D&D General Interview with Chris Cocks on D&D AI, the OGL, and more

[Scribe]

Terms that exist both in the dictionary, and terms that were used in the real world predating christanity. Yes, they are words that they have tried to stop from being used when you agree to use the OGL. No Elysium awaits for your heroes when you can't use the name in your game.

I mean if that would actually hold up in court, thats weird.

 

[Staffan]

Yes


For FUTURE users, but I was responding to a claim WOTC should "do something" to return everything to the status quo which exited prior to what WOTC did about the OGL. Which is impossible, because you cannot change which license was used for past uses of the OGL, and you can't amend the existing OGL to retroactively apply to past uses of the OGL, so you can never return everything back to the status quo before all this.

The only thing WOTC could have really done about past uses of the OGL is the very thing they did do: outright state that despite their initial desire to cancel the OGL, they changed their mind and won't do that and will never do that. You either believe them, or not. And I think it's fair to be suspicious or simply not believe them, but them saying it is about the only thing they could have done to protect prior uses. Sure, they could do something about future uses, and they did with the Creative Commons, and then the ORC license is an alternative out there. But there isn't anything WOTC could have done to really protect past uses given the old OGL outright stated it cannot be amended.

For the sake of argument, let's assume they do release an OGL 1.2 with whatever wording would be needed to make it ironclad against future shenanigans.

So, the SRD is released under OGL 1.0 (a) and declared Open Game Content. This would qualify it as "Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License." So even if a later C-suite at Hasbro "de-authorizes" 1.0 (a), that doesn't change the fact that the SRD was originally distributed under it, and since 1.2 would still be an authorized version of the license I could use that to do stuff based on the SRD. At least that's how I understand it.

Would it possibly have an effect on things already in print under 1.0 (a)? Maybe, but I think they'd have a hard time pushing that in court given that the license was valid at time of publication.

 

[Art Waring]

I mean if that would actually hold up in court, thats weird.

I agree I probably would not hold up. The thing is though, nobody wanted to be the first one to challenge this in court, so it was just accepted for over twenty years (as nobody wanted either to challenge wotc, or challenge the OGL in court as it may have resulted in something similar to the OGL debacle).

 

[Scribe]

I agree I probably would not hold up. The thing is though, nobody wanted to be the first one to challenge this in court, so it was just accepted for over twenty years (as nobody wanted either to challenge wotc, or challenge the OGL in court as it may have resulted in something similar to the OGL debacle).

I mean "I am not a lawyer" and all that, but Hades, Elysium, Heaven, Hell? Thats not going to pass the smell test.

 

[Art Waring]

I mean "I am not a lawyer" and all that, but Hades, Elysium, Heaven, Hell? Thats not going to pass the smell test.

I agree, but it worked for two decades. I can't find a single OGL 1.0a book that includes the terms (please let me know if you find any books using the OGL 1.0a that do, cheers).

 

[Scribe]

I agree, but it worked for two decades. I can't find a single OGL 1.0a book that includes the terms (please let me know if you find any books using the OGL 1.0a that do, cheers).

Great Beyond - PathfinderWiki

pathfinderwiki.com

 

[Art Waring]

Great Beyond - PathfinderWiki

pathfinderwiki.com

Thanks!

 

[Alzrius]

I agree, but it worked for two decades. I can't find a single OGL 1.0a book that includes the terms (please let me know if you find any books using the OGL 1.0a that do, cheers).

Anger of Angels - Malhavoc Press | Other Sourcebooks | DriveThruRPG.com

Anger of Angels - By Sean K Reynolds128-page sourcebookFree previewTable of ContentsArt galleryFree web enhancement: "Angels in Other Genr

legacy.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Art Waring]

Anger of Angels - Malhavoc Press | Other Sourcebooks | DriveThruRPG.com

Anger of Angels - By Sean K Reynolds128-page sourcebookFree previewTable of ContentsArt galleryFree web enhancement: "Angels in Other Genr

legacy.drivethrurpg.com

Cheers.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Regarding "Elysium" etc, part of the entire point of the OGL from WotC's position is that licensees willingly give up their right to use certain words in their product that are associated with D&D but not trademark-able. I don't see any reason why a court wouldn't enforce this agreement, since the OGL is a fair deal for both parties.

Now, if I were to publish a D&D compatible book that doesn't use the OGL, WotC would have close to zero chance to succeed if they were to sue me for using the word "Hades". But most game companies can't really afford a lawsuit even if they are sure to win, going with the OGL and accepting its restrictions seemed to be a safer way to do business.