Re:Hello, I am lawyer with a PSA: almost everyone is wrong a...
by mcv on Friday January 06, 2023 @08:28PM
(#34284010)
> This is why so many OGL works contain phrases like "core rule books of the 5th edition of the world's most popular pen and paper RPG" instead of "Monster Manual p. 132".
But that's ridiculous, right? Anyone can refer to a page in a book. If the OGL takes that away, then what's even the point of it? Well, I guess being able to make derivative works, but what if I don't want to do that? What if I want to make my own campaign world that's merely meant to be compatible with the D&D rules? The same way anyone can make a game that runs on Windows without needing a license?
WotC's entire reasoning that you can't do that, sounds to me like a far too restrictive interpretation of copyright law. I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I know, WotC's interpretation has never been tested in court.
But that's ridiculous, right? Anyone can refer to a page in a book. If the OGL takes that away, then what's even the point of it? Well, I guess being able to make derivative works, but what if I don't want to do that? What if I want to make my own campaign world that's merely meant to be compatible with the D&D rules? The same way anyone can make a game that runs on Windows without needing a license?
WotC's entire reasoning that you can't do that, sounds to me like a far too restrictive interpretation of copyright law. I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I know, WotC's interpretation has never been tested in court.