Battlezoo Shares The OGL v1.1

Battlezoo, the YouTube channel which shared the initial leak of the new Open Game License, has shared the PDF of the OGL v1.1 draft which is currently circulating. This draft is, presumably, the same document obtained by Gizmodo last week. It's not currently known if this is the final version of the license.

​

 

[Andrew Anderson]

Speaking as someone currently re-reading the Icewind Dale novels - his name is freaking Bruenor Battlehammer. My God.

I'm pretty sure "Bruenor Battlehammer" is now what they call non authorized content, as it is not in the new SRD. It's not available for use.

 

[whimsychris123]

"Blades II: Electric Boogaloo."

Are we absolutely 100% certain this isn't an elaborate troll? Because...wow.

I think it's their way of saying, "We might be soulless corporate jerks, but we're relatable soulless corporate jerks. Haha. wink, wink lol."

 

[ersatzphil]

The only way it isn't troll is if WotC is currently experiencing a "Nakatomi Plaza"-type situation, and thus Hans Gruber has cut off all their communications. We must hope brave John McClane is able to defeat him before the evil hacker unlocks WotC's vaults and frees the 640 million in unmarked Magic the Gathering rares.

 

[overgeeked]

Other lawyers in those same threads strongly disagree with that take and seem to have the evidence to back it up, such as the GPL 2.0 lawsuit that has similar language (lacking the term 'irrevocable') but in court was deemed to be irrevocable anyways.

Right. Which is why all the lawyers' and IANALs' opinions don't mean squat. Either this goes to court and is settled by a judge or WotC can just act as if they're right and attack anyone for not going along.

 

[Princessmaker]

I'm pretty sure "Bruenor Battlehammer" is now what they call non authorized content, as it is not in the new SRD. It's not available for use.

Smart, if they got the name right in the license it would give ppl a way to use it.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

My understanding is that the attached contracts (which we haven't seen) are individual licensing agreements. The proposed OGL 1.1 is essentially a threat describing the terms WotC will attempt to force on those who don't sign individual agreements. It doesn't need to be in its fully polished, legalistic form to fulfil that purpose.

Dude, read the document.

I'll link you the relevant bit:

"The actual license is available through the hyperlinks below, and if you’re comfortable with legalese (or somehow actually enjoy reading legalese) feel free to jump ahead to those links. We’ve included explanations and examples alongside the legal language to help make the OGL easier to understand and comply with. You can get to those comments by clicking the link after each section. If on the other hand you would like to start with a in plain language of how the OGL works, you can start here with the FAQ section. In addition to that, we have included a set of comments in the license itself that accompany the legal language and provide explanations and examples to help make the License easier to understand and comply with. You can get to those comments by clicking the link after each section."

Please don't speculate on what something might say when you can just look at the thing.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

It also seems to be that this is exactly in the company's history, going back to the early 80s at least - to swing a big stick at people using their system, in much the same way even Back In The Day, I found it weird the NPCs in the City-state of the Invincible Overlord had hits-to-kill instead of hit points, or some various other skirt-arounds

 

[Ghost2020]

Is this missing sections? Trying to find the IX.B.2 for qualifying revenue, am i missing it?

 

[Greg Benage]

Is this missing sections? Trying to find the IX.B.2 for qualifying revenue, am i missing it?

Looks like a fork up. Section IX is Warranties and Disclaimers.

 

[Charlaquin]

The word "irrevocable" isn't used in the OGL 1.0, and as a specific legal term, means it is very likely, in fact, to be revokable.

At least according to some of the actual lawyers in other threads and websites.

And according to other lawyers, it clearly isn’t revocable despite not containing that specific word. The fact of the matter is, whether or not WotC can revoke it will have to be decided in a courtroom. That’s how law works.