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5E Designer Mike Mearls Talks About The OGL Crisis
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<blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 9575981" data-attributes="member: 6680772"><p>I may be pissing in the wind here, but here's a summary of the OGL timeline, for posterity and reference, if nothing else. I have endeavored to include just the facts, without speculation or interpretation.</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Late in 2022 (Riggs suggests August in the video), WotC met with third party publishers to explain their plans for the OGL. Attendees were given a draft of OGL 1.1 and term sheets for bespoke licensing deals that provided for lower royalties than in OGL 1.1, and other perks such as access to the D&D Beyond market. (Source: <a href="https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-wizards-hasbro-ogl-open-game-license-1849981136" target="_blank">1/14/23 Lin Codega article</a>)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is confusion about term sheets. Term sheets are documents broadly outlining what two parties have essentially agreed to, which are signed when agreement is reached, and act as letters of intent prior to the official contracts being written out in detail by the lawyers. There is confusion whether WotC signed the term sheets when giving them to the third-party publishers, but as [USER=83242]@dave2008[/USER] has noted in this thread, which lines up with my own experience, the document being signed in no way means it's a final version that cannot be changed by the other party. Term sheets (which inherently imply negotiation) and draft contracts are often sent signed to expedite the process. If the other party agrees with the terms, they can simply sign that draft, and make it official and final. <strong>The term sheets were distinct documents intended for each individual third-party publisher, not the OGL!</strong></li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The draft of OGL 1.1 said that the final version of OGL 1.1 would be released on January 4, 2023, to go into effect on January 13, 2023. (Source: <a href="https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634" target="_blank">1/5/2023 Lin Codega article</a>)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">None of the third party publishers present at the meeting concluded licensing deals with WotC.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On January 4, 2023, OGL 1.1 was not released. One of the third-party publishers present at the meeting leaked the draft of OGL 1.1 to Lin Codega at Gizmodo.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On January 5, 2023, Lin Codega published their <a href="https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634" target="_blank">article</a> detailing the contents of the lead OGL 1.1 draft.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"A few days later" (per Codega), someone within WotC leaked to Codega a draft FAQ about "OGL 2.0." It is unknown what this FAQ was intended for, e.g., whether OGL 1.1 was being renamed 2.0, or whether it was a different document from 1.1, when it was drafted, and when it was intended for release, if ever.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On January 14, an unnamed author at WotC released a <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1423-an-update-on-the-open-game-license-ogl" target="_blank">statement</a> on the OGL situation. The statement was not well-received.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On the same day, Lin Codega published an <a href="https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-wizards-hasbro-ogl-open-game-license-1849981136" target="_blank">article</a> that recapped the week to date, and detailed the OGL 2.0 FAQ.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On January 19, Kyle Brink released a <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1428-a-working-conversation-about-the-open-game-license?srsltid=AfmBOorxiB6hTIs1HjYzwJ51bed2jf0cPpVOaa-XSI-xxxzlH6d9DnqD" target="_blank">statement</a> apologizing for the OGL situation, and expressed intent to hold surveys to find an OGL the fanbase is pleased with.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On January 20, the <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1432-starting-the-ogl-playtest?srsltid=AfmBOopULME-vZoOd-pnJ5CZQaqQ_Q0pu8k_-SbuzFkwj2RC3w2oXcqq" target="_blank">surveys</a> were released for "OGL 1.2", and limited release of the 5e core rules into the Creative Commons was announced. The OGL draft released in the survey still attempted to revoke OGL 1.0a, but removed royalties and included language to protect products already released under OGL 1.0a.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">On January 27, the survey was ended with the <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1439-ogl-1-0a-creative-commons" target="_blank">announcement</a> that OGL 1.0a would not be revoked, and there would be a full release of the 5e SRD into the Creative Commons.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iosue, post: 9575981, member: 6680772"] I may be pissing in the wind here, but here's a summary of the OGL timeline, for posterity and reference, if nothing else. I have endeavored to include just the facts, without speculation or interpretation. [LIST] [*]Late in 2022 (Riggs suggests August in the video), WotC met with third party publishers to explain their plans for the OGL. Attendees were given a draft of OGL 1.1 and term sheets for bespoke licensing deals that provided for lower royalties than in OGL 1.1, and other perks such as access to the D&D Beyond market. (Source: [URL='https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-wizards-hasbro-ogl-open-game-license-1849981136']1/14/23 Lin Codega article[/URL]) [LIST] [*]There is confusion about term sheets. Term sheets are documents broadly outlining what two parties have essentially agreed to, which are signed when agreement is reached, and act as letters of intent prior to the official contracts being written out in detail by the lawyers. There is confusion whether WotC signed the term sheets when giving them to the third-party publishers, but as [USER=83242]@dave2008[/USER] has noted in this thread, which lines up with my own experience, the document being signed in no way means it's a final version that cannot be changed by the other party. Term sheets (which inherently imply negotiation) and draft contracts are often sent signed to expedite the process. If the other party agrees with the terms, they can simply sign that draft, and make it official and final. [B]The term sheets were distinct documents intended for each individual third-party publisher, not the OGL![/B] [/LIST] [*]The draft of OGL 1.1 said that the final version of OGL 1.1 would be released on January 4, 2023, to go into effect on January 13, 2023. (Source: [URL='https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634']1/5/2023 Lin Codega article[/URL]) [*]None of the third party publishers present at the meeting concluded licensing deals with WotC. [*]On January 4, 2023, OGL 1.1 was not released. One of the third-party publishers present at the meeting leaked the draft of OGL 1.1 to Lin Codega at Gizmodo. [*]On January 5, 2023, Lin Codega published their [URL='https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634']article[/URL] detailing the contents of the lead OGL 1.1 draft. [*]"A few days later" (per Codega), someone within WotC leaked to Codega a draft FAQ about "OGL 2.0." It is unknown what this FAQ was intended for, e.g., whether OGL 1.1 was being renamed 2.0, or whether it was a different document from 1.1, when it was drafted, and when it was intended for release, if ever. [*]On January 14, an unnamed author at WotC released a [URL='https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1423-an-update-on-the-open-game-license-ogl']statement[/URL] on the OGL situation. The statement was not well-received. [*]On the same day, Lin Codega published an [URL='https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-wizards-hasbro-ogl-open-game-license-1849981136']article[/URL] that recapped the week to date, and detailed the OGL 2.0 FAQ. [*]On January 19, Kyle Brink released a [URL='https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1428-a-working-conversation-about-the-open-game-license?srsltid=AfmBOorxiB6hTIs1HjYzwJ51bed2jf0cPpVOaa-XSI-xxxzlH6d9DnqD']statement[/URL] apologizing for the OGL situation, and expressed intent to hold surveys to find an OGL the fanbase is pleased with. [*]On January 20, the [URL='https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1432-starting-the-ogl-playtest?srsltid=AfmBOopULME-vZoOd-pnJ5CZQaqQ_Q0pu8k_-SbuzFkwj2RC3w2oXcqq']surveys[/URL] were released for "OGL 1.2", and limited release of the 5e core rules into the Creative Commons was announced. The OGL draft released in the survey still attempted to revoke OGL 1.0a, but removed royalties and included language to protect products already released under OGL 1.0a. [*]On January 27, the survey was ended with the [URL='https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1439-ogl-1-0a-creative-commons']announcement[/URL] that OGL 1.0a would not be revoked, and there would be a full release of the 5e SRD into the Creative Commons. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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