Paizo How will OGL 1.1 affect Pazio, PF1 and P2?

[Morrus]

Paizo will almost certainly launch a GoFundMe or some equivalent, tapping the entire gaming community for funds to fight.

They almost certainly will not!

 

[FormerLurker]

They almost certainly will not!

What's your reasoning?

They'll need money for a protracted legal battle with Hasbro lawyers. They might not be able to sell existing products, and any "fundraiser" items would have production costs to make, reducing the total funds available for lawyers.
Collection donations from the fans seems like the best way, either on an existing platform (GoFundMe) or setting up something on their own website.

 

[Morrus]

What's your reasoning?

They'll need money for a protracted legal battle with Hasbro lawyers. They might not be able to sell existing products, and any "fundraiser" items would have production costs to make, reducing the total funds available for lawyers.
Collection donations from the fans seems like the best way, either on an existing platform (GoFundMe) or setting up something on their own website.

Paizo is a multi-million dollar company with over 100 employees. They don't run fundraisers for legel fees.

 

[FormerLurker]

Paizo is a multi-million dollar company with over 100 employees. They don't run fundraisers for legel fees.

Right. Over a hundred employees.
Paizo likely has some decent cash reserves. Probably stretched after the shippocalypse and due to the pandemic. But they can probably coast for a few months. But six? A year? All while paying for office space in Redmond, Washington and the full salaries & benefits of its unionized employees.

The next three or four months of Paizo products are likely already locked in, at various production stages of printing or shipping. Including the big hardcovers Starfinder Ports of Call, the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix collection, and like three special editions. Plus the monthly adventure paths. All of which would be in the red, and would hurt Paizo if they had to just sit in a warehouse.
They might be able to have some employees strip away the mechanics for later releases and do system neutral adventures and campaign books, but getting those books to fans would be months away.

Then add expensive lawyer fees on top, in a protracted legal battle that might last a year.

Either they crowdfund lawyer fees or they cut most of their staff.

 

[Morrus]

Right. Over a hundred employees.
Paizo likely has some decent cash reserves. Probably stretched after the shippocalypse and due to the pandemic. But they can probably coast for a few months. But six? A year? All while paying for office space in Redmond, Washington and the full salaries & benefits of its unionized employees.

The next three or four months of Paizo products are likely already locked in, at various production stages of printing or shipping. Including the big hardcovers Starfinder Ports of Call, the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix collection, and like three special editions. Plus the monthly adventure paths. All of which would be in the red, and would hurt Paizo if they had to just sit in a warehouse.
They might be able to have some employees strip away the mechanics for later releases and do system neutral adventures and campaign books, but getting those books to fans would be months away.

Then add expensive lawyer fees on top, in a protracted legal battle that might last a year.

Either they crowdfund lawyer fees or they cut most of their staff.

I'm willing to place a sizeable wager? That's how sure I am that Paizo will not launch a GoFundMe for legal fees.

 

[JThursby]

I don't understand the commentators saying that Paizo's only remaining move is to roll over and die. Do people think they are some mom-and-pop shop with no money whatsoever? That they had never once considered the possibility that the OGL may come under attack and have no plan, no response? The vast majority of their product is already legally distinct from D&D now, they can just rip out the OGL and replace it with something else going forward if they really have to.

Either they crowdfund lawyer fees or they cut most of their staff.

In what universe is a single legal battle (assuming one is fought at all) going to be harder to withstand than the entirety of the Pandemic? If the company was so fragile and on a razor's edge of going kaput, Covid would have killed them first. There's also the ability to just run a big sale if they need quick capital. Or they can get a loan. Lots of possibilities out there without just declaring defeat without a fight.

 

[Morrus]

I've seen some speculation that PF2E is far enough away from the 3E SRD that it doesn't actually need the OGL, and that they can simply strip the OGL from the book and use some other license to allow their 3PP commubity to produce for it. I don't know how valid that is.

 

[JThursby]

I've seen some speculation that PF2E is far enough away from the 3E SRD that it doesn't actually need the OGL, and that they can simply strip the OGL from the book and use some other license to allow their 3PP commubity to produce for it. I don't know how valid that is.

I couldn't find the original reddit post, but this image was shared by Rise of the Rulelords on Twitter, which has a quote from Michael Sayre of Paizo management on why 2e is still using the OGL. TL;DR, it didn't really have to, but did anyways because they estimated it would have been less of a headache for 3pp.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, from that is sounds like - for Paizo at least - simply not using the OGL is a possibly viable route out of this.

 

[John R Davis]

Yeah, from that is sounds like -for Paizo at least - simply not using the OGL is a possibly viable route out of this.

The kicker for them is though PF2 is steps away from OGL stuff; starfinder isn't. It may mean they need to accelerate SF2 which may be very inconvenient.