adam77 wrote:
Is this correct? Leaving aside 'fluff', I understood that in most jurisdictions a particular expression of a ruleset (i.e. rule book) is protected by copyright but the mechanics themselves are not considered intellectual property. Therefore anyone could re-write any ruleset as an original work, and claim copyright/left on that particular expression of the mechanics.
Sorry, I wasnt entirely clear. What I mean is that the text and physical output of a person that constitutes the rules belongs to someone. A set of rules has to be the product of a persons - or groups - work. Anybody could rewrite any existing set, but the fact that Athistaur is asking at this point implies that he wants to use the text 'as is'. No rules set appears without someone writing it, and most people who write a rules set and background have a lot of personal interest in it, and are therefore unlikely to simply hand it over for another person to take in their own direction.
Athistaur wrote:
@Cybershadow: intellectual property is very important to respect, even if legal considerations are ignored. Just to clarify, I' explicitly do not want to use anything without consent, that's one reason to ask here.
I had a look at polyversal and I do not think that would fit. They are still relying on the income from the sales of the box set and a free App would hurt those.
I do own an army from Exodus and a cooperation would hurt them as well. 3D printed tanks diminish their income through miniature sales.
My apologies. What I wrote came off a little heavy handed. I wasnt implying that you wanted to rebrand someone elses work and profit and distribute it, probably while twisting a thin moustache and adjusting your monocle.
But your points above outline the difficulty with this idea. All rules sets are produced with a specific goal in mind - and often this goal is either to drive the background for a mini line, drive sales for a mini line, or because the riles set is the endeavour that the person is trying to push. In all cases, if someone went to the (not inconsiderable, trust me I know) trouble of writing a rules set and background, they have a good reason for doing it, and therefore most likely a good reason to hold on to it. This is especially true if you are looking at a rules set designed to showcase minis from one specific company - as many of them are.
The only alternative left is a rules set and background which doesnt belong to a company, and has been written by an individual - or, more likely, a gaming group. But even then they would need to be OK with at the very least creating a spur in the game development.
I think that the easiest solution is simply to write your own. Keep it very simple, and borrow the best bits from the games that you love. As blip says, if you have a start with an E40K port, then this seems a logical place to start.
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