"Creator rights? Who is the creator of an RPG campaign?" Topic

I was wondering if anyone here could offer advice around this situation?

Recently I ran a TTRPG every two weeks for two years with two players. They came up with their characters within the limitations I set down in GURPS.

As GM I came up with the initial premise and frameworks for the campaign. I also made it a sandbox so their actions would inform my prep for the next session. The campaign ended in a totally unexpected place for me due to the actions of the characters and that's great, that's why I play, to find out what happens, not dictate it. However I ran a lot behind the scenes, clocks, politics, etc. I created hundreds of NPCs and dozens of situations/maps/stat blocks etc, all informed by where the characters went and what they did. I lugged all the books to the library for every session. After each session I would email the players narrative recaps of what had transpired. I poured my heart into it.

We had a great time and we finished the main arc last Sunday.

So one player then announces the story we (mostly me) created was so great he's going to adapt the campaign into a screenplay for a TV series and sell it to Netflix or something. He says he's just a novice but won a script competition recently or something.

What should I do? Draw up some kind of contract? What kind? It's unlikely he'll ever get anywhere with the script as he's never had any real experience but I'm not even sure I'm comfortable with my world being kinda commandeered for a player's own creative project.

Is he lifting ideas or specific content? I can write a story about a barbarian who goes around thieving and killing people in a long-ago world and I'll be fine. If I call the barbarian Conan from Cimmeria and say he lived during the Hyborian Age, I am going to have problems with the Howard estate.

Per US Copyright laws, you own a work the moment you create it. Registration is not required, but it is advisable.

He can lift your stories, but if he uses your names (NPC's, place names, etc.), he is violating your IP/Copyright.

If he changes the names, as 79thPA alludes to, he is safe.

IP law is tricky. If you really care, you need to make certain you have proof of your writing with dates, and authorship. Like I said, though, if he changes the names of everything, he is pretty clear in the view of IP law. Defending your IP rights is also very expensive…

You could ask him to give you credit for your work, in his work.

You could also talk to a lawyer, if his script goes anywhere, if it makes any money. Lawyers might take your case for 1/3 of the reward, if they succeed in a lawsuit they believe they can win…

If his script goes somewhere, and you file a lawsuit, the people who bought it, will likely walk away from it: not worth the hassle/money to keep the project going. Try asking for credit as one of the authors, and see where that goes. Cheers!

In terms of copyright legislation, it could probably be argued that the RPG campaign constitutes an "original work" in a similar way to for example a semi-improvised theatre play. In this case, there would be three authors to the work – the game master and the two players – and it could probably be argued that the contributions of the authors were uneven, as the game master needed to do much more preparation work than the two players.

Adaptation of the campaign into a screenplay would result in what is known in copyright terms as a "derivative work", i.e. it is partially based on an earlier work but contains also additional original input. In this case, there would be multiple layers of copyright involved: the authors of the original work would have the rights to those parts that are based on their contribution, while the authors of the derivative work would have rights to their added contribution in the new format (there might be some challenges in drawing the line in practice, though).

Before starting to work an adaptation, it would be highly recommendable to agree (preferably with a written contract) with the authors of the original work that they allow for this derivative work to be authored.

In this case, the contracting parties would involve on one side the RPG campaign members (GM and two players) and on the other side the screenplay author(s) – and there would be certain overlap as one of the players would belong to both groups. In the contract you could then agree about the rights and responsibilities of the various parties (eg. would the GM be expected to assist the screenplay writer, or would he have the right to proofread and veto parts of the adaptation that he would not see fit), and especially financial rights (if somebody buys the screenplay, how would the money be split).

I would not count on your amateur writer being able to get far with his script (and it will be a lot of work), but if he hopes to become a professional in the field one day, then it would be good practice for him to familiarise with various kinds of contract and copyright issues at as early stage as possible.

Edit: as there was apparently no audio/video recording of the RPG sessions, it can be difficult to prove later in court their exact content, as they are only kept in the memories of the participants.

WOW! SO much great information. Thank you guys so much. I will try to respond in detail soon but it's almost 3AM here and I am wasted.

I wouldn't worry much about it. Highly, highly unlikely that he would get this to go. He is a novice. He not connected in Hollywood. He is dreaming.

Go out for beers. Offer a collaboration. You will have a wealth of background info and documentation, that would be of immense value. You can guide the story, he can write the script.

He's got a lot of competition from all the baristas writing the next Netflix series…

I had a similar experience. A friend of mine, not a gamer or collector, was interested in hearing about my games. I game him a brief one or two paragraph recap of a western game I had played. He took this brief recap, and being a rather wordy guy who fancies himself an author, turned it into a novel! He got it published on Amazon. I've never seen a penny.

Do you and your players live in LA? That's where I expect this come up.

On the less legalistic side, I would recommend having a friendly chat with the aims of establishing a common agreement that would:

a.) allow for all three of the people involved to remain on friendly relations with each other
b.) allows the screenwriter-wannabe to exercise creativity in the field, by using the campaign or parts of it as a basis
c.) ensures that the other two parties are comfortable with the way their contributions are represented in the final script
d.) settles clearly any financial issues, in the unlikely case that something of financial value would come out of it

Thanks everyone, esp Griefbringer. That was fascinating about the original and derivitive works.

@79thPA – specific.
@Sgt Slag – thanks, I see.
@Grattan54 – probably but I sometimes hear about amateurs in Australia getting a netflix series. Since everythings so segmented and niche and the number of new show is so huge compared to the past I think it's more likely than it was.
@InchHighGuy – I have now suggested this, thanks. I've suggested having a short simple agreement @Griefbringer recommends in his last post. Thanks @Griefbringer.
@whitpotato – hahaha yeah.

Thanks all. I'll let you know if he writes the script or sells it.

It's set in the '80s by the way, covers two Australian Vietnam War veterans turn mercenaries who end up in Libya just after the latest Gulf of Sidra incident. So if you don't hear and see this on TV one day I probably died before the script got bought. (touch wood)