> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Athlor RPG > Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2003 5:31 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Ogf-l] Why OGL? [bcc][faked-from] > > > Hello, > I'm new here
Welcome aboard... > and I'm contemplating using the D&D OGL in a > freeware MMORPG I'm developing. ...and welcome to one of the most recurring issues on the list. OGL and Software aren't QUITE Oil and Water, but mixing them is a lot of work. Opinions and methods vary. > I've read it and understand the basics but I feel I'm > missing something. Best advice: read it again. And again. There's a lot there to grasp on first reading. And after you've read it, if you have any doubts, have your lawyer read it for you. You might be spending zero dollars and making zero dollars and still find yourself in the chain of liability for a lawsuit if you misstep. (NOTE: This is true even without the OGL. If used carefully, the OGL REDUCES the likelihood of a lawsuit. But don't assume that just because your product is free, you're immune to suits. If you improperly reuse material from Product A, and then Product B reuses that material from your work and gets sued by Company A, Company B may come after you for your mistake.) > Now, as I understand it it, I still won't be able to use > an official logo or even make a reference to D&D like, based > on or uses 'Dungeons and Dragons 3.5' rules. This is allowed in a fashion (i.e., you can use the d20 logo and say "Requires the D&D Players Handbook, blah, blah, blah...") IF you operate under the additional restrictions of the d20 license. Those restrictions will pretty much rule out any MMORPG. So in your case, you won't be able to refer to D&D products at all. > If this is so, WHY SHOULD I BOTHER? I > could just go the route of a game like Darkstone that looks > and smells like a D&D game but it's merely cooinsidental (wink-wink). Well, if that's your plan, I might suggest not announcing it on a public list where Wizards' personnel are known to participate. You might fly under their radar, or you might not. That's your risk to take on. But as for why should you bother? Because the SRD rules represent a MASSIVE investment in game design that you don't have to recreate, just reuse. Reuse is a good thing. Martin L. Shoemaker [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.TabletUML.com -- The UML tool you don't have to learn! _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
