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Studio Hermitage, Inc./ Our Brilliant Ruin Community License
June 2024
If you would like to create content and other materials based on Our Brilliant Ruin, this “Community License” will guide you in how to legally use our intellectual property. Placing the Community Logos or using the Our Brilliant Ruin name in your content means that you agree to abide by all of the terms of this Community License.
1) Intellectual Property/Ownership.
To be clear, we own and reserve all rights and interest to the Our Brilliant Ruin (“Our Brilliant Ruin”) copyright, trademarks, patents, intellectual property, designs, artwork, literary text and other materials therein, including, but not limited to the contents within the published Table-top Roleplaying Game Book (core book), published supplements including issues of the Whisper, Crowscraft Manor, Clawmoor Heights, Crane Mansion, Astus-Willough, Bellephine, Dara, Galdepark, Valgreave, Crown Hall College, League of Glove & Key, Peacock’s Feast, the Piedmont Accord, Rivet & Bellows Union, Syllokinetics, Dramark, Grandhurst, Wrell, Robin’s Rise, Gloaming, Ripper’s Fork, etc. together with the plots, themes, titles, dialogue, language, incidents, action, story, and characters contained therein and relating thereto and all present and future editions, expansions, supplements, translations, adaptations, and versions thereof, whether now existing or hereafter created, and all intellectual property rights – including all registrations, renewals and extensions thereof – and goodwill associated therewith (all of the forgoing collectively “Game IP”).
2) Licenses.
Subject to our rights and ownership as stated above, we grant you a nonexclusive, non-assignable, revocable license for the Term to create Fan Content, Media Content, and Merchant License Content (each as defined below) based on the Licensable IP, so long as you comply with all of the terms of the applicable license below. “Licensable IP” means all Game IP that is not excluded.
The following Game IP is excluded from these licenses: currently, nothing is excluded but this is subject to change with ample notice from Studio Hermitage Inc.
(a) License Tiers.
i) Brilliant Society (Fan & Media Content License).
(1) As part of the “Brilliant Society”, you are permitted to create “Fan Content” so long as you follow the guidelines and restrictions in this Community License. Fan Content includes but is not limited to art, blogs, figures, homebrews, trinkets, jewelry, books, etc. You can only use Fan Content for personal use and to share with the community.
(2) You may not sell or monetize the Fan Content in any way including but not limited to by requiring, requesting, accepting or receiving ad revenue, sponsorships, donations, payments, downloads, subscriptions, email registrations, surveys, signups, or other consideration or conditions of any kind to access your Fan Content.
(3) As part of the “Brilliant Society”, you are also permitted to create “Media Content” which includes actual play streams and podcasts, interviews, discussions, vlogs, skits, and other videos and media of the Licensable IP for video streaming services (including Twitch, YouTube, and other video platforms) so long as you follow the guidelines and restrictions under this Community License.
(4) With the Brilliant Society, your Media Content may generate income via sponsorships, ad revenue, and donations as long as such methods do not block or interfere with free public access. This means that the Media Content must be free for others to view, access, share, and use without approval, credit, or compensation. You may not: (i) sell or license the Media Content to any third party or (ii) place any condition on access to the Media Content, including without limitation, by requiring payment, surveys, downloads, subscriptions, email registration, credit, approval or any other form of consideration.
(b) Dramark Dispatch (Merchant Content License).
i) If you want to sell new and original content based on the Licensable IP, you must be part of the Dramark Dispatch (“Merchant License Content”) License. You may do so solely on the DriveThruRPG.com Website (the “Platform”) and are subject to the conditions in subparts (ii) – (v) below. You may not sell Merchant License Content through any website, portal, platform, medium, or distribution channel other than the Platform.
ii) You must pay us 20% (the “Revenue Share”) of the Gross Revenue from your Merchant License Content as one of the following options;
(1) Payment must be automated within DriveThruRPG to automatically transfer 20% of each transaction to us as a royalty/payment.
(2) If problems arise from auto-pay via DriveThruRPG then beginning on the first calendar quarter (starting on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1) in which you receive Gross Revenue from your Merchant License Content, you will pay us the 20% Revenue Share within 15 days following the end of each calendar quarter (the “Payment”). “Gross Revenue” means all monies, compensation, earnings, fees, residuals, royalties, revenue and things of value that you receive (or any other person or entity receives on your behalf) resulting from the sale and distribution of the Merchant License Content on the Platform.
iii) You must make all Revenue Share Payments directly within the DriveThruRPG platform to Studio Hermitage Inc. Any alternative payment situations must be discussed and approved on a case-by-case basis.
iv) With the Merchant Content License on the DrivethruRPG platform, you must provide us with quarterly reports, numbers, and supporting information so that we understand the basis for the Payment including quarterly sales and income reports. If we request it, you will provide us with any additional supporting documentation.
v) DriveThruRPG should maintain all sales records for reporting but if not, you will maintain records sufficient to determine and verify the accuracy of Payments, and permit us, at our expense to examine and copy the relevant portions of said records, upon reasonable notice to you, to verify Payments due under this License. You will promptly pay any underpayment disclosed by such audit. If any audit discloses an underpayment that exceeds 5% of the amounts otherwise due in connection with the relevant Payment, you will reimburse our out-of-pocket costs in connection with such audit.
(c) Labeling. You may not remove or alter any of our copyrights or trademarks including any of our logos, signatures, art, or notices. For each license tier, you must use the appropriate community logo below (the “Community Logos”). You must include the appropriate Community Logo and a notice on all of your Fan/Media Content License as well as all Merchant License material stating that your content is not official Company or Our Brilliant Ruin material. To be clear, we retain all ownership and rights to the Community Logos and may change which Community Logos you can or cannot use from time to time.
Fan, Media, Merchant Content License Material Notice (to be used on all material):
This product is created under the terms of the Our Brilliant Ruin community license and consists of material created by community members. It is not an official Studio Hermitage Inc. product and is not endorsed or approved by Studio Hermitage, Inc. Portions of the materials are property of Studio Hermitage Inc. and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information visit ourbrilliantruin.com.
Click here for our Press Kit and logos.
(d) Restrictions. You acknowledge and agree to abide by all of the following restrictions in connection with your Fan Content, Media Content, or Merchant License Content. Namely, you agree not to do any of the following:
i) Use or create derivative works based on any of our intellectual property outside of Our Brilliant Ruin;
ii) Reproduce material from any of our sourcebooks, supplements, or other copyrighted materials;
iii) Modify or remove our legal notices or policies;
iv) Use large language models or generative AI of any kind in connection with the Game IP, including without limitation, in connection with creating art/imagery or text/copy assets under this license;
v) Create NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or cryptocurrencies using the Game IP;
vi) Create any content that is harmful to minors or contains anything that is illegal or promotes the use of drugs or alcohol, any illegal activity, or anything else that is considered obscene or of moral turpitude;
vii) Create any content that violates any law or third-party right, including any privacy, publicity, intellectual property, or proprietary right;
viii) Create any content that defames, disparages, or depicts the Game IP, the Company, or any of our affiliates, managers, members, officers, employees, contractors, or agents in a negative way; or
ix) Suggest or imply that your content is approved, endorsed, or sponsored by us.
3) Representations and Warranties.
You represent and warrant that:
(a) Other than the Game IP, your content is entirely original and does not violate any third-party rights, including any privacy, publicity, intellectual property or proprietary right;
(b) Your content is not harmful to minors and does not defame, disparage, or depict the Game IP, the Company, or any of our affiliates, managers, members, officers, employees, contractors, or agents in a negative way. Your content does not contain anything that promotes the real-world abuse of drugs or alcohol or any illegal activity. Your content does not use the Game IP in any way that is harassing, abusive, tortious, threatening, harmful, invasive of another's privacy, vulgar, defamatory, false, intentionally misleading, trade libelous, pornographic, obscene, patently offensive, or that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred, or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual or is otherwise objectionable;
(c) At all times, You will follow and comply with any local, state, regional, national, or other applicable laws or regulations that pertains to your content.
4) Indemnification. You will defend, indemnify and hold us and our affiliates, directors, officers, agents, representatives and employees harmless from and against all liabilities, losses, damages, costs, expenses, causes of action, claims, judgments, suits, legal proceedings and similar matters, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses arising from or relating to: (a) your breach of any of any term of this Community License; (b) your negligence or willful misconduct; (c) any claim asserted by any third party arising from or related to any third party rights, or (d) any claim asserted by any third party in connection with the quality or safety of your content.
5) Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSSES) ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE GAME IP.
6) Miscellaneous.
a) Term. We reserve the right to terminate this Community License at any time for any reason. Upon termination, you must immediately stop exercising the rights granted in this Community License including using Game IP to create content under any of the license tiers.
(b) Updates to this Community License. We reserve the right to, in our sole and absolute discretion, change the terms of this Community License at any time. A prominent notice of any material changes to this Community License will be provided on our and through our social media channels.
(c) Severability. If any term of this Community License is to any extent illegal, otherwise invalid, or incapable of being enforced, that term will be excluded to the extent of the invalidity or unenforceability; all other terms hereof will remain in full force and effect; and, to the extent permitted and possible, the invalid or unenforceable term will be deemed replaced by a term that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of the invalid or unenforceable term.
(d) Governing Law; Submission to Jurisdiction. This Community License is governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, and the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts sitting in Wake County, North Carolina. You hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of North Carolina state and federal courts and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non-conveniens.
If you are interested in setting up a unique license agreement with Studio Hermitage Inc. for an Our Brilliant Ruin product(s), please contact: licensing@studio-hermitage.com.
For questions or approvals, please contact: legal@studio-hermitage.com.
