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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 6367412" data-attributes="member: 15700">Daring indeed.  I'm not a lawyer, so obviously my interpretation is probably not 100% correct.  But what I am certain about is that WoTC had lawyers look at the OGL, and I'm equally certain that they allowed themselves protections, rather than "hey everyone, you can copy anything you want!"  I've heard some people say that you can replicate 5e pretty much exactly using the OGL.  Or that you don't even need the OGL because of copyright laws (you can't copyright mechanics for instance).  I disagree because it doesn't pass the sniff test, even before I actually look at the OGL.  What I mean by this is, "If you can replicate any game, then why would an OGL even be necessary?  Why weren't there companies coming out with clones long before the OGL came about?"  I also don't think you can use the OGL to replicate 5e because many of the terms and rules presentation are unique to 5e and aren't part of the OGL to begin with.  But let's look at the OGL, bolded parts by me:Bullet point #8 is the one I most see 3PP not using.  I don't think I've ever actually seen #8 in any product, but I admit I have mostly only seen Indie work.  Heck, I was initially guilty of that myself on the early stuff I did.But based on the other bolded parts, it seems clear to me that a lot of people putting out 5e compatible stuff are in violation of the OGL.  Companies like Kobold Press I assume have additional agreements as noted in the OGL above, so they're OK.  But Bob at Bob's RPGs does not have the legal right to put out 5e compatible material using the same presentation (both terms for rules and appearance) that 5e uses, which I've seem some people are doing.  It seems clear to me (again, my interpretation from the OGL) that only things specified by the contributors (WoTC in this case) can be used, and WoTC has not given any indication that 5e terms (like the use of advantage/disadvantage to explain a particular rule) have been included as part of the OGL.  How could they of?  They didn't exist when the OGL came out.The real kicker that makes me laugh is when people put, "No copyright infringement intended" as if that's some sort of protection against them infringing on someone's copyright.  Or the response of, 'If it makes you uncomfortable buying my product, then don't buy it."  Um, whether or not I feel personally comfortable isn't the point.  The point is you're infringing on someone else's copyright.So yeah, I guess you could say my position is that we should wait before putting out any 3PP or you risk a C&D or being sued.  Not saying that's gonna happen because WoTC doesn't seem to have the history of suing indie guys when most indie guys aren't properly following the above OGL anyway.</blockquote>

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