Q: What does "Approved" mean?
A: It means that the license has been approved by the WotC legal team.
WotC has agreed to support these terms for the upcoming release of Open Game
Content.
Q: Who can use this license?
A: Anyone can use this license. Permission to distribute the license is
now granted.
Q: Do I have to use this license with material from WotC or based on
something WotC publishes?
A: Not at all. You can use this license to provide a strong copyleft to
any material, including an entirely new project.
Q: How do I indicate what is "Open Game Content"?
A: The exact method is up to you. You are required to "clearly" do so.
Assume a "reasonable person" standard - if a reasonable person would be able
to determine what is Open Game Content, your method will be acceptable.
Q: Do you have any suggestions as to how to do that?
A: Two simple methods recognized by the Open Gaming community (but by no
means the only possible methods) are to place Open Game Content in boxed
text and indicate in the publication that the boxed text content is Open
Game Content; or place Open Game Content in a unique font, color or style
not elsewhere used in the publication and indicate that any material in that
unique font, color or style is Open Game Content.
Q: What is "Product Identity"?
A: Product identity means things that might be mixed in with Open Game
Content that you do not wish to apply the terms of the License to.
Q: That's not very Open then, is it?
A: The License specifically limits the Product Identity to non-Game Rule
content. The Open Gaming License is primarily designed to provide a strong
copyleft and an Open (meaning "freedom to copy, modify and distribute")
License for Game Rules and materials that use Game Rules. Content that is
not Game Rules or material that uses Game Rules that is aggregated with such
content need not be subject to the terms of this License.
Q: How do I identify "Product Identity"?
A: As with the need to indicate what is Open Game Content, you need to
"clearly" do so.
Q: Do you have any suggestions as to how to do that?
A: The method that Wizards of the Coast will probably be using will be to
include a list of things it considers "Product Identity" in a given
publication as an enumerated list under a heading of that name.
Q: Are all the things listed as potential Product Identity automatically
excluded from Open Game Content?
A: No, they are not. The publisher must indicate specifically what they
are claiming as Product Identity. Also, Open Game Content can include any
material the contributor has the rights to designate as Open Game Content.
In other words, if you want to, you can make any material you have created
Open Game Content at your option.
Q: What will happen to me if I use someone else's Product Identity without
permission?
A: You will be in breach of the Open Gaming License. If the owner of that
Product Identity notifies you of the breach, and you fail to cure that
breach as described in the License, your rights to use the Open Gaming
License will terminate, and you could be sued for copyright violations and
breach of contract.
Q: Just by the person who owns the Product Identity?
A: No. Once your rights have terminated, if you continue to Use Open
Gaming Content without those rights, you could be sued by each and every
person who has contributed to the work you are Using.
Q: Do I really have to include a copy of the entire license when I Use Open
Gaming Content?
A: Technically, the answer is yes. Any time you Use Open Game Content, you
should also include a copy of the license. Practically, in the case of
email messages or other very short material where you do not do so, you will
be in breach of the License but you are unlikely to be so notified, and even
if you were, you are unlikely to be repeatedly distributing the same email
message, so you can cure your breach by agreeing not to continue to
distribute the offending message without the full text of the License.
One copy of the License is sufficient for each publication; you do not need
to publish a copy of the License for every item of Open Game Content in a
given publication. You can also use one copy of the License for content on
a web site, but if any part of that web site is designed to be downloaded
and used separately by a user, you need to provide for an inclusion of the
License with that download.
You cannot merely refer to a web location or an offer to provide the License
on request - you must actually include the full text of the License.
I'm sure there will be other questions that need to be answered. Please let
me know what they are, and I will try to create an effective response, ASAP.
Ryan
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Information on Open Gaming: www.opengamingfoundation.org
Information on RPGA: www.wizards.com/rpga
D&D 3rd Edition is coming!: www.3rdedition.com
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For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
