![]() ![]() ![]() The most known one is Fair Use in the US or its UK counterpart fair dealings. ![]() There's some exceptions to needing a license. The license for some monsters is freely given under OGL, but others, like Displacer Beasts, are corporate identity of WotC and their license is rather expensive to get. As a result, not a single monster description from D&D has lapsed copyright, even those descriptions from 1st edition D&D are still under copyright and you need a license. Even if you describe a creature from the public domain in such a medium - like text - then your expression of the idea is copyrighted.Ĭopyright lasts for between 70 and 120 years. So, you can use the names of things that exist in public domain, but reproducing stat blocks or D&D specific lore without being under a license would be opening yourself legal liability of potential lawsuit from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast.Ĭopyright applies to any work that is fixed in a tangible medium. For example, the following is a list of monsters are not only copyrighted, but trademarked (list is not exhaustive, just a sample of some of the more iconic monsters):Īn odd edge case is that you cannot copyright facts, even facts about fictional things, but it is a strange and dangerous line to walk. Likewise some monsters that are from the D&D universe were not only bear copyright but also trade mark. Note, that some of their content is legal to use under the OGL, if you follow the terms of the OGL. Moreover, the Baba Yaga of Russian folk tales is fine, but the one that mothered Tasha and has the stats bears Wizard's copyright. So, Krakens, Unicorns and Baba Yaga are all public domain creatures, but the lore and stats found in the D&D source books are not. Some of the monsters they include in the game are based on previous works that are in the public domain, but the stat blocks and lore as printed are Copyright WotC. The version and stat blocks of the monsters found in any Wizards of the Coast literature would be copyrights held by Wizards of the Coast. ![]()
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