D&D 5E Rant About Patience


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Hiya.

I know there are a couple of lawyers round these parts (theres quite a number on the Hackmaster boards over at Kenzer & Co...then again, Dave Kenzer himself is a lawyer, so I guess that makes some sort of weird cosmic sense...).

If someone in this thread *is* an actual lawyer who knows about this kind of law, please speak up. Even a simple "No, Paul, you're wrong...trust me" would be fine. However, until that happens I can only go by what I read and how I interpret it.

I *can* see the perceived benefit of using the OGL, really, I can...I'm just saying it isn't required in order to make a supplement/adventure/whatever with a RPG system and even mention it is "compatible with...". If anyone can point to something in Copyright or Trademark law that proves me wrong, please do.

^_^

Paul L. Ming
 


If someone in this thread *is* an actual lawyer who knows about this kind of law, please speak up. Even a simple "No, Paul, you're wrong...trust me" would be fine.


I'm not a lawyer, just someone who has worked with the OGL as a small time publisher for nearly a decade and a half and has had numerous consultations with lawyers. You're all over the place with your suppositions and the advice you suggest people follow is foolish at best, dangerous at worst.
 

If someone in this thread *is* an actual lawyer who knows about this kind of law, please speak up.

I did. Was, "When I advice my RPG clients, and I do represent RPG clients, I recommend..." too vague?

Even a simple "No, Paul, you're wrong...trust me" would be fine.

I did. Specifically I said, "This is terrible legal advice. Do not follow this person's legal advice."
 

Hiya.

I did. Was, "When I advice my RPG clients, and I do represent RPG clients, I recommend..." too vague?

I did. Specifically I said, "This is terrible legal advice. Do not follow this person's legal advice."

I must have missed that. :o Ok, good enough for me! I guess I'll have to go do some more research. Do you have any good website suggestions for this? (can cases that went to court and got a verdict?...I've never been able to find one).

^_^

Paul L. Ming
 


Hiya.



I must have missed that. :o Ok, good enough for me! I guess I'll have to go do some more research. Do you have any good website suggestions for this? (can cases that went to court and got a verdict?...I've never been able to find one).

^_^

Paul L. Ming

You could try this one

http://gamerviceroy.blogspot.com/2012/12/legal-issues-in-gaming-open-game-license.html

Conclusion

This brings up the question: what's the point of the OGL? At this point, the OGL is a relevant issue in the modern tabletop RPG community because people think it is necessary. Mutants and Masterminds could have existed without the OGL. Pathfinder could have existed without the OGL. Fate could have existed without the OGL. 13th Age could have existed without the OGL. All the OGL did was let people know that they could do the things they could already do.

Does the tabletop RPG community need the OGL? Probably not. Like several legal minds have said, it's nothing more than a license to breathe. But, for a community that thought it could not breathe without permission, the OGL serves an important purpose. It let's the gaming community feel safe about publishing game content, something that has had a long history of being a quasi-dangerous game.
 



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