Vapourware WOTC restricting content creation in new OGL - Paizo launches competing OGL - lol cancelled

[Acrux]

lol. lmao

Nice job, Hasbro. Continue your slide into irrelevancy in a niche hobby. I bet even your wokeinistas won't like this.

You're D-D-D-Done

https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634

 

[JamesDixon]

The only people that worry about this idiocy are ones unfamiliar with copyright and patent law. Wizards of the Woke doesn't have a copyright or patent on their game mechanics. In the US, it is impossible to do that under the law. What they do have is exclusive control over their trademarks. OGL gives you access to said trademarks.

You can rewrite the D&D White Box rules into your own version with a new name and they can't do shit about it. What their copyright extends to is the exact expression of those rules.

With Wizards of the Woke doing this and pursuing a micro-transaction approach will drive people away from their brand, face it D&D is nothing but a brand these days, to their competitors that don't do this shit.

 

[Acrux]

The only people that worry about this idiocy are ones unfamiliar with copyright and patent law.

Well, that's most people.

Yeah, obviously they can't stop people from using the mechanics. I'm happy to see WOTC slide into irrelevancy, though.

 

[JamesDixon]

The only people that worry about this idiocy are ones unfamiliar with copyright and patent law.

Well, that's most people.

Yeah, obviously they can't stop people from using the mechanics. I'm happy to see WOTC slide into irrelevancy, though.

Me too. I'm hoping that Gary's ghost comes back and kills every single one of the motherfuckers that ruined his game system.

 

[Fedora Master]

Apparently it angers the content cucks like Critical Role so I'm fine with it.

 

[pakoito]

Hasbro is attempting to retroactively invalidate the OGL and turn the industry into a walled garden inside their new PDF DLC MTX platform OneD&D (formerly D&D Beyond), where they become rent-seekers of other publishers.

The new license also disallows any 3rd party sites from any providing any automation, i.e. VTTs such as Roll20, unless they pay Hasbro a tithe. You'll also need to be registered with WotC to create any games, videos, plays, pantomimes or comic strips based on D&D, and pay them royalties accordingly.

The Head of Games at Kickstarter has confirmed they have negotiated that games crowdfunded by them get a 5% discount on royalties:

 

[JamesDixon]

The new license also disallows any 3rd party sites from any providing any automation,

That would be legally unenforceable since it's a mathematical formula using pre-existing "art" and the fact it's math. Dice are classified by the US Patent Office as being prior art. That's why you can't patent Role Playing Games or even Wargames now. You also can't copyright mathematical formulas. Hasbro is opening themselves up to the Sherman Act prosecution by the US government if they proceed. For those unfamiliar with the Sherman Act it is the US anti-trust law. By attempting to copyright and patent a mathematical formula you have created a monopoly.

You'll also need to be registered with WotC to create any games, videos, plays, pantomimes or comic strips based on D&D, and pay them royalties accordingly.

Game mechanics can't be copyrighted or patented. Their name can be trademarked. The exact expression used to make the books are protected by copyright, but the actual mechanics are not. You can create a product using the mechanics of DANDINO or Real TSR D&D™ without ever using their trademark or looking like their works. There isn't a thing Wizards of the Woke can do about it either. It's simple to avoid the problem by not referencing Wizards of the Woke's products directly.

 

[lycanwarrior]

You forgot Solasta, not a bad game

Solasta is not an officially licensed product. OGL stuff have generally been better than any official thing since 2011.

I wonder if the Solasta devs could be in trouble if the recent rumors of WotC intending to revoke the OGL are true:

 

[Abu Antar]

The new OGL will screw not only Solasta devs, but everyone that has anything to do with OGL. It will mess up the entire scene, from one man devs to the bigger players like Paizo.

That's what I think having read some of the supposedly leaked stuff. Some paragraphs don't sound too good.

Be incompetent with your own games, drag everyone else down with you.

 

[Dodo1610]

The Solasta devs have money they will just buy a license. The KOTC guy on the other hand is probably fucked

 

[pakoito]

They don't have to enforce it, just C&D and mire smaller site owners in legal processes 'til they cave.

Also if the courts allow Apple to have a monopoly in the App Store, why wouldn't they favor Hasbro too.

 

[JamesDixon]

They don't have to enforce it, just C&D and mire smaller site owners in legal processes 'til they cave.

Also if the courts allow Apple to have a monopoly in the App Store, why wouldn't they favor Hasbro too.

A Cease and Desist letter has to be legally enforceable to be effective. If you ignore the letter and proceed with the litigation they'll have to cave, especially when you call their bluff and force them into court. Most people don't do that.

Also, it can backfire by the person receiving the letter can approach their state and federal attorney generals to investigate Wizards of the Woke using a monopoly to lock out competitors, especially when it comes to mathematical formulas. Monopolies are a government concern.

Invalid comparison of the Apple store to this. The Apple app store follows different laws regarding copyright of code than it does of game mechanics.

 

[Orud]

I wonder if the Solasta devs could be in trouble if the recent rumors of WotC intending to revoke the OGL are true:

Only halfway through, but they seriously wrote that: "When using the OGL from now on, WOTC is allowed to take your product and redistribute it themselves, cutting you out entirely from any profit."

What delusional moron wrote that down?

 

[RaggleFraggle]

The OGL isn't revocable. If it was, then WotC would've done it already to prevent Pathfinder from being created. Also, what about all the non-WotC content that people have come up with over the years that was released under OGL? Does WotC have ownership over that work now? What about the thousands and thousands of ebooks being sold under OGL on Drivethrurpg? I don't think publishers are going to be very happy about this, especially after the similar GSL incident a decade ago that killed 4e.

 

[JamesDixon]

Arch weighs in.

 

[Tyranicon]

So I never looked at OGL seriously even though I contemplated making a dnd game at some point. But holy shit, WotC is on some tenuous fucking ground especially since the original OGL had some future-proofing in it, which is specifically meant to protect people who use it. Now they are trying to invalidate it?

I'm not a lawyer, but this is what is probably known as a "dick move."

 

[lycanwarrior]

So I never looked at OGL seriously even though I contemplated making a dnd game at some point. But holy shit, WotC is on some tenuous fucking ground especially since the original OGL had some future-proofing in it, which is specifically meant to protect people who use it. Now they are trying to invalidate it?

I'm not a lawyer, but this is what is probably known as a "dick move."

Me neither, but some IP lawyers have said that while the original OGL is "perpetual" it is NOT irrevocable.

Meaning that they could revoke the old OGL and then create a new one. The new OGL would then require future published content/projects to abide by the new terms and ROYALTIES.

Wild stuff man lol.

Not to mention the current CEO at Hasbro is Cynthia Williams. She cut her teeth at Xbox LIVEs "player retention" department, yikes lmao.

 

[Reinhardt]

The KOTC guy on the other hand is probably fucked

rename "constituton" to "vitality". original system, do not steal!

 

[Rahdulan]

The OGL isn't revocable. If it was, then WotC would've done it already to prevent Pathfinder from being created.

We'll have to wait and see exactly how they'll finagle around it.

Despite reassurances from Wizards of the Coast last month, the original OGL will become an “unauthorized” agreement, and it appears no new content will be permitted to be created under the original license.

 

[RPK]

The OGL isn't revocable. If it was, then WotC would've done it already to prevent Pathfinder from being created. Also, what about all the non-WotC content that people have come up with over the years that was released under OGL? Does WotC have ownership over that work now? What about the thousands and thousands of ebooks being sold under OGL on Drivethrurpg? I don't think publishers are going to be very happy about this, especially after the similar GSL incident a decade ago that killed 4e.

it's appears they're splitting hairs around the fact that the OGL includes the word "perpetual" but does not include the word "irrevocable".

 

[JamesDixon]

This is what will kill their OGL since they are claiming a copyright to game mechanics and mathematical formulas. That's not legal in the US.

1 (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

You are free in the US to write up the exact same mechanics, methods, procedures, processes, and routines for D&D provided you do not use any of their product identity including trademarks and copyrighted material. In this case, it's the exact expression used in their published books.

 

[Morblot]

The OGL isn't revocable. If it was, then WotC would've done it already to prevent Pathfinder from being created.

We'll have to wait and see exactly how they'll finagle around it.

Despite reassurances from Wizards of the Coast last month, the original OGL will become an “unauthorized” agreement, and it appears no new content will be permitted to be created under the original license.

If they do manage to pull this off somehow, then it's going to suck for all the OSR games that are currently taking advantage of the OGL.

 

[JamesDixon]

The OGL isn't revocable. If it was, then WotC would've done it already to prevent Pathfinder from being created.

We'll have to wait and see exactly how they'll finagle around it.

Despite reassurances from Wizards of the Coast last month, the original OGL will become an “unauthorized” agreement, and it appears no new content will be permitted to be created under the original license.

If they do manage to pull this off somehow, then it's going to suck for all the OSR games that are currently taking advantage of the OGL.

All they have to do is rewrite the OGL content and jettison the OGL license then republish their works. There isn't a damn thing Wizards of the Broke can do after that.

 

[Morblot]

All they have to do is rewrite the OGL content and jettison the OGL license then republish their works. There isn't a damn thing Wizards of the Broke can do after that.

I think there may also be some OGL monsters that WotC could probably label as theirs and have a solid case... such as the otyugh. And what about the D&D-through-and-through terms such as "armor class" and "saving throws"? Sure, one can invent new words for all that, but what about the lingua franca that the OSR games currently share with with each other and (the real) D&D?

Well, IANAL, nor even an American. I just plain don't know. But for the first time I am worried WotC could actually manage to hurt the other small publishers and creators; call it a bad hunch.

 

[RaggleFraggle]

There are many thousands of books using OGL on drivethrurpg, a number of which being original games that never relied on the d20 SRD. Does WotC really expect that all those publishers can and will update or, worse, delete their digital libraries going back over two decades? It’s completely unrealistic and fucking evil. WotC is demanding a mass book burning! Fuck them!