Wizards of the Coast - New D&D License Tightens Its Grip on Competition

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Gizmodo states that Wizards of the Coast will be further restricting the original OGL for D&D and competitors such as Pathfinder.


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.

[...]

This is no mistake. According to the document procured by io9, the new agreements states that "the Open Game License was always intended to allow the community to help grow D&D and expand it creatively. It wasn't intended to subsidize major competitors, especially now that PDF is by far the most common form of distribution."

This sentiment is reiterated later in the document: The "OGL wasn't intended to fund major competitors and it wasn't intended to allow people to make D&D apps, videos, or anything other than printed (or printable) materials for use while gaming. We are updating the OGL in part to make that very clear."

Paizo Inc., publisher of the Pathfinder RPG, one of D&D's largest competitors, declined to comment on the changes for this article, stating that the rules update was a complicated and ongoing situation.
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More information.
 
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I read the old OGL last week (after the forum discussion about it) and the document is pretty clear that the rights once given cannot be revoked so I would have to agree with you Redglyph.
 
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WotC even had a FAQ item on their website once saying that it can't be revoked.

If people have to wage legal battles just to use the old OGL though, then low-budget OGL games like KOTC will be dead.
 
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Pathfinder is probably ok, as they have been using the licence so long and can probably argue they have established their own brand. I think they could make a case that any new content they bring out is protected under the old licence. It will be difficult to create brand new content though, once the licence has changed. I also agree that small companies that want to create modules or make computer games will no longer be able to do it freely.
 
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Each version of D&D had its own version of the OGL, so they MIGHT be able to enforce it for new editions of D&D going forward. (And that's a big "MIGHT").

But trying to retroactively apply it to content from all the previous editions? Good luck trying to argue that in front of a court, especially against a powerhouse like Paizo who can afford their own lawyers.

Their attorney only has to read the OGL to the judge/jury.

"In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content".

Perpetual.

That is a very strong legal word. It doesn't say "until we decide to change the license later on", nor does it even provide any provision for them to change the license at all (to my knowledge).

It can be argued that in publishing the OGL that WotC entered into a contract with its end users.

Further, it can be argued that attempting to change the license years after the fact is an attempt by WotC to unlawfully drive competitors out of business. And that this attempt has inflicted monetary damages on the thousands of businesses whose products rely on the OGL.

Further, game mechanics cannot be copyrighted. They can put whatever they want into the OGL, but it won't change that. There have been past court rulings about that. You can't copyright math.

And further, in 2004, WotC stated that the OGL "already defines what will happen to content that has been previously distributed using an earlier version, in Section 9. As a result, even if Wizards made a change you disagreed with, you could continue to use an earlier, acceptable version at your option."

So yeah, good luck with all that. I'd let them take me to court and then countersue for my court costs and compensation for monetary damages to my business.

I doubt WotC would ever take this to court though. The risk is too great. If the ruling went against them it would set a legal precedent and potentially cost them tons of money.
 
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I blame Disney. While the conglomerate overseeing WotC have always been extremely restrictive with their IP, we've seen what happens when a company like Disney gets its hand on IPs such as Star Wars and milks it to death. When I was a kid, I never thought there would be a day when I was sick of Star Wars... Or Netflix doing irreparable harm to The Witcher IP in less than 3 years.
 
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HellRazor said:
Further, game mechanics cannot be copyrighted. They can put whatever they want into the OGL, but it won't change that. There have been past court rulings about that. You can't copyright math.
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It's more than just math though. It's descriptions of spells, feats, etc.

Hopefully you're right about them failing at this. It's pure greed on the part of WotC, and I've never liked the way they've handled the IP aynways.
 
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HellRazor said:
Further, game mechanics cannot be copyrighted. They can put whatever they want into the OGL, but it won't change that. There have been past court rulings about that. You can't copyright math.
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Game mechanics per se, no, but the whole text can be copyrighted (it's actually done automatically in many nations), and so if another text copies significant parts of it, it needs an authorization.
 
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HellRazor said:
Each version of D&D had its own version of the OGL, so they MIGHT be able to enforce it for new editions of D&D going forward. (And that's a big "MIGHT").
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Only the 3rd edition (including 3.5) and 5th edition were released under the original OGL that's being discussed here (v1.0), it doesn't apply to other editions or future editions.
 
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forgottenlor said:
Pathfinder is probably ok, as they have been using the licence so long and can probably argue they have established their own brand. I think they could make a case that any new content they bring out is protected under the old licence. It will be difficult to create brand new content though, once the licence has changed. I also agree that small companies that want to create modules or make computer games will no longer be able to do it freely.
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I hope so, I really want to see more Pathfinder games from Owlcats.

I really hope it won't impact other games that uses OGL like Low Magic Age, Knights of the Chalice, Solasta etc.

What a debacle...
 
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Low Magic Age has been in early access and on sale for years now. I own an early access copy and I think I bought it over 2 years ago. It also uses the old 3.5 open rules licence. I would be surprised if WoTC would target it or if they would even have much of a case against it. Besides its a very niche project and the developers are Chinese, which I think also would also make them wary of trying to push their weight around there.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought Solasta had the blessings of WoTC.
 
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forgottenlor said:
Low Magic Age has been in early access and on sale for years now. I own an early access copy and I think I bought it over 2 years ago. It also uses the old 3.5 open rules licence. I would be surprised if WoTC would target it or if they would even have much of a case against it. Besides its a very niche project and the developers are Chinese, which I think also would also make them wary of trying to push their weight around there.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought Solasta had the blessings of WoTC.
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To be honest, I think this whole thing is targeted to Paizo/Pathfinder (or at the least, to prevent another OGL to take off like Pathfinder)

I think just like you said, Solasta, BG3 had "blessings" of WOTC. Also, I doubt that are targeting niche projects like LMA and KotC.
 
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News like this make me become more and more paranoid about my very own IP. I don't even dare to send manuscripts to potential book publishers anymore.
 
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purpleblob said:
To be honest, I think this whole thing is targeted to Paizo/Pathfinder (or at the least, to prevent another OGL to take off like Pathfinder)

I think just like you said, Solasta, BG3 had "blessings" of WOTC. Also, I doubt that are targeting niche projects like LMA and KotC.
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Yeah, I also got this feeling as well and I hope PF game won't be affected (fingers crossed).

I think that Solasta had blessing from WotC as well, and I am pretty sure that BG3 is fully licensed by WotC (if you go to their website there is a WotC logo there).
 
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Yes, Larian had a licence from WotC, they even had to prove their worth before getting it.

And Tactical Adventures specifically asked WotC, even though they were only implementing the SRD 5.1. Just to be on the safe side.

Still, I don't think others should have any concern. Before the era of WotC and when Gygax was still with TSR, they had a more practical approach and tried to work with counterfeiters when possible (after showing the guns, of course). TSR themselves used other IPs and got into trouble once, from what I read.

It's just a tool to get deals and leverage, or to incite smaller companies to buy a licence. Same as patents.
 
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