----- Original Message -----
From: "Brad Thompson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2000 6:44 PM
Subject: RE: [Open_Gaming] OGL and Intellectual Property
> This is more relevant to original games than derivative works, but I thing
> we pretty much agree here. A distinction needs to be made between
> protecting the copyright of a work and protecting an entire game system
> and/or theme. The former is useful for OGL works that want to share in a
> common genre, setting, or game system. If you intend to lock down a game
> system so tightly that others can't even create supplemental materials
that
> depend on your core works, then the OGL, indeed the entire Open Gaming
> concept, isn't for you at all. At that point, you are gaining nothing by
> using the OGL, and nobody will gain anything from you from your use of it.
>
It's not the entire game system that I want to lock down, just the
setting/adventure material. If I create an original setting, I don't want
others appropriating it as their own and publishing material for it. As a
game designer, I would like access to a public game system; that is what I
gain. People who use that public game system gain additional material that
is compatible with their game system. I think everyone gains.
I think that is also the intention of the OGL, but because rules and setting
material blend together in any substantial roleplaying work, the OGL stands
in the way of locking down the setting. This will present a problem to
people who want to closely control the setting material for games they
release under the OGL.
-kenan
-------------
For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
