On Wed, 26 Feb 2003 09:25:59 -0000, Martin Cutbill wrote: >>So, what do others think: would the description of the mid20 roll >>be >>required to be OGC, as derivative content? Or could it be kept >>closed? > >The die roll itself you can keep closed. It's not derivative.
Are you sure about that? From my layman's perspective, the OGL seems to make it impossible to release a work under the license in which a rule as simple as "roll 3D20 and use the middle result" is protectable content. >From the OGL: --- (d)"Open Game Content" means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) "Product Identity" means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; --- As I read that, it means that anything in an OGL work that constitutes a game mechanic can be reused under the license, regardless of whether the publisher has declared that the mechanic is open or closed. If I recall correctly, we had a discussion here about what would happen if an RPG publisher included an original card game as part of an OGL work but did not declare it as open. The rules of the game would be open content, though the particular expression of those rules and the card images and name could be product identity. -- Rogers Cadenhead, [EMAIL PROTECTED] on 02/26/2003 Weblog: http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
