GSL vs. no GSL Forked From: Where are all of the campaign settings?

[aboyd]

Plenty of people who work with licenses have said multiple times on these boards that the license is fairly standard. It's not like you have to give your first newborn babies to WotC.

Actually, kind of... don't you? I mean, isn't the GSL the one that says that you have to stop selling your 3.5 products? Isn't that a bit like knifing the baby?

I'm actually asking. I've not read the GSL in a while. I don't know what publishers have to endure to sign on.

 

[Jack99]

Actually, kind of... don't you? I mean, isn't the GSL the one that says that you have to stop selling your 3.5 products? Isn't that a bit like knifing the baby?

I'm actually asking. I've not read the GSL in a while. I don't know what publishers have to endure to sign on.

He he - You do have a point, although I meant literally, not figuratively.

AFAIK, you can't make the same products or product line in both 3.5 and 4e. That's the restriction.

I just do not think it's an unfair one

Cheers

 

[Lord Xtheth]

The currant (as in not the one still in the works) GSL is way too restrictive and prevents me from writing the campaign that I want to. It prevents my artist her right to draw what she thinks is appropriate, and it puts me in a position where they can tell me to "stop selling your stuff" whenever they feel like, for any reason at all, or no reason at all. This is somthing I don't want to agree to.

 

[Oldtimer]

Awesome. If it stops the gross exaggerations, then I can definitely live with it.

Look, I think the GSL sucks too, and I wish it was different. But let's not go overboard here. Plenty of people who work with licenses have said multiple times on these boards that the license is fairly standard. It's not like you have to give your first newborn babies to WotC. Also, plenty of members of this community have adopted the GSL for their work. Making it out to be extremely bad and a terrible thing to adopt, is frankly an insult to those people's intelligence.

You are misrepresenting what S'mon said. Terrible things do happen to your legal rights when you sign the GSL. He did not however claim that terrible things happen to you or your company. Different things.

As to the license being fairly standard - I signed a license with TSR in the dark days. It wasn't nearly as bad as the GSL. Maybe the days have become even darker...

 

[Voadam]

And I do think WoTC or Hasbro will make an example of somebody if there is a blatant violation, based on the fact that their GSL forbid the use of OGL content. Which is why I was predicting you won't see anybody use the OGL for 4e products but go by copyright precedents. I think attempting to use the OGL for a 4e compatible product will put a big target on their back. I think they haven't gone after OSRIC and others because it's not worth it, since 4e is their bread and butter.



One reason I am concerned is that I've seen some of the player base actively say they want to create an 4e "clone" and release it under the OGL. That could be construed as a deliberate attempt to harm WoTC.

I just don't see the OGL as adding any additional protection--in fact, it could harm rather than hurt. Any lawyer for WoTC will explain that 4e is very different from 3e and they did not license 4e under the OGL. If you're a major publisher, do you want to take that risk?

I think you should check out Goodman Games 4e modules. My understanding is they put them out under the OGL and not the GSL.

I don't own any but that is my understanding, and their 4e DCCs are the same product line as OGL DCCs and were out contemporaneously (which would have been prohibited under the GSL). Goodman only pulled their d20 products (inclding the d20 DCCs) at the Jan. 1 deadline Scott anounced for the d20 logo license.


Green Ronin has one 4e product as well. Character sheets put out under the OGL.

Two of the 3pp big guys. And Goodman has put out more 4e stuff than any other 3pp.

I don't expect WotC will attempt to take Goodman Games or Green Ronin to court over these OGL 4e products.

 

[Jack99]

You are misrepresenting what S'mon said. Terrible things do happen to your legal rights when you sign the GSL. He did not however claim that terrible things happen to you or your company. Different things.

I never said he claimed that. Or at least never meant to do so. The point is that the supposedly terrible things that happen to you when you sign the GSL apparently didn't detract a company like Goodman Games to sign on.

Which, I might add, has been to their benefit from what I have read.

So sure, not everyone likes the GSL. Okay, maybe no one likes the GSL. I am sure just about every publisher would prefer the OGL. But that doesn't automatically make the GSL terrible and it doesn't make it beyond comprehension if you sign on to the GSL. Goodman Games and OBE (amongst others) have signed it and produced awesome 4e material.


Cheers

 

[Lord Xtheth]

So, I picked up the 2 latest DCCs from RPGnow. I took a look at them, and it seems that they aren't made under any liscence. There is no refference to the OGL or the GSL. I also noticed how they got arround the IP of WoTC. If I make a product in a similar fashion it looks like I could be saved alot of headaches.

 

[Oldtimer]

The point is that the supposedly terrible things that happen to you when you sign the GSL apparently didn't detract a company like Goodman Games to sign on.

I'm sorry, but you just did it again. Terrible things don't happen to you - no one is claiming that.

But terrible things do happen to your legal rights. Goodman decided they could live without those rights and make some money in the process. Still doesn't change the fact that their legal rights have been severly undermined by signing the GSL.

It's not a value-judgement of the GSL. It's just an observation.

 

[Treebore]

So, I picked up the 2 latest DCCs from RPGnow. I took a look at them, and it seems that they aren't made under any liscence. There is no refference to the OGL or the GSL. I also noticed how they got arround the IP of WoTC. If I make a product in a similar fashion it looks like I could be saved alot of headaches.

You know, I thought I was going to tell you the recent DCC's were GSL (DCC 53 to 55), but they are not. They are 4E compatible under the OGL.

So could you go to the last few pages of DCC 56/57 and tell me if they too have an OGL statement page?

 

[Jack99]

I'm sorry, but you just did it again. Terrible things don't happen to you - no one is claiming that.

But terrible things do happen to your legal rights. Goodman decided they could live without those rights and make some money in the process. Still doesn't change the fact that their legal rights have been severly undermined by signing the GSL.

It's not a value-judgement of the GSL. It's just an observation.

Okay. When I do say terrible things, I do mean terrible things to your legal rights. In every single of my posts.

Maybe we just disagree on what contistutes "terrible things to your legal rights?"