For the last several months, numerous publishers, including Paizo, have been working hard on the
ORC License, a system-agnostic, perpetual, and irrevocable open gaming license that provides a legal “safe harbor” for sharing rules mechanics and encourages collaboration and innovation in the tabletop gaming space. In collaboration with hundreds of publishers and other interested parties on the ORC License Discord, we’ve been group-editing the license and related Answers and Explanations (AxE) document, kicking the language into shape and making sure that the license is as solid as possible, and works for as many publishers as possible.
We’re nearly at the end of the process. Thanks to all the hard work of everyone listed above, we’re now ready to release the third draft of the ORC License and AxE. We believe this draft is solid enough to be the final draft of the ORC License but know from past experience that new text can bring the opportunity for new errors or requests for clarification. The community has been phenomenally helpful in refining the language of this license. Now it’s time to take one last look and provide any final comments you may have before we lock the license terms in the very near future.
We have provided a redline version of both the ORC License and the AxE below to help you better compare the differences between the Third and Second Drafts. If you wish to start fresh with a “clean” copy of the Third Drafts, those have been provided as well.
We’ll keep commentary open on the official
ORC License Discord for the next few days, with an eye toward locking the final version of the license by the end of next week. During this time, we’ll fold any necessary improvements into each document and release a Final Interim ORC License at
www.azoralaw.com/orclicense, paizo.com, and elsewhere. Publishers will be able to use this version of the license to publish material under the ORC License by including the proper ORC Notice.
At the same time that the Final Interim ORC License is published, these documents will be filed with the United States Library of Congress, who will issue copyright registration in about six months. Once the registration is issued, Azora will publicly release the ORC License (including the final AxE). The only change between the Final Interim ORC License and the ORC License will be the addition of the TX number in Section III.a.
So, we’re very nearly there! Please help us over the finish line by taking a look at the Third Draft and providing your feedback on the official
ORC License Discord. Thank you again for your assistance!