Hi Guys

[callidvs]

I don't know if the EB mod team are aware of this, but someone uses an EB image and information used in EB in a historical fiction book. As imagnitive as the premises is, it looks like it is a blatant rip-off of the hard work of Europa Barbarorum team. [Link in next post]

This is what one of the reviewers said:

"The author must have researched like crazy to get all the facts right in this period novel, for it was loaded with historical details."

From what I can see, the EB team have no mention and the author is making a profit from this e-book, what do you guys make of this?

[callidvs]

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/68150

[callidvs]

My mistake, you guys did get a word in at the introduction. Still though, thoughts?

"Special thanks go out to the historians of the Europa Barbarorum project, without whose help this story could never have come into being."

[Ludens]

I can't find the original thread, but it's the printed version of an AAR that was posted here two, three years ago.

[vartan]

I can't find the original thread, but it's the printed version of an AAR that was posted here two, three years ago.

Hey Ludens, it's good to see you around here again. I'm curious, how does the legality for these sorts of publications work? I understand EB is a non-commercial enterprise, but that publication is (apparently) a for-profit endeavor. Let's say the person selling that e-book is the original author of the content. Can he or she still sell it?

[Ludens]

I'm curious, how does the legality for these sorts of publications work? I understand EB is a non-commercial enterprise, but that publication is (apparently) a for-profit endeavor. Let's say the person selling that e-book is the original author of the content. Can he or she still sell it?

Short answer: if it's the story I am thinking of, I don't see the problem here. The story is original - and EB doesn't own the setting or the player experience. If the author had copied texts written by EB historians, it would be a different matter, but that's not what happened here, is it?

The EB team may have a different take on this, though.

Longer answer: IP law is complex and I am no lawyer. So, keeping in mind that I may be wrong:

When it comes to determining copyright infringement, the profit or non-profit status of the original and the infringing work are irrelevant. It may make a difference in the damages awarded, but copyright is copyright, regardless of whether someone is charging money for it.

However, is the work in question an infringement? The story is presumably original - it may have been created by EB, but it's not a distinctive element of it. The author (and anyone else) is free to use the information provided by EB. It's only the actual creative expression (the text and images) that is protected.

The cover image is a separate issue: that too was created with EB, but the soldier-graphic is the work of an EB artist, so it probably is an infringement. However, part of the graphics may have been derived from the vanilla R:TW engine or other modders - so it gets complicated. I am also not sure if it's substantial enough to bother a judge with.