. But I do not 
> think that the mechanic -- roll 3d6 vs DX to hit -- can be copyrighted. So a 
> changed sentence that expressed the same mechanic should not infringe on 
> one's copyright -- "Roll three dice and add them up. If the total is equal 
> to or less than you DX, you hit the target." And even a verbatim sentence 
> might not constitute infringement -- there may not be a good way to restate 
> it. But if we restate every single rule, we go a long ways towards avoiding 
> any unintentional copyright infringement.

I agree with this for the most part.  My point is that even if we rewrite
each sentence, if we retain the order and organization of the existing
work and only change the wording, there's still an argument to be made that
we're simply making a derivative work.

It'd be like taking a Harry Potter book and rewriting the sentences and 
renaming the characters; it's not something that'd fly.  (And didn't with
some eastern European books that took a similar approach.)

Since methods and concepts cannot be copywrited, we're in the clear 
for using things like using 3 6-sided dice and 3 attributes, as far
as I know, but IANAL!

-- 
======================================================================
       Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh@brainiac.com
Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa
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