From: [j--a--n] at [nslsilus.org] (Aardy R. DeVarque)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: FAQ: Trademark & TSR
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 15:09:53 GMT

                              TRADEMARKS & TSR

                           Written by Joel A. Hahn

                               Version: Alpha
                           Last updated: 06/26/96

[Note: I am not a lawyer, and none of this should be taken as hard and
fast legal advice.  See an attorney for that.  Nor am I affiliated with TSR
in any way.]

    Since August of 1994, TSR has been enforcing a company policy about
what sort of AD&D material is and is not allowed on the Internet, based
on copyright law (Title 17 of the U.S. Code, as well as the Berne 
Convention and other copyright-related treaties) and trademark law.  For
information on Copyright & TSR, see the companion document to this one.
Here is a quick thumbnail version of TSR's trademark policy, which I will 
then expand upon:

 1. If a file contains no trademarks of TSR then TSR has no say in its 
    distribution.
 2. If a file makes reference to trademarks of TSR, but that's it, then 
    TSR has no say in its distribution.
 3. If a file contains trademarks of TSR which are used in other than
    a referential manner, then TSR does have a say in its distribution.

    If a file does not contain any trademarks owned by TSR, then it's free
and clear; you can fold, spindle, mutilate, or distribute it as you wish.
    
    If a file only contains simple references to TSR's trademarks, that  
also means that it's free and clear, though there should be a disclaimer
stating that the author does not own all of the trademarks he is 
referring to. Here are a few examples of references to trademarks:

    1. "I like Forgotten Realms campaigns more than Dark Sun campaigns."
    2. "A good place to set this adventure is in the kingdom of 
    Perrenland in Greyhawk(TM)."
    3. "This file is compatible with TSR, Inc.'s AD&D(TM) game."

    Note that, even if you think a file is fine as is, you are really
supposed to include the (TM) or (R) marks as well as a comment about who 
owns the trademarks in question, especially when making comments such as 
examples 2 & 3 above.  In everyday discussion, such as example 1, it'
s not as necessary, but otherwise, it's safer not to get  caught with 
your proverbial pants down--because if there's any question about who
owns the trademark you are referring to, then the file falls into the
realm of the next section.

    If a file uses trademarks of TSR in a way that might cause confusion
over whether or not the author owns the trademark, then it technically
breaks trademark law.  TSR has a very important stake in seeing that 
the distribution of the file is severely curtailed, as unlike copyrights, 
trademarks must be actively protected.  A few examples:

    1. "The Complete AD&D(TM) Guide to Dental Hygiene"
    2. "Nine days over Ansalon: A Dragonlance(TM) module"

    TSR has decided that the best way to handle this and still allow 
these files to circulate is to put essentially the same conditions on the 
distribution of such files that it places on files that use their 
copyrights.  That is, approximately:

 1. Distribution is restricted to TSR's areas on AOL and GEnie,
    the ftp.mpgn.com FTP site, and any other areas that TSR may
    license in the future to carry such materials.  Any further 
    distribution requires the permission of both the author and TSR.
 2. The files must conform to TSR's Code of Ethics.  (Basically, no 
    overly graphic violence, no obscenities, no graphic sex or discussion
    of sex & sexual orientations, and no "real-world" religions.)
 3. The files must include TSR's disclaimer, a copy of which is provided
    at the various distribution sites.  The disclaimer includes the
    information that TSR is the owner of all of its trademarks that
    are used in what would otherwise be an illegal manner.

    It is still best to mark trademarks with a (TM) or (R), especially if
you also use trademarks owned by other companies, but TSR's disclaimer
will cover TSR's trademarks just fine even if you don't.

    TSR does not actively maintain an exhaustive list of their trademarks
(partly because if they accidentally left one off the list, then it
could be taken away from them; also, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
is happy to search its records for a given trademark, but not as happy to 
search its records for all trademarks of a given company), but the most 
commonly-used trademarks are listed in the front of any TSR product, 
especially the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide.  If in 
doubt, feel free to write to TSR at [T S RInc] at [aol.com] and ask, or hop on 
the World Wide Web and go to:

http://onyx.arts.kuleuven.ac.be/~ezra/gnb/legal/

where a lengthy (though probably not completely exhaustive) list of 
TSR's trademarks has been archived (by a non-TSR employee).

How to be absolutely certain that TSR will not challenge your works:
    Simple.  Do not include any trademarks of TSR at all.  If you're not
certain whether or not something is a trademark of TSR, either ask TSR
themselves, or don't use it at all.
    This is not to say that you can't use any trademarks of TSR at all
and still be "safe," but it is pretty much the only way to be absolutely,
categorically certain that TSR will have no reason to challenge a work
you wrote.

***End FAQ***