j_dean80 wrote:Davane wrote:The foundation of copyright law is simple - would your product/service/content serve as a replacement for the legal copyright owner, and thus potentially deprive them of a sale now, or in the future?
With Hasbro actively making a new version of HeroQuest, you may quickly find yourself in hot water if Hasbro think that you are producing miniatures/components for the HeroQuest game that would deprive them of sales of not only the main game system, but also any future expansion reprints that Hasbro may consider in the future. Since Hasbro included Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord in the fundraising campaign, there's a good chance that the other expansions may also see reprints.
As such, I would urge caution, and for the sake of the Inn, please consider taking this topic and similar ones away from the site. There's already the concern that Hasbro may ask the Inn to pull it's official resources from the site, and there's a lot of fan created content here that it would be shame to lose if the site were to be shut down over copyright infringement issues.
1 person doing this on their own has nothing to do with the Inn. The Inn would not be directly involved. It’s like someone posting a bootleg movie for sale through facebook classified. That doesn’t go to facebook and get the site shut down.
No, but it does get the copyright owner to go to facebook and issue a DMCA takedown for the content, and if Facebook doesn't comply by removing the targeted classified, means they can potentially face legal action.
I don't know if you are aware, but there have been a number of DMCA complaints and copyright claims against creators of YouTube and Twitch regarding the issue of music copyright recently. Twitch found themselves innundated by them, mostly as a result of Twitch streamers playing music in the background of their streams, regardless of content. Twitch didn't handle the process very well, as the mostly automated system saw content creators getting multiple copyright strikes, and being left with little choice but to delete entire swathes of content.
My concern is that the "single person doing this on their own" is no longer a valid defence regarding copyright law. You can't just "turn a blind eye" to things like this anymore, for doing so can make the responsible site complicit in copyright infringement. Hasbro only has to issue a DMCA notice to the site, and if the Inn doesn't comply, they they become just as liable.
If this becomes an enterprise, being enabled by the Inn "turning a blind eye," it makes the Inn a target for Hasbro. The Inn can argue Fair Use as a reference library and fan site for an out of print game. The problem is that we don't know what Hasbro's intentions with the IP are.
Then there's the fact that it's not clear exactly who owns the rights to the miniature sculpts for the original HeroQuest game. As a product co-developed by Milton Bradley and Games Workshop, it may be the case that Games Workshop actually owns and retains the rights to the miniature sculpts of the original system, as opposed to Hasbro. In fact, Fimir miniatures are specifically listed as product identity, and if this is enough to make Hasbro think twice about reusing Fimir models, then Games Workshop certainly has the power - and the proven capacity and inclination - to go after anyone trying to sell bootleg miniatures of theirs.
Either way, it would be unfortunate is the Inn was to be caught in the crossfire between Hasbro and Games Workshop, with regards to what will certainly be interesting developments with the miniature gaming industry in the near future. If any such enterprises raises the profile of the Inn, the best outcome would be a DMCA takedown notice followed by quick compliance by the Inn. The worst would see the Inn being forced to shut down, as the owners are targeted by legal action by Hasbro and/or GW for non-compliance with a DMCA takedown notice in a timely fashion.
Neither seems a particularly worthwhile outcome because of a "crazy idea" - and it might be advisable for the Inn to take the stance that any such enterprises should not be discussed/organised on the site. There's a difference between "Look at what I did, isn't it cool?" and "Look at what I have created for sale, do you want some?"