IP Disputes: Dungeons & Dragons

In April 1997, game publisher Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR, maker of the popular fantasy game “Dungeons and Dragons.” Across the 2000s, Wizards of the Coast adjusted their public copyright license to encourage third parties to iterate the lore for their own participation in the game — sorta like fanfic. This dramatically altered the landscape of D&D as fans now held a certain role in the game’s evolution.

But in December 2022, it was leaked that Wizards of the Coast had dramatically edited their license, requiring third party creators to pay a hefty royalty on any monetizable content generated using Dungeons and Dragons IP, even though said use was originally free under the initial Open Gaming License. This pissed off a lot of people, namely the third party creators. This episode explores the origins of this conflict and the ongoing IP dispute it has generated.

This episode is part of Missing Pages, Season 2 — a podcast series centered on publishing industry shifts, related controversies, and the literary grifters involved.

Listen here.