Commercial use of maps
I apologize if the question seems to be silly, but I have great difficulty understanding this legal part.
I DM RPG (D&D5e) and I'm thinking of creating maps from some official adventures and selling them. Doubts:
1. Is it legal to reproduce official maps and sell them?
2. Does this apply to RPG magazine maps?
3. Is it legally legal if I create a Patreon and post these maps completely free to anyone but have a help/encouragement tier to create more maps where anyone can help me?
Comments
I think that question is mainly for the publishers of whichever maps you intend to reproduce. As I understand it (and I'm not involved with that side of things at all so my knowledge is pretty limited) permissions vary from publisher to publisher and may even change over time for the same publisher for the same maps.
Whether it is free or paid does not alter the legality of something. Fundamentally the question is one of copyright. This is mirky
If you were to just scan their map, that would be a copyright violation.
If you replicate the map exactly so that it looks like what is published, that is a violation.
If you make a map in a different style, but has the same function, it could be considered a derivative work. As such, if you provided it to others, would be a copyright violation.
On the other hand, a map is an artistic work. Just because you want it to be used with a certain adventure does not negate that it is an artistic work. So, this is were the mirkiness comes up. For example, you look at an old blue/white square grid D&D map. You make your own map in a very different style and put symbols in the room. That is substantially different from what was provided. Is this an artistic expression or a derivative work? Copyright only protects the method of expression not an idea. So, areas like this can get messy to sort out.
If you are concerned about the legality, then consult an IP lawyer.
In terms of if you are going to be sued? You probably won't just because WotC would need to know about it and then think it was worth it to sue you. (One thing to consider about if this is legal or not is whether you would be willing to pay a lawyer to defend you even if you are in the right.)
Putting that aside, if you are looking to make money from mapping official maps, I see zero interest in that. Something can just copy what exists in the offical product. However, if you want to do these for VTT and produce battlemaps, that would likely be where you could get money.
I'm not a lawyer but have been a professionally published game designer for over 30 years. When it comes to using someone else's IP (intellectual property) it is always better to err on the side of caution. Different game companies respond to the unauthorized use of their IP in different ways. Some take little notice if it's some little guy that isn't a threat to their income, while others keep an iron fist on their IP and allow no one to use it without licensing (and payment). When in doubt it's probably best just not to do it.
Yep, I think many of us have learnt far more than we wanted to about the murkiness of copyright and IP laws in different parts of the world in recent months, thanks to events elsewhere in the RPG world.
Bottom line is it's probably safer to create your own new maps from scratch, than try copying anything someone else has done, however varied, especially when you're intending to make money from doing so.
Ok. So as far as selling maps goes; you can sell maps you make in CC3+ no problem, you can't re-distribute Profantasy's artwork, for example make a page of symbols or fill styles and sell those, that is a violation of the EULA, but a proper map is fine.
If you're going to 're-interpret' a map (copy it in a different style) from whatever source and sell them without permission from the copyright holder you open yourself to legal action. If you do a completely new version that is not based on the original, you might be OK but seek legal advice just to be safe. I personally wouldn't because it is simply not worth the hassle.
Dsitributing them for free as 'fan art' and with proper attribution, will not likely land you in hot water but that depends entirely on the copyright holder.
One thing you can do, is send the publisher/copyright holder a letter or email and ask for permission to sell them directly or offer them for 'free' via Patreon or similar. The worst they can say is no...
As others have said if you intend to make money from Cartography, either work on commission or create original pieces. It's the only way to 100% avoid legal issues.
It is also worth to remember that in many jurisdictions companies are actually required to defend their patents and copyrights, if they don't it may result in it being invalidated in the future.
So even the friendliest company around WILL usually send cease and desist letters even to smaller actors, simply to show that they are defending their copyright and not ignoring it. Some people misconstruct this as treating their fanbase badly, but it is simply a required action to prevent third parties going to court and demanding it being invalidated because there a multiple parties using it, and it therefore cannot belong to a single company.
This is basically why asking first is the best idea, because if they have given you permissions, they don't risk getting into trouble themselves in the future.
Thanks for bringing this up. I'd meant to mention that but as happens (too often, sadly!), it slipped my mind!