Translating the SRD

[silvermane]

Is the approval of WotC necessary to translate the SRD into another language?

Of course by "translate" I mean "translate and publish on a website", as translating for your own self/friends is fair use.

Is the situation influenced by whether the core rulebooks have already been translated into that language (such as German or Spanish) or not (such as Esperanto)?

 

[Vascant]

I believe the core limitation relating to the SRD is it needs to be "Open", language does not limit that and legally would be allowed I think.

 

[silvermane]

The problem is that the OGL does not explicitly allow translations to be made of OGC material. In the definition of "Distribute" in section 1(c) translation is not listed as a permissible activity. And because licenses are usually to be interpreted in a restrictive manner, one can deduce that anything that intends to comply with the OGL must be published in English (and in fact is).

On the other hand, the license itself would have to be translated, if only for the destined reader to know what to comply with. But translations of legal texts are not automatically authoritative. and surely mean WotC must give its blessing before they come into force. But they probably would not be interested in dealing with a minority or artificial language translation, because there is no marketing potential in the enterprise.

There are more legal issues to be considered, but I'd like to hear the opinion of someone from WotC or thereabouts as to the legal status of the SRD. WotC holds the copyright to the document and would have the ultimate say in what we are allowed to do with it.

 

[dcollins]

Basically I think the answer is "no, you don't need special permission".

- Translations of OGC are covered normally by the OGL as any other kind of "Derivitave Work". See OGL Section 1(b).

- The d20 System Trademark Guide says that the d20 System license text box must be included in English, and any translation must be marked non-official. See d20 STG section "Mandatory Requirements". (But you're not asking about d20 licensing.)

- OGL license has no similar requirement. I'd say to be safe you might include a copy of the OGL license itself in English, alongside your translation of the SRD material. IANAL.

 

[johnsemlak]

The SRD has been translated into French at least, and maybe other langauges. It was probably done by a company that has the D&D license in that country.

 

[dcollins]

From OGL:

1. Definitions: (a)"Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)"Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted...

(g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content...

4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.

 

[silvermane]

The SRD has been translated into French at least, and maybe other langauges. It was probably done by a company that has the D&D license in that country.

And don't such companies have an exclusive translation agreement with WotC?

The situation is peculiar, however. The light of the 3.5 edition had not yet shone upon my backward country (all published material has been 3e). Of course the 3.5 SRD incorporates a great deal of 3e, but is a separate work, which may or may not be covered by that agreement.

 

[arscott]

By creating the OGL and the SRD, wizards essentially eliminated their ability to make completely exclusive agreements.

The foreign companies have the exclusive right to translations of D&D (ie. exclusive right to use the brand name and the non-open content, plus the non-exclusive right to use the open content). Most importantly, the actual translated text they produce is closed content unless they decide to make it otherwise. That means you can't copy their translation, or even intentionally use the same words for game terms thay they do. If there lawyers come sniffing around, you should be able to prove that you got the entire translation from the spanish english dictionary, rather than El Manual de los Jugadores or La Guia del Maestro de la Mazmorra.

Also, remember that just because something is legal under the OGL doesn't mean that the company with the licensce won't try to sue you anyway. In a previous thread about the same subject, Somebody said that the German Licensee killed a translation of the Creature Collection via lawsuits, IIRC.

Chances are though, that the official translators won't do anything at all. And even if they do, they'll probably start by asking you to take your translated SRD off the net, rather than doing anything that would potentially get you in trouble.

 

[Ranger REG]

See My Disclaimer Below...

Is the approval of WotC necessary to translate the SRD into another language?

Nope. It's necessary to get approval from WotC to translate Dungeons & Dragons or any of their rulebooks.

As long you understand and abide by the terms of the Open Gaming License v.1.0a, you can translate the SRD into French, Japanese, HTML, Klingon, etc.

Of course by "translate" I mean "translate and publish on a website", as translating for your own self/friends is fair use.

Translating it for your friend is fair use. Publishing on a website is distribution, however, the OGL will allow you to distribute Open Gaming Content, even translated.

Is the situation influenced by whether the core rulebooks have already been translated into that language (such as German or Spanish) or not (such as Esperanto)?

Good question, the situation is either influenced by whether the translation is correct or not within the context of the known rules. Some things can get lost in translation.

But more than likely the situation is influenced by aspiring game designers outside of WotC, and even outside of US or any English-speaking countries.

Keep in mind, any translation of the SRD must include the English text version of the Open Gaming License, because this is a legal document acknowledged by the creator, WotC. You can provide a translation of the license, but let them know the non-English version not a legal document.

 

[Knight Otu]

As others have said, translating the SRD requires no special permission in theory. However, from what I've seen, the publishers of the translated versions tend to be heavily against that idea.
The former german publisher Amigo even asked Flyspeck23 once to take down portions of the english SRD that he posted on his site.

If you want to want to translate the SRD into a language that already has D&D books translated into it, the best advice is - do not own those books, and don't look into them.

(And it definitely wasn't the Creature Collection killed this way - I've seen the german translation for it in my FLGS)