It was something Tim Kask said in one of his Curmudgeon in the Cellar podcasts.
Perhaps it was his interpretation of the OGL, but he seemed more emphatic than that referring to OD&D now being in the public domain.
Perhaps if WoTC have abandoned the IP, it is then by definition relinquished to the public domain.

aia wrote in Report sellers who infringe copyrights!:
A part the precise contents of the law, i do not see how OD&D can be public domain if it is still being produced... The 5E keeps the same title, i have never considered terms expiration dates for smtg still in production!

Clearly 'public domain' means different things to different people. I took it to mean 'public property' in the copyright sense, but some people use the phrase to mean 'generally available to many people', the same way a photograph can be in the public domain.

In regard to your point about the use of the name Dungeons & Dragons, that is trademark and not copyright. I'd imagine a corporation could retain a Trademark beyond the original work's copyright. But who knows.

When all is said and done, if you can print something using a major printing house, market it on some of the world's biggest market places, and sell them freely to whomever you want, that item is in fact free of copyright due to the product having been abandoned by anyone who cares.

Someone dumped a lot of time into creating those. I don't (and probably won't) collect some of those settings they have bundled like this:

** expired/removed eBay auction **


I never buy reprints because at the end of the day they are counterfeits.  However these could sway me to the dark side.  :)

-SKA

This individual was placed on the Auction Hunter blocklist a while ago, so their auctions won't pull up in the daily searches.  While they're not actually violating copyright, I really can't stand people selling photocopies on eBay, as I've publicly stated before.  Even though he very clearly spells out that this is a reprint in the description, there's always idiots who Buy It Now without reading, which ultimately hurts the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the collecting hobby as a whole.  And the ONLY reason people do this is to capitalize on the suckers, which is just a sh*tty way to do business.

Foul

The scammers are at it again on eBay:


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


** expired/removed eBay auction **


There are likely other fraudulent listing from this seller's hijacked account.

PaulKM wrote in Report sellers who infringe copyrights!:I was looking through Etsy, when I came across the two PDFs below. As I looked further, I found more examples of Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine (combined as well) PDFs on the first page (search field: “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st edition.”)  I’m unsure of Etsy’s policies.  Is there any point in reporting them, or is the site rife with this kind of thing?

Best,

Paul

Dragon Magazine Archive PDF:
Seller:  Barbi Bookmaster

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1291736 ... ch_click=1

The official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Coloring Album PDF (Four AD&D PDF colouring books in total)  
Seller: Brendan.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1075757 ... ch_click=1

The AD&D Colouring books were published by someone else (not TSR) and that's a store that sells lots of colouring books. Perhaps it's legit and they got the right to republish a whole slew of them?

Seller blocked and auction removed.

Foul

Seller indicates they own the digital rights to these...


** expired/removed eBay auction **

At least the seller somewhat admits what they are doing:

** eBay auction listing blocked by The Acaeum.  Seller is on our blacklist **

Doesn't make it right, though.

They have the complete series of "facsimiles" for sale.

It's rather sad that eBay has hidden the means to report items easily.