New scenarios not for publication

[Mike]

[Post deleted.]

Moderator:
Sorry about that. I had thought this scenario was "clean" enough, and Mike posted it at my request. I just want to make sure that is clear to everyone. Any mistake was mine, not his.

Also, just to be clear, the reason this scenario was considered "unpublishable" was because of the massive customizations required (firing under cloak; plasmas on Klingons), not because of the copyright issues.

Anyway, I will let this sit so we can keep clear on this mess (and my mistake), then I will just kill it all. Then we can just pretend none of this happened.

[mjwest]

I want to take this moment to use this scenario as an example.

Recently, there have been two topics (since locked, and soon to be deleted) that attempted to recreate battles from a couple of movies. Unfortunately, they were done in such a way that probably (if not definitely) violates copyright. I freely admit I should have pointed this all out earlier than now. I apologize for that. However, in things like this, later is better than never, so I am doing it now.

This scenario, on the other hand, does a good job of recreating the "feel" and effect of one of the movie scenarios, but does so such that no copyrights are infringed. The author (Mike) has made some decisions on what he feels is important and not important, and he has chosen certain weapons (plasma) when others would have chosen something different (photons). This does not mean he is "right" (or wrong). He could have made different decisions and still done a good job.

So, my using this as an example is not to say his version is the best or only possible version. The purpose of this example is to show how to present the scenario and idea in a way that is fully Federation Commander, but still evokes the source material.

[Kang]

Recently, there have been two topics (since locked, and soon to be deleted) that attempted to recreate battles from a couple of movies.

Interesting you should say that. Is the scenario in the new Communique not also a movie scenario, and starring [instead of the USS Dakota] a freighter sporting a Japanese freighter-style name with the initials KM, and which was reportedly a no-win scenario defeated solely by a certain Legendary Captain?

Not that I think that Mike's new scenario is close to the bone; I don't. But your points are well made, MJW. I myself submitted a recreated scenario from the game 'Starfleet Command' where the players fight a succession of ships beginning with a small one and working up the ship classes in order of size; last man standing wins. The scenario was rejected on just those grounds: copyright.

But I would love to know how near to the line we are allowed to get, and what constitutes a violation and what does not. The name of Mike's scenario in this thread is dangerously close to that line imo! Perhaps if I had called my scenario 'Slugfest' instead of 'B*****fest', it would have been ok?

I'm fully aware that copyright is a real minefield and one that we all have to be fully alert to when doing anything creative, especially where Paramount copyrights are involved.

Btw, my scenario is still on paper and we play it in our group - and only in our group. In fact, only at my house, indeed. However it would have been nice for it to have been published, so others could enjoy it, but there we go . Interestingly, the scenario is as basic as possible; there's not much room for changing it at all - like Plasma for Photons and such - perhaps that's where the problem lay!

What I'm trying to say is that while the example in this thread is a most welcome one, I'm still not sure how we can tell how near to the wire we are in each case.

[markgeorgetwo]

Like you can i have all together about a dozen scenarios on paper. and also on my pc i do play mine in my little group .

But iam not sure if any of them would break the copyright law. so what does mike and mj west suggest so may i make one .if any one has one that they use the forum has it should be used in a rough form and if it is any good include in a future communique. i think this will also make certain no copyright is broken. the other solution is to convert some more sfb ones.

[mjwest]

I gave the rough guidelines in the Forum Rules announcement in the General Discussions topic.

The base idea is you can't use Paramount Intellectual Property. So, for the sake of discussion, you cannot use Kirk, Pike, Picard, Spock, et. al. In your scenario or story. You can't use the Enterprise fighting the commandeered Reliant in a nebula. You can't post a ship card for the Enterprise from Enterprise. You can't post a ship card for Loknar (or however you spell that), either. In all of these cases you are using the actual IP in your efforts. That is what is not permitted.

Now, there is nothing wrong with, say, making a scenario where a Federation CA is fighting a mutinous NCL in a nebula. But you have to keep the separation from Paramount's IP.

Also, feel free to make a ship card of that Loknar (sp?) for your own use, and that of your friends. Just don't widely distribute it, and don't post it on the internet. Above all, don't post it here!

I hope that helps explain the issue more.

[djdood]

I'll add one thing that SVC has stressed several times (and some folks might have missed if they haven't been around for long) -
SVC doesn't want anyone to convert ships from SFB to FedCom and then post them (anywhere).

As-above, doing SFB-FedCom conversions for your own fun is a different matter (and I have done quite a few for my own fun, with my group) - just don't put them where other people can copy/download/distribute them.

You can make up your own ships from "clean cloth" (i.e. if you invent a Frathmorian Avenger Battle Strike Cruiser, shaped like a pair of scissors; that would be fine), but converting the Gorn DND would not be. Inventing a Federation Plasma Breaker Cruiser and posting it is also in a pretty gray-area (some ADB IP there, some Paramount) and best avoided. ADB wants to keep all FedCom conversions of their intellectual property in-house.

[Kang]

The base idea is you can't use Paramount Intellectual Property. So, for the sake of discussion, you cannot use Kirk, Pike, Picard, Spock, et. al. ....

I hope that helps explain the issue more.

Yeah, it does, thanks. Could I have a couple of hints, then, on the scenario I mentioned, and how I might make it 'legal'? Or can't it ever happen?

[Steve Cole]

Why are scenarios "not for publication" being posted at all?

Even this is "too close to Paramount" to make me confortable. If I want to pick a fight with Paramount, I'll do so, but I don't want somebody else doing picking one for me.

Somebody make this go away.