A Trip down Memory Lane - 3rd Ed Player's Guide

Fearless Leader said:
Well, never officially copyrighted. None of the books were ever officially copyrighted until I started Ashbury and copyrighted my own books. That was one of the main points on my side during the lawsuit.

edit: And it should be noted that we used to call the Rule Book the "Players Guide" back then. So this is technically the Rule Book for 1991 or so.

Did anybody actually look? There is a copyright notice inside:

This book is (c) 1990, 1991 by New England Roleplaying Organization, and is for use in official NERO games only. This book is not designed as a stand alone game system, but only as a suppliment (sic) for the player in a NERO sponsored game. Use of these rules by purchaser in any game where admission is charged is prohibited.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in whole or in part, by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without expressed written permission of NERO.

Purchase of this book implies acceptance of the above terms.

NERO, New England Roleplaying Organization, and the NERO logo are trademarks of

NERO
212A Massachusetts Ave
Arlington, MASS 02174
(617) 641-1580


And while this copyright may never have been registered with the US Trademarks and Copyrights Office, or Library of Congress, it is a valid copyright statement as it contains the year, name, and place of the copyright. As to whether Joe or Mike V or Mike I are the copyright holders may not be clearly stated, herein, but I would be curious (where I the judge in the prior, aborted case) to know precisely whose address appears above.

And, no -- intention to distribute without gain is not an element of determining if a copyright violation has occurred when any of the above elements have been violated - or so my lawyer has informed me many times. Clearly a violation on intellectual property rights has occurred by distributing the 3rd edition as an Acrobat file.

Mike V - as owner of this game, I think you have a clear responsibility to have the linking reference removed from this board -- or else you might be seen as aiding the infringement where it proven that you were not the copyright holder. And if you are the valid copyright holder, you might be seen as abandoning that right to electronic distribution without limitation, even without the distribution having been for monetary gain. But you are a lawyer, so you probably already know that.
 
I removed it. I did this to help further LARPing and have people perhaps get a new zeal for it seeing things that were once in play. If it becomes a legal issue now, I will take full responsibility.

I checked with my lawyer and he has stated that if the work had not be registered, a suit for damages isn't possible if I didn't make any money off of it however an injunction could be made to stop transmission of it - which I have done.

He also told me that I was stupid. :oops: I'm checking with Joe to see about getting written permission to redistribute this work as I can only see it promoting NERO and not damaging it in any way.
 
Well I did get a chance to look at it before the link went down and as someone who as only played version 3.1 wow what a different game that was! =P
 
Thanks for the ok Mike. I just wanted to avoid any headaches. Joe has written me back and said I can post the link so I put it back in on the top post.

Mark
 
Dreamingfurther said:
Well I did get a chance to look at it before the link went down and as someone who as only played version 3.1 wow what a different game that was! =P

You've been playing the ALLIANCE version 3.1, which is hardly different from 3.0.

This posting is the NERO version 3.0, from around 1991 or so! Major changes!

I can't believe I have been doing this for almost 20 years!
 
Fearless Leader said:
jpariury said:
Ondreij said:
I would be curious (where I the judge in the prior, aborted case) to know precisely whose address appears above.
Pretty sure that's the same address as Ford's game store at that time.

Yep.

I don't have any problem with it being posted.

Of course not - you have nothing to lose as you have yet to clearly establish that you are the copyright holder on this edition. So, it may not be appropriate for you to take a position on how the copyright should be exercised. I still think it's a shame that the copyright was not clearly established by a final decision on the lawsuit that you started. So, the whole thing goes into limbo. If this is prior art, and the copyright was abrogated, it is likely that no one owns the copyright on this work. But unless someone is willing to spend a lot of money in what would likely be a long and protracted legal battle ...

I know that you are going to continue with the care you have shown in clearly and carefully establishing and protrecting copyrights on all of your future works. Experience is a very powerful teacher.
 
markusdark said:
Thanks for the ok Mike. I just wanted to avoid any headaches. Joe has written me back and said I can post the link so I put it back in on the top post.

Mark

Neat. As both parties who have claim to the copyright (only Ford Ivey hasn't rung in, but that point is probably moot) it will be great to have access to that historical document. I guess that means I can download it and read it at my leisure.

Thanks, Mark. Thanks, Mike. And I guess thanks to Joe, too -- at least for okaying the postnig of the 1991 V.3. Players Guide.
 
Fearless Leader said:
Dreamingfurther said:
Well I did get a chance to look at it before
the link went down and as someone who as only played version 3.1 wow
what a different game that was! =P

You've been playing the ALLIANCE version 3.1, which is hardly different from 3.0.

This posting is the NERO version 3.0, from around 1991 or so! Major changes!

I can't believe I have been doing this for almost 20 years!

Yea it’s also really cool to come into such a well established community and game.

I don't know if this has already started to happen but it probably won't be long before the youngest original LARP players will be having kids who could come into the game, a 2nd generation of pure larpers will arise! I know if I ever have kids they will be well aware of the awesomeness! =P

*disclaimer I am 19 and have no intentions on kids for quite some time…* ;)
 
Lugo said:
Does anyone else suddenly want to build an NPC whos been stuck in some 'magical stasis' for too long?
"Hey.... why dosent anything work right any more? Im a master spell singer!"

Did it over a year ago. Toddo came out as a mummified ubermage, chanting the following verbal at some terrified PCs:

"I set your Doom upon you blown! I set your Doom upon you blown! I set your Doom upon you blown!.... What's wrong with my magic! With Eldritch Force I build a Ward. Where's the d*mned key!"
 
Already happened- I've literally seen toddlers that ended up playing in the same campaign.

Yes, Alliance-type gaming has hit the mult-generational point. Consider that a kid born around 1991 is now...

16-17 or so. Quite capable of playing. And some do, and there were NERO rules before even 3rd edition, so I'd be unsurprised to see a few folks who had kids up in the Ravenholt campaign that ended up playing as well.

Though it's occasionally jarring seeing entire group of players at a game...and thinking to yourself that they didn't even -exist- when you started.
 
:eek: tell me about it!! I was a kid when I started playing this game ('89 16 years old), now I have kids that want to play..luckly I still got a few years before one of them can and a good decade + on the other one, which by the time she starts playing I will most likly be a Grandfather and still be playing :lol:

~Matt K.
 
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