All right, this is going over well on the Realms list, so I'm bringing it
up on the other AD&D lists.

There is no way we can allow people outside of TSR/WotC to use our game
logos.
No way, sorry, can't do it. HOWEVER...

We can definitely encourage y'all to come up with logos of your own
to identify specific game lines. What we've done on the Realms list is
set up a contest for people to submit their own ideas/creations for
the unofficial net-logo for the Forgotten Realms. Whichever is voted
the winner will be the one that people can use on the net to identify
their stuff as being for FR, without infringing on TSR's trademarked logo.
And whoever designs the winning logo gets a cool prize and their logo
will become the standard for net-fans of that game line.

We're going to do the same thing for Birthright. Here are the requirements
and rules for this little contest:

1. Someone has to volunteer some WWW space to hold the logos. That way,
the logos will be publically displayed so people can vote on them.
This person will be responsible for collecting the submitted logos (either
by email submission or direct uploading to the site.

2. Some impartial person has to be the vote-counter (not me).

3. We have to set a deadline for the competition. I would like this to be
no more than three weeks after the target WWW site is opened.

4. Logos have to be original works, and can't be too similar to the existing
logo for this line (a color change won't do it, for instance). Any
submission
that TSR deems too similar to the original will be disqualifed (with no
penalty
to the submitter).

5. Limit of three submissions per person.

6. The creator of the winning submission _must_ release his/her submission
into the public domain so that anyone can use it without worrying about any
copyright infringements on the net-logo. If the winner refuses, that
person's
submissions will be disqualified, and another vote will be taken.

7. I will be taking suggestions for what would be an appropriate prize for
the winner - please address them to me at TSRinc@aol.com with the subject of
Birthright Prize Suggestion. IMO, an appropriate prize would be a single
TSR product, probably from the game line in question, possibly signed by
someone
involved on that project.

8. The winning submission will be placed on TSR's site so everyone will
know where to find it; from that point on, that will be the common
identifying image for Birthright fan-pages online (of course, you are in no
way
_required_ to use this image).

9. I am the final arbiter on any rules interpretations or questions that
come
up about the contest.

If there's anything I missed, I will deal with it as it comes up.
So, let's get crackin' on this ... I'm doing this so you guys can
use a graphic to identify the game world without fear of legal action.
FYI, this will be going hand-in-hand with the revised TSR online policy,
which will much more lenient about making your own derivative material
ond putting it online.

Oh, and anyone who flames TSR or me about this post or the TSR online
policy (_because_ of this post) is automatically disqualified from the
contest, so play nice. :)

Good gaming!
- --
Sean Reynolds, TSR Online Coordinator
TSRinc@aol.com | http://www.tsrinc.com