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The OGL 1.1 is not an Open License
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<blockquote data-quote="robconley" data-source="post: 8868172" data-attributes="member: 5636"><p>The OGL is attached to the text. What you and other don't get what happens after the initial release.</p><p></p><p>As the Wikipedia article you cite notes there are different kinds of licenses. The elements of a license for IP include the terms, and other limitations of the license. And as stated in Intellectual Property Licensing: Forms and Analysis, by Richard Raysman, Edward A. Pisacreta and Kenneth A. Adler, a license is an authorization for use sparing the licensee from copyright infringement claims. It is not a contract.</p><p></p><p>So what happens is that I put out Blackmarsh, Wizards puts out the D20 SRD. Attached to the text of both (and the map in my case) is a license AUTHORIZING you and other folks to share and modify the content as long as certain conditions are met. The term is perpetual.</p><p></p><p>Ten years from now, when a person gets a copy of Blackmarsh all person sees is the text and the license with a perpetual term. And because the person was authorized by me (and Wizards in the case of the D20 SRD) to share the material and because the person followed the requirements, then the person who just received Blackmarsh or the D20 SRD has no reason to think that they were also authorized to freely share and modify the content as well.</p><p></p><p>Moreso because of cases like Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, courts in United States are far more likely to rule in favor of the licensee rather than the licensor.</p><p></p><p>This is why I advised people who ask me about sharing stuff of open content to make sure that is what you really want to do. As the permission/authorization, you give is for the rest of the work's copyright term. Afterwhich it becomes public domain and doesn't matter anymore.</p><p></p><p></p><p>In a nutshell, while I developed a good understanding of the issues involved during the 90s by following, creating, and using open source software. My commentary for the past 13 years has been informed by the advice of the IP attorney I retained starting when I secured the license to use the Wilderlands IP from Judges Guild. As part of the review, the OGL came up, so we reviewed that as well. While he didn't quite get why I didn't want to secure maximum protection for my IP, he understood the implication of the OGL. As a result, we talked about the difference between IP licenses and contracts.</p><p></p><p>To wrap it this up. If you download Blackmarsh from any source even ones that I was not involved with. You will find inside two licenses that you can use for the text and the map. Those licenses are an authorization from me to use the material under certain conditions. I am not offering you anything, I am giving permission (or authorization) to for you to freely share and modify the material.</p><p></p><p>In forty years I will be dead and my heirs will have control of my copyright. Yet that authorization will remain valid because I deliberately chose assign a perpetual term to this authorization. Ninety-five years after my death it won't matter because that when it become public domain.</p><p></p><p>And folks need to realize that this was brought up in the early 2000's and this whole "the OGL is a contract" was debunked. We are now over twenty years in with thousands using the OGL successfully in their products. Not just Wizards' open content but open content from hundreds of other publishers as well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="robconley, post: 8868172, member: 5636"] The OGL is attached to the text. What you and other don't get what happens after the initial release. As the Wikipedia article you cite notes there are different kinds of licenses. The elements of a license for IP include the terms, and other limitations of the license. And as stated in Intellectual Property Licensing: Forms and Analysis, by Richard Raysman, Edward A. Pisacreta and Kenneth A. Adler, a license is an authorization for use sparing the licensee from copyright infringement claims. It is not a contract. So what happens is that I put out Blackmarsh, Wizards puts out the D20 SRD. Attached to the text of both (and the map in my case) is a license AUTHORIZING you and other folks to share and modify the content as long as certain conditions are met. The term is perpetual. Ten years from now, when a person gets a copy of Blackmarsh all person sees is the text and the license with a perpetual term. And because the person was authorized by me (and Wizards in the case of the D20 SRD) to share the material and because the person followed the requirements, then the person who just received Blackmarsh or the D20 SRD has no reason to think that they were also authorized to freely share and modify the content as well. Moreso because of cases like Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, courts in United States are far more likely to rule in favor of the licensee rather than the licensor. This is why I advised people who ask me about sharing stuff of open content to make sure that is what you really want to do. As the permission/authorization, you give is for the rest of the work's copyright term. Afterwhich it becomes public domain and doesn't matter anymore. In a nutshell, while I developed a good understanding of the issues involved during the 90s by following, creating, and using open source software. My commentary for the past 13 years has been informed by the advice of the IP attorney I retained starting when I secured the license to use the Wilderlands IP from Judges Guild. As part of the review, the OGL came up, so we reviewed that as well. While he didn't quite get why I didn't want to secure maximum protection for my IP, he understood the implication of the OGL. As a result, we talked about the difference between IP licenses and contracts. To wrap it this up. If you download Blackmarsh from any source even ones that I was not involved with. You will find inside two licenses that you can use for the text and the map. Those licenses are an authorization from me to use the material under certain conditions. I am not offering you anything, I am giving permission (or authorization) to for you to freely share and modify the material. In forty years I will be dead and my heirs will have control of my copyright. Yet that authorization will remain valid because I deliberately chose assign a perpetual term to this authorization. Ninety-five years after my death it won't matter because that when it become public domain. And folks need to realize that this was brought up in the early 2000's and this whole "the OGL is a contract" was debunked. We are now over twenty years in with thousands using the OGL successfully in their products. Not just Wizards' open content but open content from hundreds of other publishers as well. [/QUOTE]
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