"(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 and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. "
[snip] To summarize, the OGC in a work published under the OGL consists of (all game mechanics plus all work covered by the license) minus anything declared as PI.
This is why I say you pretty much can't publish game mechanics under the OGL and keep them closed.
I see two problems with that. First of all, it contradicts itself. Is OGC the bits that are released, or the whole work (perhapse minus PI)? It can't be both (or rather, it can be, if there is no such thing as closed content, and if you creatively interpret other clauses of the license which make a very clear distinction between the work as a whole and the OGC portions of the work).
Secondly, if we're going to go with strict English-grammar parsing of the clause, it gets pretty muddled--it really needs a semicolon or two, but we don't know for certain where. As is, we have a run-on idea with a bunch of bits jammed together and no clear hierarchy of content. Cutting no slack for what was "obviously meant", we get:
OGC "means":
--"the game mechanic"
--"any work covered by this License"
--including translations and derivative works
OGC "includes":
--methods, procedures, processes, and routines
--but only those which do not "embody" PI
--but only those portions which are an enhancement over prior art
OK, so far it's fairly clear what it's saying (whether that's what we all agree it means or not). But now it gets muddled. Grammatically, "and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor," is a further modifier to the "methods, procedures..." bit. Which makes no logical sense. It's probably meant to be distinct from the "methods, procedures..." bit, but it's not set off as a separate idea, it's mashed in with it. Heck, it *could* be saying that OGC must be an enhancement over "prior art" and an enhancement over "any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor."
Ignoring for the moment the potential contradiction of OGC "meaning" two different things ("the game mechanic" and "any work covered by this License"), the second bit, about a work, has some issues, too. Does "but specifically excludes Product Identity" apply only to it, or the the entire section 1(d)? If the former, it could be saying:
OGC "means"
-- any work
--covered by this License
--including translations and derivative works
--excluding PIWhich seems inoccuous enough. But now we're back to OGC being the entire work save PI. So why do we need to define what OGC is (the whole first part of 1(d)) if it's the entirety of the work that isn't PI?
Finally, is "the game mechanic" singular for a reason, or is that just a typo? If it's not an artifact of legalese (are nouns always singular in legalese?), then does it mean only "the" game mechanic? IOW, in the case of D20 System, is it only referring to the basic mechanic (d20 + mods � DC)? In which case any mechanic that is not "the" mechanic could be not-OGC if you wanted it to be. It's probably just a typo, but it certainly doesn't add to the clarity.
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All that said, i agree that a reasonable reading of the license, generously interpreting in the favor of the drafters, seems to say that game mechanics must be OGC. Of course, if we're willing to accept the collective wisdom of the users of the license for other things, i don't know why we can't do the same here and accept that non-OGC-derivative game mechanics can be closed, since the publishers seem to have definitely come to that conclusion.
Finally, let me illustrate the ambiguity of the grammar in that clause. I've put together a few possible, reasonable, alternatives to that clause, all of which change nothing but commas and semicolons, all of which are grammatically unambiguous in their meaning [applying it to actual law might still be fuzzy], and each of which means something slightly different.
"(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 and is an enhancement over the prior art; and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor; and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law; but specifically excludes Product Identity. "
"(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, and is an enhancement over the prior art, and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor; and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. "
"(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 and is an enhancement over the prior art; and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law; but specifically excludes Product Identity. "
"(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, and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor; and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. "
"(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, and is an enhancement over the prior art; and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor; and means any work covered by this License; including translations and derivative works under copyright law; but specifically excludes Product Identity. "
-- woodelf <*> [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://webpages.charter.net/woodelph/
"That might have been the biggest mistake of my life..." "It is unlikely. I predict there is scope for even greater mistakes in the future given your obvious talent for them." Vila and Orac, Blake's Seven
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