Responding to a Rights Notice
If you receive a notification regarding a rights inquiry or dispute on your published content, don't panic. Here is how to evaluate the claim, understand what is and isn't copyrightable in tabletop RPGs, and choose the right response path.
This guide explains how to assess an inquiry and communicate effectively with our review team. It provides operational guidance and legal context, but is not formal legal advice. For high-stakes disputes or statutory copyright claims, consult a qualified attorney.
Tabletop roleplaying games blend mathematical systems with creative writing. United States copyright law (specifically 17 U.S.C. § 102(b)) draws a sharp distinction between functional rules and expressive prose:
| Game Mechanics (NOT Copyrightable) | Expressive Content (PROTECTED by Copyright) |
|---|---|
|
|
Trademarks & Product Identity: Distinct from copyright, names of specific proprietary creatures (such as Mind Flayer or Beholder), iconic characters, unique gods, and campaign worlds are protected under trademark law and contractually reserved as Product Identity (PI) under OGL 1.0a § 1(e). You cannot use someone else's Product Identity without an express license.
When you inspect the notice and your record in The Forge, evaluate which of the three paths fits your situation:
Path A: The claim is unsubstantiated or mistaken (Contesting)
When this applies: The complainant is asserting ownership over generic d20 rules mechanics, public domain math, or Open Game Content that was already published under the OGL or CC-BY-4.0 by Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, or another publisher.
- How to respond: Reply to your notice email calmly and factually. Point directly to the primary source: the book title, publication date, and the relevant Section 15 notice showing the material is open.
- What happens: The operator evaluates your citation. If the claim is unsupported, the report is resolved as
unsubstantiated, and your record is restored to full public visibility.
Path B: The claim points out legitimate proprietary material (Remediating)
When this applies: The complaint correctly identifies that your stat block uses a protected Product Identity name (e.g. an NPC or monster name from a copyrighted novel or setting), or includes verbatim descriptive prose copied from a non-open book.
- How to respond: Reply acknowledging that you are happy to remediate the piece. Tell the operator you will author a clean replacement version.
- What happens: The operator places the record in Recovering status and vacates the disputed slug. You author a clean replacement in The Forge with original names and scrubbed lore. Once verified, your replacement claims the original URL! See our full Remediating a Disputed Record Walkthrough.
Path C: Voluntary withdrawal (Unpublishing)
When this applies: You no longer wish to maintain the record, or you agree that the piece is too intertwined with proprietary material to easily disentangle.
- How to respond: Reply asking the rights team to unpublish or remove the record.
- What happens: The operator marks the case as
content_removed. The record is permanently unpublished. This is a clean administrative resolution with zero negative penalty to your account.
Our triage system is designed to be accountable and transparent:
- Quote Your Case ID: Your initial notice email and in-Forge banner both prominently display your Case ID (e.g.
Case #42). Always include this number in your replies so operators can instantly link correspondence to your case. - Append-Only Event Logs: All incoming and outgoing messages are recorded in an append-only audit trail attached to your case. This ensures a clear, objective record of what was discussed and agreed upon.
- Notification Preferences: While mandatory initial notices are always sent via transactional email to ensure you are alerted, ongoing status update emails can be configured under your Account Notification Settings. In-app notifications are always delivered.
Under United States law (DMCA § 512(i)), online platforms must adopt and reasonably enforce a policy to terminate repeat infringers. That requirement exists to stop malicious or chronic bad actors who willfully copy others' creative work.
Participating in good faith is what protects you. In a community-driven TTRPG compendium, good-faith creators occasionally misjudge whether a creature name is Product Identity or whether a paragraph of text was covered by the OGL. When you engage constructively—providing citations when a claim is mistaken, or promptly creating a clean replacement when a protected name is pointed out—your account remains in good standing.
Account suspension or termination is reserved exclusively for users who ignore notices, refuse to engage, or repeatedly upload blatant, willful infringement across multiple works.
Reviewed by Eco.