Talk Fantasy Football

Right. We all know that GW legal want to wipe out any trace of community involvement in the rulesmaking process. We all know where the community stands on this matter.

Let's leave the rules to one side.

I wonder what the legal status of the Fluff side of things is. After all, the net is absolutely frothing with fanfiction of just about every type and genre imaginable....some of it a little bit naughty, and some of it downright disturbing.

So if someone chose to put up a site of material based on the game, in full compliance with whatever guidelines Granny has on her website at the moment, would we get legal on our case?

The Fluff is one of the real strengths of this game. It can almost become a roleplaying game if you want it to. If we wrote expanded stuff then I have a hard time seeing how they would have the slightest legal comeback, as long as we didn't reproduce the stuff in their publications...

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"I'm just going to play and try to understand this silly game, but mostly drink beers and sing with my friends."-OMM.

Thats the problem with this legal stuff.. once one person submits to legel threats it sets a precedent to go after others.. Fluffs are great but are only great as they related to the stories and background from the products they derive from..

If Legal decided to go after all the fluffs.. Its all about submitting to there legal advice or just turning around and saying no! and see how well far it takes them in the court system.. And then the court system will just laugh it out..And it could turn very public.. Would a small company or a large company risk that sort of publicity

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http://www.bristolvanguard.co.uk
Listerner of TackleZone Radio
"Sorry for the bad grammer and bad use of English!!!"
"I'm just into my gaming to express myself properly"

this only happens in countries which legal system is the same since XV century.

other have laws.

yeah.. only hopeful.. still would be interesting to see an internet wide C&D.. GW Legal with find something interesting layed out on there door steps the next morning

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http://www.bristolvanguard.co.uk
Listerner of TackleZone Radio
"Sorry for the bad grammer and bad use of English!!!"
"I'm just into my gaming to express myself properly"

Copyrights protects GW if it wants to ban the publication of fluff.

They are now on a legal rampage going after everyone and everything so IMHO fluff would get taken down.

I repeat it again, in IP legal fights, the law matters less then the amount of money available for the fight. Sad but true.

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Kick off return was my idea :)
http://www.talkfantasyfootball.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6355&p=174621#p174621

My understanding of intellectual property issues (second hand) is that Games Workshop have close to zero rights to the game rules, and very good rights to the "Fluff".

Which would explain why they are willing to make the rules available as a free download (but without "Fluff") and (I guess and hope) are planning to release a new edition of BB with printed "Fluff" and presumably new artwork also (cf. Space Hulk).

That way they can justly make money out of their "Fluff" and artwork etc., while making those parts of the game that they do not own freely available. That seems a commonsense approach to me, from GW's perspective, and as a fan.

In so far as other people may claim "ownership" of parts of the "Fluff", I have insufficient knowledge, either factual or legal, to comment meaningfully.

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Smeborg the Fleshless

Fluff and fan fiction are a violation of copyrights.

You are using the property of someone else without his permission. They are exceptions, but they are very limited and specific to every country (NO it is not fair use).

But the authors usually see that as a compliment, as long as the fan is not trying to make money out of it, this is usually were the line is drawn.

GW is redrawing that line in a mean way right now, so anything goes.

Also, remember that IP law has little to do with law and a lot to do with money.

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Kick off return was my idea :)
http://www.talkfantasyfootball.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6355&p=174621#p174621

Thadrin, you pull on your mod hat in the other thread and then start this one

*facepalms*

wish people would just get on with playing...

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<pigstar-69> the amount of beer he has i would suck his tits for it

I doubt that.

Paint your body blue, suck horseshoes, eat a half a dozen movicol, pretend you're a lawyer, and watch the Eurovision song contest. Then you might get some idea of what makes sense from GWs perspective.

I could be wrong but it might not be so clear cut after all that



This is talkbloodbowl.com not playbloodbowl.com

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Victim of the Colonel's car boot smash. First person to use Glynns bath.

To save me a bunch of time and typing please add this sentiment to the post above. Its probably relevant: "Joemanji - you should know better".

not any more it isn't

should have changed to talkfantasylegalworld.org

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<pigstar-69> the amount of beer he has i would suck his tits for it

There is a difference between
posting a site of material written by fans based on an ip (not material available from GW) and posting the rulebook (which is). At least in my mind there is. The minds of Lawyers may be different.

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"I'm just going to play and try to understand this silly game, but mostly drink beers and sing with my friends."-OMM.

Fluff can NOT be illegal so long as the names of places, events and people are changed to 'protect the innocent'

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NAF # 11579
Blood Bowl Miniatures Reference

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<pigstar-69> the amount of beer he has i would suck his tits for it

"Uncle Tom!, Uncle Tom!"

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I would like to support NAF,
but they support GW,
and GW attacked our community,
leaving CRaP on our doorsteps....
Blood Bowl design suffers from five
basic failings: Ag 4+, Spamming
skills; Leap; high St & Av bash;
and too many positionals.

I admire the time and effort Tom Anders has put in over the years on behalf of the hobby.

However, through Impact Miniatures (of which I understand he is part owner or shareholder), Tom is in direct competition with GW's line of Blood Bowl figurines. According to himself, he has recently left full-time employment, and intends to devote himself full-time to Impact Miniatures, with the aim of making a living at it. At the same time, Tom has left the BBRC, hardly surprising in these circumstances.

The posting of LRB6/Competition Rules Pack on GW's website is a positive step forward. Like the launch of other rules editions by GW over the last decade, it has been done in a clumsy way. I'm not going to defend the clumsiness, but I would point out that it is something of a "tradition" for GW with BB rules releases.

With the establishment of LRB6 (in whatever name) under GW's official banner, and the long-planned disbandment of the BBRC, the hobby will (I hope) be free of conflicts of interest which can only be to its detriment. (Tom's conflict of interest with GW is not the only one among BBRC members, although it seems to be the biggest and most obvious).

For my part, as things settle down (which they surely will), I am looking forward to playing ever more league and tournament Blood Bowl in 2010 and beyond.

All the best and Merry Christmas.

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Smeborg the Fleshless