Izegrim Creations Open License.

[Sacrosanct]

There are several companies creating their own OGL license. ORC being probably the biggest (from Paizo). I very well may use that license, but in the interim I want to release Bugbears&Borderlands OPEN soon, and it will be a while before see the license. So I will be using my own license in the meantime. Here is the first draft of it (first draft, so I may need to alter it to remove ambiguity). I've had a lawyer friend give it a glance, but I suspect I will need to hire a lawyer officially for review.

Bugbear&Borderlands OPEN License Agreement

THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT (“AGREEMENT”) BETWEEN YOU AND IZEGRIM CREATIONS. (“LICENSOR”). BY ACCEPTING AND USING LICENSOR’S ROYALTY-FREE PRODUCT, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT

Section 1: Definitions
“Content” means any Licensor text, chart, or mechanic presentation contained within this document. Any image, logo (with one exception as noted below in the Permissions section), or illustration is not defined as available Content, and remains copyright of the original owners, and thus cannot be used with this license.
“Licensee” means: (i) you, if you are an individual entering into this Agreement on your own behalf, (ii) your employer, if you are entering into this Agreement on behalf of your employer, or (iii) your client, if you are an agent entering into this Agreement on behalf of your client. If you are acting on behalf of your employer or client, you warrant that you have the full legal right and authority to enter into this Agreement and bind such employer or client, and you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Section 2: Grant of Rights
Subject to the Licensee’s agreement to the Content and Licensee’s compliance with the terms of this Agreement, Licensor grants Licensee the perpetual and irrevocable right to Content as described under the Permitted Uses section below. Work the Licensee creates will be their own and they will retain rights to that work. All rights not specifically granted by this Agreement are retained by Licensor and the copyright holders.

Section 3: Permitted Uses
Licensee may, subject to the Restrictions of Use listed below, use, copy, alter, modify, or adapt Content in connection with the following permitted uses:

• Print media including advertising and promotional materials, editorial publications, books, magazines, newsletters, and consumer merchandise;
• Ebooks, including PDF and other electronic documents;
• Multimedia, including film, video, broadcast, and theatrical uses (Internet, online, live presentation);
• VTT, including creating markdown files for use in VTT platforms;
• Bugbears&Borderland OPEN logo, must be displayed on the front page or other prominent location where it clearly identifies the product as compatible with Bugbears&Borderlands system.

Section 4: Restrictions of Use
Licensee may not use or permit the use of the Content beyond the terms of this Agreement without first obtaining additional license from Licensor.

Except where provided herein, Licensee may not:

• Sub-license, sell, distribute, or transfer the Content or any of its rights under this Agreement;
• Incorporate the Bugbears&Borderlands OPEN logo into another logo or alter the Bugbears&Borderlands OPEN logo in any way other than resizing it to no smaller than one inch wide by one inch tall;
• Distribute, post, or upload this Content in full as it appears in this document (that is, you are prohibited from taking a copy of this book and redistributing it in whole, or copy and pasting the entire document and resditribuiting it under your own name or business.)
• Use any Content that in any way infringes upon any copyright, trade name, trademark, service mark, or intellectual property.
• Product Identity defines the following personalities, and may not be copied or shared: Fleabag, Faridah, Ravengarde.
• Use Content in any way to promote unlawful gambling or other illegal activity.
• Ship or transfer any Content to a Country prohibited under current Sanctions.
• Use that promotes Hate Speech as defined by the United Nations:
  • “...the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech defines hate speech as…“any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor.”
• Use of the above defined Hate Speech is permitted in the context of defining villains, describing villainous behavior from the villain’s perspective, or other presentation that clearly identifies Hate Speech as a negative thing to the Consumer.

Section 6: Credit
Any reproduction or use of the Content must include this license within the material, and be clearly identified as compatible with Bugbears&Borderland OPEN via usage of the authorized logo or other text.

Section 7: Unauthorized Use
Unauthorized use of Content constitutes copyright infringement and shall entitle Licensor to exercise all rights and remedies available to it under copyright and other applicable laws. Licensee shall be responsible for any damages resulting from any such copyright infringement, including any claims by a third party.

Section 8: Responsibility
Licensee agrees that any content created by them is solely their responsibility. Licensor is not held responsible or accountable for any legal or other challenges brought forth to a Licensee’s work or product by a third party.

Section 9: Termination and Revocation
This Agreement is effective in perpetuity and irrevocable for as long as the terms of Agreement are met and maintained. The Licensor reserves the right to terminate this license and ceasing any authorized use of Content without notice if Licensee fails to comply with any provisions of this Agreement. Upon termination, Licensee must immediately stop using the Content, delete the Content and all copies form ail computer systems and storage, and destroy all other copies.

 

[Rabulias]

Section 3: Permitted Uses

You may want to broaden VTT usage to cover software, for apps, character creators, online databases of content, etc. (if that is what you want to allow).

Section 4: Restrictions of Use
Except where provided herein, Licensee may not:

• Distribute, post, or upload this Content in full as it appears in this document (that is, you are prohibited from taking a copy of this book and redistributing it in whole, or copy and pasting the entire document and resditribuiting it under your own name or business.)

Typo: "resditribuiting" should be "redistributing"

• Product Identity defines the following personalities, and may not be copied or shared: Fleabag, Faridah, Ravengarde.

This bullet point seems out of place here in Section 4?

Section 9: Termination and Revocation
Upon termination, Licensee must immediately stop using the Content, delete the Content and all copies form ail computer systems and storage, and destroy all other copies.

Typos: "copies form ail computer" should be "copies from all computer"

 

[Greggy C]

I don't think anyone should use a made up license for content directly copied from D&D.
Better to use licenses' created by lawyers.

 

[Rabulias]

I don't think anyone should use a made up license for content directly copied from D&D.
Better to use licenses' created by lawyers.

Good advice. That's not what this is.

Edited to add: aren't all contracts and licenses "made up?"

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I know that perpetual irrevocability is sort of the celebrated cause at the moment but it's at least somewhat in tension with your stated intent to stop using the license in a few months and possibly switch to ORC. If you don't want to have two open licenses forever you probably want language to the effect that while it is perpetual and irrevocable for whomever adopts it and publishes under it up until X date, in regard to the material published during that window, you reserve the right to replace it with a new open license for product published after that point.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I don't think anyone should use a made up license for content directly copied from D&D.
Better to use licenses' created by lawyers.

This isn't a "made up license". It was one provided as a template from a lawyer. This is also the second time you've accused me of just copying D&D directly and trying to pass it off as my own.

And I said that the draft I provided was still a draft and therefore I was still going through and finding all SRD material I was rewriting, but maybe instead of tossing out accusations, you actually point out what I've copied word for word?

Here's the file again, cuz I'm helpful like that.

 

[Greggy C]

This isn't a "made up license". It was one provided as a template from a lawyer. This is also the second time you've accused me of just copying D&D directly and trying to pass it off as my own.

And I said that the draft I provided was still a draft and therefore I was still going through and finding all SRD material I was rewriting, but maybe instead of tossing out accusations, you actually point out what I've copied word for word?

Here's the file again, cuz I'm helpful like that.

If you want to copy DnD its fine, but you have to use the OGL.
I took a brief glance over and I see huge chunks like this immediate example

Here is a portion of your spell list, its like a quintessential list of DnD spells. OSR can get away with it, because they use OGL.
Not only are you not using the OGL, or an ORC, you making up a new one from scratch that nobody in the world has seen.
At least do it in private so people aren't confused that what you are doing is legal.

Here is 2nd edition spell list

Its not just you though, everywhere everyone is doing it. Its like in the universe nobody can come up with a new spell.
Do we really yet another Charm person, yet another Comprehend Languages, yet another Create Food & Water.
Oh wait I wow you made it Create & Destroy Water. The innovation.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I personally would aim for unique names on more of the spells for a non-OGL product. WotC's claim to most of those very generic and descriptive spell names is pretty tenuous, but I do think in the aggregate that many same-named spells potentially becomes problematic and put a target on your product.

A spell that detects magic called "Detect Magic" is a pretty weak basis for a copyright claim, but you might as well call it "See Magic" or "Find Magic" or "Dunfizzel's Miraculous Magic Detection" or whatever.

 

[Sacrosanct]

If you want to copy DnD its fine, but you have to use the OGL.
I took a brief glance over and I see huge chunks like this immediate example

Here is a portion of your spell list, its like a quintessential list of DnD spells. OSR can get away with it, because they use OGL.
Not only are you not using the OGL, or an ORC, you making up a new one from scratch that nobody in the world has seen.
At least do it in private so people aren't confused that what you are doing is legal.
View attachment 273247
Here is 2nd edition spell list
View attachment 273249

Its not just you though, everywhere everyone is doing it. Its like in the universe nobody can come up with a new spell.
Do we really yet another Charm person, yet another Comprehend Languages, yet another Create Food & Water.
Oh wait I wow you made it Create & Destroy Water. The innovation.

You do realize that you don’t need an OGL for generic terms and names, right? WotC doesn’t own those terms. Since B&B was originally a basic version of 5e, and a lot of folks who played it wanted me to keep supporting it after the OGL goes away (if it does), I converted it to OGL/SRD free. That’s why spell names look familiar. But they are NOT from the SRD and are presented differently.

The only thing clear is you don’t understand copyright law or the OGL, and instead just want to make personal.

 

[Greggy C]

Its not the individual words, or individual two words, its the collection that is clearly copied from D&D to any normal layperson.
Its ok if you don't get it, you do you, I will say no more.