>>> (1): The OGL requires that you "clearly identify" the portions of the work which are Open Game Content. This is a challenge if the work is a compiled binary; you may not know or be able to clearly identify which bits are actually OGC and which are not. This issue is partially related to #2, below, becuase the OGC portion of your work may be substantially larger than you suspect. >>>
Wouldn't simply stating that the entire content of the distributed software was Open Content count as clearly identfiying it? That's essentially what Green Ronin did with "Death in Freeport". Then couldn't the company simply identify the proper names of creatures, spells, places, and so on as Product Identity, thus preventing someone from simply copying their software verbatim and selling it themselves. Likewise, most publishers state that logos and art in their work is PI; thus a potential copy-cat would also need to strip out the graphics that comes with the software and supply their own. Thus, it seems to me that a software developer could make up a completely Open Content computer game; PI proper names and graphics, then sell the software. I take it the developer's worry now is that someone buys a copy of their software, adds one line of text somewhere, updates the OGL then releases their own version of it at a substnatially reduced price. However, if the developer does not need to actually distribute the source code then the privateer needs to decompile the whole thing, change all references to PI'ed names and text (I suppsoe the developer could identify blocks of purely descriptive text as PI, lots of paper publishers seem to be doing that), replace all graphics images, then re-compile the material and sell it to those willing to purchase a reduced price version of the software with lower production qualities. Even if the developer had to release the source code along with the compiled code privateers would still have to make all the changes above and, by the time they got something halfway decent out the software might be in the bargain bins anyway. Software has a pretty bad shelf life unless its a runaway hit after all. -Steven Palmer Peterson www.Second-World-Simulations.com _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
