[freeroleplay] Revised OGL Statement (Version 2)
- From: Ricardo Gladwell <president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Free Roleplaying Community <freeroleplay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 11:19:16 +0100
Open Game License, version 1.0a (OGL)
The OGL is a copyleft license published by the Wizard's of the Coast.
Notably, it allows user's to define certain parts of a work to be "Open
Gaming Content" (OGC), i.e. copyleft, and define certain portions, terms
and even concepts within OGC to be "Product Identity" (PI) which are
otherwise excluded from the copyleft terms of OGC.
There are a number of issues with the OGL. First and foremost, only
those parts of a work licensed under the OGL and identified as OGC are
free: it is prohibited to adapt, modify or redistribute the rest of the
work without a separate license. Unless your OGL work is completely OGC
it cannot be considered to be free.
The OGL also permits the ability to mix OGC with non-copyleft,
copyrighted work and Product Identity in such a way that can make it
difficult to identify exactly what is and isn't re-usable OGC. Section 8
of the OGL stipulates that the licensee must "clearly indicate" which
portions of the work are OGC but makes no mention of the precise
mechanism by which OGC sections should be indicated. This leaves Section
8 open to interpretation which could be abused for the purposes of
making re-use of OGC difficult.
PI can also be used to restrict modification and redistribution. PI is
those trademarks, parts and even concepts (storylines, themes, etc are
covered) of the OGC that are explicitly exempt from the copyleft terms
of the OGL and thus cannot be modified or redistributed unless
permission is sought from the PI licensees. There is also no similar
requirement that those parts of a work that are PI should be clearly
identified. For this reason, OGL works which define PI are non-free.
Finally, Wizard's of the Coast also claim that the OGL restricts the use
of OGC in software. They state that Section 8 implies that licensees
must publish OGC in a "format that is easy to understand", i.e. not
object code or binary, or that software must make OGC data or
information viewable while the program runs. If true, this clearly
restricts how you can adapt or modify OGC and so the OGL cannot be
considered to be free.
We urge you not to use the OGL for these reasons.
--
Ricardo Gladwell
President, Free Roleplaying Community
http://www.freeroleplay.org/
president@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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