Foreven Ownership Question

[dmccoy1693]

Here's a question for you lawyerly types (or Mongoose Matt): Who own the copyright to anything created under the Foreven License? I mean every change/addition/etc made by Mongoose to the OTU would belong to whoever owns the copyright to the OTU (aka Miller). Anything new with the TLL on it does not belong to Miller but to whoever created that material (i.e. Career Book 1 belongs to Spica while Babylon 5 belongs to ... JMS/Time Warner/Babylonian Productions Inc/someone else).

But what new material created with the FFSLL on it? The trappings allowed with this license would indicate Miller, but I'm no lawyer. Anyone more in the know then me?

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Each author owns their stuff.

Under the FFSLL, there can be contradictory information about the sector. NOTHING published under the FFSLL is Canon. It is simply a location that allows people to publish stuff referencing the OTU setting.

It is the only way an author can reference OTU specific setting without having a special licence/agreement with Mongoose. And even then, it must be said in such a way as to refer back to the Foreven Sector.

For example, you could build this Petticoat class Destroyer and say that is is a common destroyer design in the Third Imperium and bears the names of former Emperors. BUT, you must state that it is deployed in the Foreven Sector.

If you have Darrian information in your work, it must state that this is wha the Darrians are doing in the Foreven Sector.

Want to build a Pocket Empire and describe how it is playing the Zhodani and 3I against each other? Fine, but it must be located in the Foreven Sector. The fact that someone else has published a Pocket Empire in the same exact location that is completely different than yours, is not a problem, since nothing there in Canon.

Hope that helps.

 

[rust]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but ...

The Foreven Sector has to remain where it is in the OTU, I could not
for example locate it somewhere off the Rim ?

 

[dmccoy1693]

Each author owns their stuff.

This is the only part I am not sure about. Everything else, I understand. But here's the thing: If I use the TLL (or the MRQLL or the d20STL or True20 STL or whatever Paizo comes up with or etc), I own everything I come up with that's new. But what if I come up with a pocket empire and set it in foreven. It is set in the OTU, even if it is not canon. If and when the TLL ends, all I have to do is pull out the required text and I can sell it under the OGL. Can't exactly do that with the FFSLL. If I create a new empire of aslan (lets call it "Bob's Empire" for argument sake), I can't pull that nation of aslan out when the FFSLL ends. But can I pull the name of the nation and the plots hooks that go with it? Now if I add in my own alien race native to Foreven only and say they have a rivalry with Bob's Empire, can I have that race in version 2.0 of the setting (completely my own design) and can they still have the rivalry with Bob's Empire, now populated by another new race?

It just seems rather grey to me. All the previously mentioned licenses are system licenses, they just indicate compatability. The FFSLL is a Setting License. Sounds to me like a different animal.

(for the record, I am not calling the FFSLL "bad" in any way, shape, or form. Simply wanting a better idea as to how it works.)

 

[dmccoy1693]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but ...

The Foreven Sector has to remain where it is in the OTU, I could not
for example locate it somewhere off the Rim ?

The license allows for 3 options:
-Foreven is next to Spinward Marches,
-Foreven is in a completely different universe, or
-the location is never mentioned.

 

[EDG]

It is the only way an author can reference OTU specific setting without having a special licence/agreement with Mongoose. And even then, it must be said in such a way as to refer back to the Foreven Sector.

It's the only way that an author can reference the OTU-specific setting in a commercial product.

Authors can reference the OTU as much as they like in a non-commercial product though, and publish it under the FUP - as long as it's specifically for older versions of Traveller and doesn't reference Mongoose Traveller.

My problem with this is that it seems to be a rather vague distinction. Someone can publish OTU material for free under the FUP by saying that it's intended for Classic Traveller, but there's no real way to prevent anybody from using it or converting it to Mongoose Traveller. But I guess the important thing is that it's still non-commercial either way.

 

[rust]

The license allows for 3 options:
-Foreven is next to Spinward Marches,
-Foreven is in a completely different universe, or
-the location is never mentioned.

Thank you very much !

 

[dmccoy1693]

You're Welcome!