Cortex Fan License Published

The fan license which allows you to create free material for Cortex Prime was announced by Fandom yesterday.

Fandom acquired the Cortex Prime system recently, and is also the owner of D&D Beyond.

The announcement was greeted with negative feedback about its restrictions by the community. The Community License grants ownership of any mechanics created under the license (but not 'lore' such as names, art, fiction, etc.) Additionally, Fandom can terminate the license at any time. The usage of the Cortex Prime mechanics is limited in that fans cannot "decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Cortex System, or any component thereof, by any means whatsoever."

In the comments under the announcement, Fandom confirmed that fan creations could not be distributed via DriveThruRPG or Itch.io because those platforms "grants them rights to specific parts of the content, including content that the community license does not grant you the rights to." I'm not familiar with Itch's terms, but DTRPG doesn't acquire any rights to content distributed on the platform.

Fandom does confirm in the comments that people can create their own versions of the Cortex mechanics without using the license; but by doing so you can't call it Cortex or use the resources Fandom provides. Mechanics in themselves cannot be copyrighted, but the expression (the text used) to describe them can.

Those wishing to sell their work will be able to use the Cortex Creator Studio, which will become available at a later date. The commercial license requires an application.

 

[darjr]

Wow, I remember when this was funded. It seemed like such a huge deal back then. But looking now, yea it’s got over 2000 backers, but it’s well under $100 grand, which seems small now for an entire rpg system. Certainly not as big as I remember. Just a side effect of how much the hobby on Kickstarter has grown from just 2017.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Could Fandom publish in the wikis the stats of the characters as PC with the Cortex System?

What about publishing things from public domain? For example forgotten superheroes from the golden age.

The future "Legends of Grayskull" will be with Cortex System.

I don't know the relation between Hasbro and Fandom. Is it good?

 

[Morrus]

Wow, I remember when this was funded. It seemed like such a huge deal back then. But looking now, yea it’s got over 2000 backers, but it’s well under $100 grand, which seems small now for an entire rpg system. Certainly not as big as I remember. Just a side effect of how much the hobby on Kickstarter has grown from just 2017.

If you look at all the 1M+ Kickstarters, they’re nearly all this year.

 

[timbannock]

That is incorrect. Evil Hat Games has released several non-d20 titles under the OGL, for example.

Correct! The OGL started with Wizards/D20 but has long since been expanded to cover many other systems and circumstances. Evil Hat specifically uses it and Creative Commons for Fate.

What I don't follow is why people feel they are owed every system and/or license as is if it is OGL/CC? My reading is that Fandom "gets the mechanics" when you publish on their as-of-yet unreleased Creator Studio ecosystem, or if you publish your thing somewhere with all their licensing branding assets, not if you just make a Google Doc without their branding and post it on your website or social media, etc.

 

[darjr]

If you look at all the 1M+ Kickstarters, they’re nearly all this year.

Yea, and it seems like a whole new world. I’m a bit under the future shock.

 

[Bravesteel25]

The Community License grants ownership of any mechanics created under the license (but not 'lore' such as names, art, fiction, etc.)

So, Cortex, a generic RPG system, owns a licensee's lore, art, fiction under this agreement? Am I reading that part correctly? If so, that is some utter nonsense. Cortex isn't Traveller, where there is a very good reason to have such safeguards regarding lore in the Travellers' Aid Society Creator's Program terms.

 

[Umbran]

My reading is that Fandom "gets the mechanics" when you publish on their as-of-yet unreleased Creator Studio ecosystem, or if you publish your thing somewhere with all their licensing branding assets, not if you just make a Google Doc without their branding and post it on your website or social media, etc.

It seems like boilerplate stuff, honestly. The idea that, if you publish stuff based on their work, you cannot them hold them hostage if they develop something similar in the future, is pretty basic.

 

[Aldarc]

Wow, I remember when this was funded. It seemed like such a huge deal back then. But looking now, yea it’s got over 2000 backers, but it’s well under $100 grand, which seems small now for an entire rpg system. Certainly not as big as I remember. Just a side effect of how much the hobby on Kickstarter has grown from just 2017.

If you look at all the 1M+ Kickstarters, they’re nearly all this year.

I think they just picked the wrong year to run their Kickstarter. It also got caught up in development-Hades until Fandom came in.

 

[Umbran]

So, Cortex, a generic RPG system, owns a licensee's lore, art, fiction under this agreement?

No. Specifically NOT the the lore, art, and such. Only the mechanics, which themselves cannot be protected by copyright anyway.

 

[Bravesteel25]

No. Specifically NOT the the lore, art, and such. Only the mechanics, which themselves cannot be protected by copyright anyway.

Oooh. OK. Still not a great license, but not as horrific as I was thinking.