Copyrighted Material?

[johntjamesonjr]

hmm well dulux-oz... idk.. but lately ive been getting alot of confusing messages cant seem to get a straight message from doug.. dso i guess i'll have to make something... add in ALL the legal stuff that im supposed to and send it to Doug and have him look at it before i try to post to the forums.. if i have to go that route so be it. but like i said i noticed the PFRPG bestiary book 2 in one of the forums actually has a OGL and the legal stuff posted in it.. so im not entirely too sure if its ok or not but i do know that its word for word on the stats since i have the actual book in PDF from which i scanned it from my hardcopy before the book was accidently destroyed with 4 other boxes of pathfinder materials

[johntjamesonjr]

well signing off for now to try to either come up with something to send to doug for approval or to try to start my own pathfinder gaming as a game master.. good luck on that one lol. so if anyone needs to contact me... you can reach me on my skype through the link.. everyone have a good night

[Moon Wizard]

I believe the Bestiaries are all OGL, which would explain why they are listed as community modules.

Regards,
JPG

[johntjamesonjr]

ok no problem.. i just checked the rise of the runelords burnt offerings and they have the OGL in the back... so I guess other then the maps and the tokens and anything graphic i can make like the npcs and whatnot correct? or am i reading that wrong as well?

[johntjamesonjr]

great.. this sucks.. idk why but now i feel like im useless for pathfinder lol.. idk.. heheheh oh well..

[Trenloe]

Paizo material is released under the Open Gaming License - which means that some of their material can be re-distributed as long as the requirements of the OGL are followed. OGL statement here: https://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/...meLicense.html and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Game_License

Read the main title page of your Pathfinder Bestiary 2 PDF - the "credits" page. Pay attention to the bottom three paragraphs - this identifies what is "product identity" as far as the OGL is concerned - this is "stuff" that is covered by copyright and you can't redistribute in any form:

Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)

"Open content" is also defined, this is the "stuff" you can distribute, as long as you adhere to the OGL (include the OGL statement within the product and have section 15 of the OGL correctly defined):

Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo Publishing game product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.

Basically, the game mechanics of OGL released product can be re-distributed (as long as the OGL is included and section 15 correctly references the sources). What you can't redistribute is what is listed as Product Identity - the main things in product identity are all artwork, plots, storylines, etc. - basically non-mechanics text.

The Bestiary modules you reference are completely legal, because:

1. An OGL with correct section 15 references.
2. Only contains "open content".
3. Do not contain any "product identity".

As I mentioned in reply to the PMs you sent me, you cannot create and distribute a bestiary with any of the Paizo artwork within, nor can you use any other copyright protected artwork - this includes artwork from the Internet as 99.9% of that is covered by copyright.

Note - the OGL only applies to products that are released under the OGL. This includes most d20/D&D 3.0e/D&D 3.5e products and some upcoming 5E products, plus Pathfinder products - always check for an OGL statements in any product, don't ever assume that a product is released under the OGL.

The OGL does not cover BECMI D&D, AD&D (1st and 2nd edition) or D&D 4th edition.

[johntjamesonjr]

hmm ok Trenloe ty

[Trenloe]

If you want to publicly distribute any RPG material/products you must research and understand the various product licenses.

If you are using/making material purely for your own private games, and don't distribute anything outside of those games, then you don't need to worry about this - copyright does not cover your own private use of materials you have legally the right to use - i.e. you've bought the product or the product is released by the copyright holders for free (e.g. the D&D 5e basic rules) or the product is released under a community commons agreement/OGL license or similar.

[johntjamesonjr]

ok again ty.. moving on now

[damned]

The OGL and SRD are awesome. And they are there to be used. But you cant "partially" comply with the OGL. Partial compliance is non compliance.

Something that you could do is write your own adventures - you can use the monsters from these Bestiaries that contain only OGL/SRD content (so long as you include the appropriate references etc) and the Product Identity would be your own. You could then share these with other PF GMs.