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It is time to forgive WOTC and get back onboard.
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<blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8926459" data-attributes="member: 7023840"><p>Briefly, no.</p><p></p><p>Less briefly-</p><p></p><p>There are three separate issues that are going on. Given the huge amount of analysis already done, I will just analyze them each in turn very quickly.</p><p></p><p>First, there are procedures in the law to abandon or put IP completely in the public domain. And there are procedures that allow you to license IP to, say, one entity. The reason that we have seen these variations and issues and iterations with various licenses and contracts from the late 80s onward (original GPL was '88 or so, and based on prior licenses in the 80s) is that what is trying to be accomplished is actually kind of tricky because the law doesn't like things that are perpetual and irrevocable that somehow allow the grantor/offeror/licensor to retain some rights and are provided to the world. Combine that with jurisdictional issues and changes in the law and treaties and ... it's a thing. You try to make these short and simple documents, but it's a lot of work to make things simple that also hold up.</p><p></p><p>Second, and dealing with the first, these are new and as problems have become apparent these ideas have become iterated- the GPL was changed in 2007, for example, and CC licenses didn't even start until 2002 with v. 4.0 coming out a decade ago or so. The OGL was never updated, and was based off of some old software licenses.</p><p></p><p>Third, it's just badly written. It's just ... bad. They introduced stuff into the document to make it applicable for RPGs instead of software, and in so doing, made it less intelligible. So even ignoring the first two issues, it's just a poorly written document.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snarf Zagyg, post: 8926459, member: 7023840"] Briefly, no. Less briefly- There are three separate issues that are going on. Given the huge amount of analysis already done, I will just analyze them each in turn very quickly. First, there are procedures in the law to abandon or put IP completely in the public domain. And there are procedures that allow you to license IP to, say, one entity. The reason that we have seen these variations and issues and iterations with various licenses and contracts from the late 80s onward (original GPL was '88 or so, and based on prior licenses in the 80s) is that what is trying to be accomplished is actually kind of tricky because the law doesn't like things that are perpetual and irrevocable that somehow allow the grantor/offeror/licensor to retain some rights and are provided to the world. Combine that with jurisdictional issues and changes in the law and treaties and ... it's a thing. You try to make these short and simple documents, but it's a lot of work to make things simple that also hold up. Second, and dealing with the first, these are new and as problems have become apparent these ideas have become iterated- the GPL was changed in 2007, for example, and CC licenses didn't even start until 2002 with v. 4.0 coming out a decade ago or so. The OGL was never updated, and was based off of some old software licenses. Third, it's just badly written. It's just ... bad. They introduced stuff into the document to make it applicable for RPGs instead of software, and in so doing, made it less intelligible. So even ignoring the first two issues, it's just a poorly written document. [/QUOTE]
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