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I have tried to search the Internet for this.

I am thinking of creating my own (commercial) RPG and I am also thinking of using the same set of attributes the popular Fallout games are using, also known as the SPECIAL attributes;

SPECIAL is the ruleset that powers all Fallout games.

The name "SPECIAL" is an acronym standing for the primary statistics in the system: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/SPECIAL

Would there be any legal concerns, using these seven attributes in my own (commercial) RPG?

mxyzplk
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corgrath
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    I'm not a lawyer, but I believe a system like this would have to be patented. Copyright has to deal with making actual copies of source code, images, etc, but also protects the right to create derivative works, which unless your game is very similar to fall out, probably doesn't apply. – Eric B Jun 01 '13 at 20:49
  • It's copyrighted simply for being part of Fallout, which is copyrighted. – okeefe Jun 01 '13 at 20:53
  • So if I were to use these seven attributes for my own characters, I would be violating the Copyright? Diablo 3 uses Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Vitality - if another game developer would use those 4 attributes, they would be violating those Copyrights as well? – corgrath Jun 01 '13 at 20:59
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    Go read http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/21324/copyright-on-existing-systems?rq=1 and see if it answers your question, I believe it's a duplicate. – mxyzplk Jun 01 '13 at 21:00
  • So basically, by asking this question, I am probably already in deep water :-) I think the attribute names themselves are probably (can't be according to me) protected, but calling the system for SPECIAL. Well it makes it more obvious its from Fallout :-) – corgrath Jun 01 '13 at 21:14
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    @EricB You can't patent game mechanics (in the United States). But this is well covered by the other question mxyzplk liked to. This is definitely a duplicate—I would just copy-paste my answer there to here… – SevenSidedDie Jun 01 '13 at 21:24
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    I go and write an answer relating to the prior art of the names, and the q gets closed while I'm typing... All the attribute names themselves have been used by at least three different publishers each. The risk is that the distinctive combined name might rise to trademark. – aramis Jun 01 '13 at 22:17
  • vote to reopen on the grounds that this is not, in essence, a copyright Q, but a Trademark one, and is MUCH more specific than the claimed duplicate. – aramis Jun 01 '13 at 22:19
  • @aramis This does not appear to be a trademark issue, since he does not want to use the Fallout mark nor "SPECIAL" (which may not even be trademarked). There does not appear to be an trademark issue with using the attribute names, but I am not a lawyer. – okeefe Jun 01 '13 at 23:48
  • @aramis Trademarks must be claimed or registered: they don't spontaneously arise through usage. Any spontaneous protection would have to fall under copyright since no others have spontaneous protection. It'd be tenuous (i.e., perhaps the whole demonstrates that the parts are derivative), but I believe that's a grey area of copyright precedents. – SevenSidedDie Jun 02 '13 at 01:49
  • It only takes one "SPECIAL™" in the text to claim it, or a trademar for (since it's a video game being worked from) direct confusion with the Trademark item. Trademark does allow more than the registry - at least since the turn of the century or so. (It was a bad decision, but it was SCOTUS...) – aramis Jun 02 '13 at 11:48

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