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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nellisir" data-source="post: 6367611" data-attributes="member: 70">To indicate compatibility; to reduce the cost of entry (no/minimal lawyers); to establish a baseline vocabulary.Well, there were some, but the biggest thing the OGL did was increase awareness of copyright law among publishers and wannabe publishers. Why didn't anyone invent the wheel before someone invented the wheel? Also (and this is even bigger...) internet. Without the internet, you needed a much larger budget to reach a much smaller audience. The vast vast majority of 3PP publishers (95%+?) are electronic. That possibility simply wasn't there until very late 1990's/early 2000s.That's a problem, but I doubt there are as many unique terms as you imply. You can also find precedent for many of them in existing products in the OGC sphere.I agree many publishers have problems with this, but many get it right. If you've never seen #8, then you can't have seen very many products. "All text except Product Identity" is pretty clear, for instance, if Product Identity is specified.I don't think Tyranny of Dragons is OGL at all, so the OGL is totally irrelevant. They appear to be doing freelance work, not licensed work - in other words, they're getting paid, not paying.I'll agree about presentation, although where that line is drawn is indistinct.I think this is where some of your analysis breaks down. WotC isn't a Contributor to the OGL as defined by the license regarding 5e, because 5e products were not released under the OGL. They aren't Product Identity, closed content, or anything. Publishers are operating under normal copyright law, not OGL licensing, regarding 5e. {quote]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.</blockquote>Well, they could add it. That's easy.This I agree with. The one that gets me is "I'm giving it away for free, so it's OK." Well, no. If you steal my money and then give it away, that doesn't make you not a thief.[/QUOTE]

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