The A Song of Ice and Fire setting is copyright George R. R. Martin. Blood of Dragons MUSH is a non-profit game operated with Mr. Martin’s permission. The MUSH and all thematic works associated with it (including, but not limited to, character backgrounds and logs), whether found on the official MUSH website or elsewhere, should be considered derivative works and as such are also allowed solely through Mr. Martin’s expressed permission and only in conjunction with Blood of Dragons MUSH. Any webpage associated with the game—including player pages—should carry the following copyright statement indicating Mr. Martin’s creative rights:
All material associated with Blood of Dragons MUSH is available with the permission of George R.R. Martin for usage only in conjunction with Blood of Dragons MUSH. The A Song of Ice and Fire setting and all references to it are copyright George R.R. Martin.
Note, however, that the individual creators retain copyright over those elements of these works that are unassociated with the A Song of Ice and Fire setting, and may naturally protect these works as a whole from being used by a third party.
However, players do not have the right to re-use a non-canonical Blood of Dragons character outside of the game unless all references to the A Song of Ice and Fire and Blood of Dragons MUSH settings are removed from its background, description, etc. Players may also not write stories about their characters, neither for sale nor for free distribution as fan-fiction. Mr. Martin does not allow fan-fiction (defined as prose fiction stories set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire) based on his books, and the Admin will do all they can to uphold his desires in this matter.
While this may seem a big hassle, it’s a very small price to pay for the freedom to play in an author’s playground. We save him any future headaches by making sure that everyone understands where they stand. Any questions concerning copyright issues as they relate to the game should be directed to the Admin, who’ll be glad to work with players in providing more complete information on this issue.
Category://Info -> User Agreement