Gaming Licenses

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There are three main gaming licenses.


Contents

Open Gaming License

WotC's Open Gaming License (OGL) was published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast. It was spearheaded by then WotC Vice President Ryan Dancey.

The Open Gaming Foundation defines an Open Gaming License as:

The Open Gaming Foundation believes that a license must provide for two important features in order to be an Open Game license.

1. The license must allow game rules and materials that use game rules to be freely copied, modified and distributed.

2. The license must ensure that material distributed using the license cannot have those permissions restricted in the future.

The first requirement precludes an Open Gaming License from placing any limitation on the licensed content beyond those necessary to enforce the terms of the license itself. This prohibition includes a restriction against commercial distribution, a requirement for review or approval, the payment of a fee of any kind to a 3rd party, or any other term that would seek to limit the free use of the licensed material.

The second requirement means that the license must have a mechanism to ensure that the rights it grants cannot be taken away, either by the original contributor of the material, of the copyright holder of the license text itself, by an action taken on behalf of a 3rd party, or any other process.

The Open Gaming Foundation is aware of several licenses which it believes meet these requirements. The Foundation makes no representation or warranty as to the fitness or actual terms of any of these licenses. The following list of licenses is provided as a convenience and should not be taken as a formal endorsement of the terms of any of these licenses.

Known Open Gaming Licenses

d20 System Trademark License

The d20 STL was published at the same time as the OGL, and was used to license WotC trademarked "d20 logo" (pictured right) in order to signify compatibility with other d20 System products, most notably D&D 3rd Edition. The license was revoked on June 6th 2008 upon the launch of the D&D 4th Edition Game System License (GSL), although publishers using the license were permitted a 6-month sell-off period for products in channel still bearing the logo.

The d20 System Trademark License (D20STL) required publishers to exclude character creation and advancement rules, apply certain notices and adhere to an acceptable content policy. Games that only use the OGL are not bound by these restrictions, and several have included character creation and advancement rules, allowing them to be used as standalone products. D20STL products require a core book from Wizards of the Coast and must clearly state this.

System Reference Document (SRD)

A System Reference Document contains all of the relevant usable IP related to a corresponding Open Gaming License. For example, the d20 System Reference Document contains the basics of the d20 ruleset.

Known System Reference Documents

D&D 4th Edition Game System License (GSL)

The GSL was published on June 6th 2008 and provides a way for third parties to publish commercial products compatible with D&D 4th Edition, along with the branding tools which assist them to clearly indicate compatibility with said game, most notably a new logo (pictured right) which, for the first time, actually bears the Dungeons & Dragons brand name.

A new revised GSL is currently with WotC's legal department. Its release date is unknown.

GSL Reference Material

Links

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