> So my non-scholarly/lawyerly{??} opinion on this is
> that it is "ok" to specify information for the
> Section 15 "by reference" -- ie, place the "title,
> date, & copyright holder's name" (as required by
> Section 6 of the OGL) in a place other then in the
> actual Section 15, and then specify that it is
> "included by reference." I assume this is a common,
> and accepted legal practice -- to place items in
> another location, and include them 'By Reference'
It is common to do so in other legal documents. BUT I
was working with the OGL. Section 6 doesnt say it has
to be physically located with the license information.
The problem, as you point out, is the "exactly"
clause.
> Furthermore, I assume that the general legal
> definition of 'By Reference' is what prevents me,
> or any 3rd party publisher, from copying your
> Section "EXACTLY" (as the OGL states) w/o following
> your directions and enumerating the individual
> credit sections.
Certainly, we know that with the OGL "exactly" doesnt
mean "exactly." :) As we have all come to agree, you
dont actually copy the "exact" section 15 from a
product, you just copy the section 15 as it relates to
that specific product. So I saw some flexibility in
the notion.
Plus, by using incorporation by reference, I am
building a creature specific entry that you do copy
"exactly", once you plug in the information.
I should point out that Ryan Dancey loved the idea.
But I was concerned about it, which is why I ran it up
the flagpole here and solicited Ryan's input.
> OK, now for my questions...
> > Q. 1:
> Is there anything preventing me from contrusting
> your Section 15 as you have specified, and then
> breaking it apart and placing the Section 15
> information for each monster on the page with the
> monster description in my product and then using a
> "included by reference" clause & directions similar
> to yours to keep the actuall Section 15 small &
> compact?
I'm not sure that would be appropriate in all
instances, but I can imagine a way to do it. The
problem is, for most products you still need a
seperate section 15 designation for the whole product.
I didnt really need that for ToH since the whole
content is nothing but individual monsters. There is
no other OGC.
Plus, you have to incorporate by reference clearly. If
it is an unclear reference, you have failed legally to
incorporate it. So that is possibly problematic, but
if I understand what you are asking I think it could
be done.
> Q.2:
> >> Using Multiple Monsters
> >> You would need to make four entries
> > The four example entries are:
> > “Dark Creeper from the Tome of Horrors,
> Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author
> Scott Greene, based on original material by Rik
> Shepard.
> > Pech from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002,
> Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based
> on original material by Gary Gygax.
> > Mobat from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002,
> Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene and
> Clark Peterson, based on original material by Gary
> Gygax.
> > Shadow Demon from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright >
2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene,
> based on original material by Neville White.”
>
> > Since it is has essentially become common
> practice, when enumerating Section 15s to
> not "duplicate" exact Section 15 entries -- for
> example, when using material from two different d20
> products you would not list the SRD twice, but only
> once. And if both those works referenced yet a
> third product (with identical copyright statements)
> in their section 15s, you would only include one
> copy in your new Section 15.
Agreed. But only in part.
What I agree is that if you are using OGC from product
X and product X also used the Pech and you are using
the Pech in your product, you dont need to list the
Pech twice, just like you wouldnt need to list the SRD
twice.
> Given that precedence, would it be following the
> Legal requirements of the OGL to do the following
> to your 4 monster example:
> > “Dark Creeper, Pech, Mobat, Shadow Demon
> from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002,
> Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors Scott Greene
> and Clark Peterson based on original material by
> Rik Shepard, Gary Gygax, and Neville White."
No, because that does not "exactly" use my section 15
designation as incorporated by reference. I would
consider that both a violation of the OGL and it would
not be consistent with my instructions, so my promise
not to claim you had violated the license would not
apply as you did not follow the instructions.
In fact, I would make such an allegation.
It was important to me to give individual credit to
the individual authors. In fact, that was a key part
of my discussions with WotC--being able to cite
sources. As you can see, in your example above, you
cant tell who created what. That is the problem.
Clark
=====
http://www.necromancergames.com
"3rd Edition Rules, 1st Edition Feel"
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