D&D 5E SRD5 - A Clone of Part of D&D 5E Basic

[GMforPowergamers]

Thanks for pointing that out. It has been fixed.

SRD5 is not created with the intent of damaging Wizards of the Coast or breaking laws. It is also unlikely that I will ever make any money from it.

Creating SRD5 is my way of supporting D&D. I looked at previous uses of the OGL and decided to try and create a rules reference that people might want that also didn't exist yet. The OGL is part of the reason 3rd edition was so unanimously adopted. I don't know about other people, but in my circle of friends we used sites like dndsrd all the time to look things up quickly. Having the basic rules readily available made more room for other books at the table.

There has been a lot of discussion about the logo license. I would like to clear up its intent. As with all OGL content, you are free to use the content under the terms of the OGL. SRD5 content is no different. The SRD5 Compatibility License is optional, and SDR5 is required to provide it as per the OGL's requirements in section 7, "Use of Product Identity" in order for anyone to be allowed to indicate compatibility. The OSRIC Open License does something similar, and as someone noticed I slipped an homage to it into the SRD5 version.

Jim

dude...

wow you have some guts on you... just drop in to let us know what WotC thinks...

 

[mudbunny]

Just after a quick glance, that isn't a retroclone, that's a cut & paste.

[MENTION=697]mearls[/MENTION] [MENTION=56746]mudbunny[/MENTION] .... I think that site needs a cease & desist slapdown pronto, and I'm pretty far on the extreme loose end in my view on copyright as a concept. But this SRD5 crosses the line, IMHO.

Thanks. I have poked WotC through my contacts.

 

[tenkar]

"But OSRIC did it!"

Yes, but they were smart about it and I believe got legal consultation first. What Necromancer is doing is also close to infringing, but they could easily pull it off. Plus the owner is a judge, so pretty sure he's not going to step over the legal lines. This guy? Obviously didn't know the laws.

OSRIC was also published under British Law (If I recall correctly) and if WotC had lost the suit, they would have been legally obliged to pay the lawyers of the publishers of OSRIC.

In the States, the threat of a lawsuit is enough to make most folks drop out.

 

[GravyFingerz]

Thanks for pointing that out. It has been fixed.

SRD5 is not created with the intent of damaging Wizards of the Coast or breaking laws. It is also unlikely that I will ever make any money from it.

Creating SRD5 is my way of supporting D&D. I looked at previous uses of the OGL and decided to try and create a rules reference that people might want that also didn't exist yet. The OGL is part of the reason 3rd edition was so unanimously adopted. I don't know about other people, but in my circle of friends we used sites like dndsrd all the time to look things up quickly. Having the basic rules readily available made more room for other books (settings, splat) at the table.

There has been a lot of discussion about the logo license. I would like to clear up its intent. As with all OGL content, you are free to use the content under the terms of the OGL. SRD5 content is no different. The SRD5 Compatibility License is optional, and SDR5 is required to provide it as per the OGL's requirements in section 7, "Use of Product Identity" in order for anyone to be allowed to indicate compatibility. The OSRIC Open License does something similar, and as someone noticed I slipped an homage to it into the SRD5 version.

Jim

 

[the Jester]

Thanks for pointing that out. It has been fixed.

SRD5 is not created with the intent of damaging Wizards of the Coast or breaking laws. It is also unlikely that I will ever make any money from it.

Creating SRD5 is my way of supporting D&D. I looked at previous uses of the OGL and decided to try and create a rules reference that people might want that also didn't exist yet. The OGL is part of the reason 3rd edition was so unanimously adopted. I don't know about other people, but in my circle of friends we used sites like dndsrd all the time to look things up quickly. Having the basic rules readily available made more room for other books (settings, splat) at the table.

There has been a lot of discussion about the logo license. I would like to clear up its intent. As with all OGL content, you are free to use the content under the terms of the OGL. SRD5 content is no different. The SRD5 Compatibility License is optional, and SDR5 is required to provide it as per the OGL's requirements in section 7, "Use of Product Identity" in order for anyone to be allowed to indicate compatibility. The OSRIC Open License does something similar, and as someone noticed I slipped an homage to it into the SRD5 version.

Jim

Dude, you aren't supporting D&D or the open gaming movement here, you're undermining both of them.

I admire the size of your balls, but I think you are going to get shut down, and rightfully so.

 

[Umbran]

SRD5 is not created with the intent of damaging Wizards of the Coast or breaking laws.

Your intent doesn't really change matters - you don't have to *intend* to violate copyright to do it. You don't have to *intend* to damage WotC, but that can be a result. Moreover, if there are third parties or freelancers who are working on agreements with WotC that you may be making difficult, should you succeed, they could be put in poor positions.

Creating SRD5 is my way of supporting D&D. I looked at previous uses of the OGL and decided to try and create a rules reference that people might want that also didn't exist yet.

Well, of course it didn't exist yet! You didn't exactly give them a whole lot of time, now did you? You pretty clearly had to be in motion before they had released anything at all. This particular defense, I gotta tell you, would have held more water if you'd waited to see if they were actually going to make some sort of useful license. It is.. a bit of fannish courtesy, I think, to at least give them a chance to have their plan come to fruition before you start mucking in on it.

 

[Abstruse]

I'm going to repeat the sentiment of what the attorney said in another thread. I am not a lawyer, but I've learned a lot about IP law reporting on the various lawsuits going on in the industry.

You don't have a leg to stand on. Products like the OSRIC are very specifically created in order to be legal. It's a small loophole in the law and there's not a lot of wiggle room. You're definitely in violation of copyright law and possibly trademark infringement if WotC wants to push the "SRD5" issue (they may have registered the trademark themselves in anticipation of an open license). You've copied materials and presentation too closely and your presentation may violate trade dress as well.

Remember, it won't be Wizards of the Coast LLC that sues you. It will be Hasbro. A very large multibillion dollar corporation. With a full-time legal team. Any settlement request will involve at a minimum surrendering the domain and any trademarks you've registered. Any lawsuit will drag out for a very long time and cost you probably tens of thousands of dollars.

Get out now.

This isn't a story yet so I'm not reporting on it, but if you push it, I'm going to end up reporting on how WotC sued you into bankruptcy. I don't want to do it.

 

[caudor]

A word to the wise is sufficient. It would be wise to take that down.

 

[Artificer]

SRD5™ Has been taken offline for now.

I created the project with the goal of supporting the open gaming community. The mostly negative reception to it surprised me. It was not my intention to upset or offend anyone.

The project may return at a later date, but I clearly have some legal homework and community research to do before that happens.

Jim

 

[Obryn]

SRD5™

TM?

Seriously?

Dude, I still have no idea what you're thinking here, but it's stuff like this and the logo that have convinced me there's more than a little self-aggrandizement mixed in with whatever other motives you might have.