Quote:
Originally Posted by Viking2054
I am not a lawyer, but from the many discussions I've read on copyright in regards to RPG's, it seems that Names that were made up for a particular RPG world or campaign that don't have any basis in history are what is copyrightable. So, you can't use Elminster or Drizzit, but you can use Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Merlin, and Hercules... not sure about Halfling or Hobbit. Also, you can't copyright game mechanics although you might be able to copyright a stat name if it isn't already in use in the real world.
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That's pretty much my understanding, too.
However.. while you cannot copyright game mechanics, the specific combination of them that makes up a character for a game system, and the specific format of any stat-blocks, are both Intellectual Property that can be protected.
Even then, agreeing to a specific license (such as the OGL) may indicate you accept additional specific limitations other than copyright; the license is a contract allows use of some otherwise-protected elements, but it also means some things that are not copyrighted are protected under the terms of the license.
Paizo is a good example of the difference. Close to all mechanics are open content under the OGL, but all story-elements (Names of characters, places, or things, and plots ) are protected content.