Let's start with the legal aspects. There are two main things you need to be cognizant of: copyright and trademark. Starting with copyright, that protects the specific expression of an idea. 2/12
-
-
Show this thread
-
So, this is an easy one. You can't copy one of our existing tracks and sell it. Even if you shrink it down a bit or change the color palette, that would still be a problem. And we wouldn't like that. We'd have to tell you to stop. 3/12
Show this thread -
You could, of course, make a personal travel edition for yourself by shrinking the art down. But you couldn't publish it -- even if you give it away for free. And, no, giving it away for free doesn't make it fair use. 4/12
Show this thread -
So what if you made your own track? Can you make a fan track for Downforce and sell it? It most likely would not be a copyright violation. However, that's where trademark comes in. 5/12
Show this thread -
We have a trademark on the name Downforce and on the trade dress associated with the product. However, it is fair use of a trademark to use it merely to show compatibility. 6/12
Show this thread -
So, you could say "For use with the Downforce board game from Restoration Games". But you would have to put a conspicuous disclaimer that "Downforce is a trademark of Restoration Games, LLC" or something to that effect. 7/12
Show this thread -
Finally, there is the trade dress aspect. Your product can't look like ours. The important thing here is that our products look a certain way so that, when a customer buys one, they know they are getting one of our games. 8/12
Show this thread -
You can't make your track look like it was published by us. Would it be likely to cause a consumer to be confused that the track was from Restoration Games? If so, than that's a problem. 9/12
Show this thread -
So, if you want to make a fan track for Downforce that doesn't imitate our trade dress, we'd love to see it. We love fan participation in our games. We love seeing what you can come up with. 10/12
Show this thread -
For the record, I am a lawyer, BUT -- and I hope this is obvious -- I'm not YOUR lawyer, so please don't take this as formal legal advice about any specific project you have in mind. Just trying to share some knowledge about how this stuff works. 11/12
Show this thread -
Also, there are ethical considerations beyond any legal requirements. In our own games, we generally go beyond what is legally required because we think it's the right thing to do. For example, it's always good practice to ask a publisher before you do a fan publication. 12/12
Show this thread -
P.S. - Making tracks for Downforce isn't as easy as it seems. There's some science to the number of spaces, length vs. width, choke points, etc. Just ask
@jayahre. So feel free to try ... and then thank JR for his hard work.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.