Yes or no? You can agree, in a contract, to never use the word "Zeus" in your products (for some unspecified consideration)?
If you answer No? Explain why not?
If you answer Yes? Then obviously something public domain can be made off limits in a contract. Since one piece of public domain speech can be disallowed by contract, why can't any other public domain entity be declared off limits by the OGL (a specific contract)?
But the WotC OGL doesn't word it like that. It doesn't talk about forbidding the reuser to use arbitrary words, PD or otherwise. It talks about forbidding the *reuse* of stuff "owned" by the licensor.
The inquiry goes something like this. I write a book. Do I own the copyright on the book? Yes. Now, John Doe is a character in the book who is fully fleshed out. Do I own the copyright on the character? Yes. But do I own the name "John Doe"?
Who cares? If you say John Doe is your PI, then everyone using your OGC must respect your PI. The ability to copyright or trademark John Doe is IMMATERIAL to the OGL.
Unless the ability to declare something PI rests upon the ownership of that something, as the definition of PI implies.
Again, right on. Since the list contains element that can neither be copyrighted or trademarked that should be a big clue that neither copyright nor trademark law apply.
Or, that the license is mis-constructed. I don't see why, in a discussion of the validity of elements of the license, we have to discount the possibility that those elements are simlpy not valid. After all, Alec already pointed out a very reasonable reading (it's got me persuaded) that the bit that says PI "specifically excludes" OGC is nonsensical, as PI only has meaning when it is also OGC. Could there not be other errors in the license?
-- woodelf <*> [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://webpages.charter.net/woodelph/
Besides, the game worlds are a relatively new development. For a good number of years a D&D world was a village with a surprisingly-stocked store, a "Temple" which was more like a private hospital, and a hole in the ground stocked with ill-assorted monsters. _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
