> Neal Rogers
>
> In reading through the archives, I found a message
> where Brad Thompson seemed to be saying that there
> would be no PI in the SRD. Wizards doesn't plan to
> classify any of the spell names as PI, then? The
> entire document will be free to use, redistribute,
> quote under the OGL?
Yes. By definition it will also be d20 STL compatible.
> In reading through the legal notices in some of the D20
> products I've seen in stores, they do seem to be
> taking time to spell out which things are PI.
Yes, the license calls for some things to be OGC regardless of what you say,
and some things to be OGC only if you say, and some things to be PI only if
you say. Nothing is automatically PI.
> Is
> it sufficient for him to say that his rules system is
> based in part on the system set out in the SRD but
> that the words, examples, and artwork are his own?
The answer to this lies deep in the heart of IP law, and cannot be answered
in the hypothetical with any confidence. What needs to be determined is
whether or not the work is 'derivative' on the SRD, as that term is used in
copyright law. Claiming that your work is based on the SRD makes a strong
case that it is in fact derivative. If it is derivative, then you must make
it OGC and follow all of the rules of the OGL even though they are your own
words. If it isn't, then you can claim the whole thing for yourself. Legal
counsel will help you decide, but ultimately the courts might have to make
the determination of you and Hasbro disagree and cannot reconcile.
> I've noticed that some D20 products on the market are
> putting all the creature names in Closed Content,
> while the creature stats are in Open Content. I'm not
> clear on the reason behind this.
In some cases it is a way to protect a specific setting. The author might
have created 'UberGrendel', a very specific and rich monster within his PI.
He needs to protect the name 'UberGrendel' to prevent others from invading
his campaign (his PI), but he cannot make the stats PI because they are game
rules (a category that must be OGC under the OGL).
In other cases (such as in my work) there is a very short separate license
that grants the right to use the name so long as you don't modify the
original work associated with the name. That way if you see the term
'UberGrendel', you can be assured that it is the same 'UberGrendel' that you
saw last week in another module.
-Brad
-------------
For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
