> How is this "open", then? It seems to me that you want the OGL
> game market to be *less* open than the current non-OGL game market is.
> i.e. At present, it has been proven possible to publish "compatible
> with" supplements without the publisher's permission -- as several
> companies have successfully done (Mayfair Games, Companion Games, etc.)
> These companies have to live with the danger of being sued, of course.
> However, as far as I know no lawsuit has been brought to bear against
> such people.
>
> With your interpretation of the OGL, you want to be able to
> shut me down if you don't like something that I have released that is
> noted as "compatible-with" your product. Thus, if I have any sense,
> I should seek out your permission first.
Yes, that's exactly what Corey wants, and in fact that's exactly the purpose
of this clause. It's not an "interpretation" Why is this difficult?
The OGL lets you use copyrighted materials (the D20 SRD initially, plus
anything else that might get put under it) in return for giving up any right
you might have under law to claim "compatibility". If you don't use the
copyrighted materials, you don't need the OGL and don't have to give up
anything.
It is "open" in the sense that any material released UNDER THE LICENSE can
be used by other publishers. That's it.
WotC is not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. They are doing
this because they feel that they will benefit from having more systems on
the market that use the same concepts as D&D, and want to reduce the
learning curve so that people are more likely to be comfortable
buying/playing WotC-produced games. This makes sense to me. For similar
reasons, Fourth Millennium is using the Simply Roleplaying! rules from
MicroTactix (and we came to agreements allowing us to use their
trademarks--in my experience people are quite reasonable about such things
if you're willing to make the effort to respect their interests).
_____________________________________________________
Kevin J. Brennan, Fourth Millennium Line Developer
[EMAIL PROTECTED] / http://www.fourth-millennium.com/
"I hate all boets and bainters."
--Only recorded English-language statement of King George I
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For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
