> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Doug Meerschaert > Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 2:48 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: 37 questions (was re: [Ogf-l] Re: Possible Formation > of Project)
Nice list, Doug. Of course, I have to quibble: > I am not (repeat NOT) a lawyer. I have, however, spent far too much time > on this list in the last several years. I consider myself an exerpt on > the OGL, and confident that the 37 questions below will help just about > anyone determine if their project is "right" for the OGL. And for the record: Doug's more of a lawyer than I am. > You should be able to answer YES (a resounding yes, in capital > letters--not a meek yes in lowercase) to all of the following > questions. > If not, then my wholehearted advice is to stop whatever it is that > you're doing until you can answer YES to all of them. This will bear on some of my quibbles. As Joe pointed out, a few of your questions are kind of worded backwards. May I suggest a point-scale: after each question, you have something like this: OGL: NO: -10; No: -5; maybe: -3; yes: 1; YES: 3; N/A: 0 STL: NO: -10; No: -10; maybe: -10; yes: -5; YES: 0; N/A: -10 I'm pretty fuzzy on this (I just spent all weekend preparing and shipping Tablet UML Beta 2, so I'm fuzzy on a lot of things); but the idea is to assign points for: NO, absolutely not; No, but maybe I can make it work; maybe, I can make it work, but there might be problems; yes, I think so; YES, absolutely; and N/A, I don't see how it applies. Separate points for each license, for obvious reasons. Range of points: -10 for stuff that's a deal-breaker; -5 for stuff that's a problem everyone agrees on; -3 for stuff where there's some disagreement about how much of a problem it is; -1 for known but easily fixed problems; 0 for no problems; 1 for things that show you know what you're doing; and 3 for things that show you're on the right track. The scale is weighted toward the negative because the licenses carry definite legal risks. > 1: Is your product a roleplaying game product, either standalone or a > tool to aid in the use of roleplaying games? >From a product-viability/why-bother perspective, this question requires a YES, I believe. But from a legal perspective, you can use the OGL to license anything: non-RP games, or even non-games. > 2: Is it based on the d20 System, as detailed in the SRD? (If yes, the > OGL is required; if not, you may be able to not use the OGL.) Might want to mention Action! > d20STL questions: > > (repeat of above:) 2: Is it based on the d20 System, as detailed in the > SRD? (If not, you may not use the d20STL). Again, this seems like a why-bother. More, it seems like a if-you-do-that-you'll-confuse-the-customer. But as best I can tell, nothing in the STL or the Guide precludes you using the d20 STL for non-d20 or even non-game material. > 19: Is your product a computer game? (If so, NO d20STL) > 20: Is your product an in-game aid? (If so, MAYBE d20STL) > 20: Is your product a pre-game-aid? (If so, PROBABLY YES d20STL) > 21: Is your product a GM-replacement? (If so, PROBABLY NO d20STL) Might want to add: Is your product a non-distributed utility that distributes properly licensed OGC? (If so, MAYBE d20STL.) We've had discussions about tools that sit on a server and then manufacture and serve OGC. Such tools are not distributed, though their results are. I think the license doesn't necessarily apply to them. > 36: Have you avoided all of the names, trademarks, designs, styles, and > other forms of Product Identity of your upstream sources and all other > OGL'd works? Might also want to add questions about your OWN PI: * Is it something that falls in the list of possible PI types? * Can you demonstrate/defend ownership of the PI? * Does the PI ever appear inside material marked as OGC? A masterful effort, Doug! Martin L. Shoemaker [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.TabletUML.com -- The UML tool you don't have to learn! _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
