Hey Everyone!
This is something interesting that has unfolded over the past week or so, and is consequential for anyone interested in D&D or Tabletop in general.
An article by CNBC explains how Wizards of the Coast (the owners of the D&D franchise) have walked back their plans to update the OGL (Open Game License): https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/13/hasbro-delays-new-dungeons-dragons-licensing-rules.html
The old OGL allowed players to copy and use the rules in their works freely without the risk of infringing copyright. Proposed changes would have changed this, introducing a royalty fee structure for creators that exceeded certain profit thresholds, among other changes.
Legal Eagle, a popular YouTuber who discusses American legal issues, posted his take of the issue that I found useful here: https://youtu.be/iZQJQYqhAgY
In Legal Eagle’s assessment, he states that the OGL really only matters for people who want to directly use the rules as they are written by Wizards of the Coast. Therefore, creating D&D compatible campaigns, expansions or rewriting the rules would not violate Copyright, even without the OGL. He asserts that a system of rules is not subject to Copyright in the US. The expression of those rules would be subject to Copyright, but not the idea of the rules themselves.
I wonder how the Canadian law would change Legal Eagle’s analysis. Serendipitously this is partially covered in the assigned readings this week. I think the inability to Copyright an idea could make Legal Eagle’s argument equally valid in the Canadian context. I wonder if rules to a game can be protected by Copyright in Canada, or simply the expression of those rules.
Communications Law