Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Macha 1243 days ago
If we look at other contemporary licenses reviewed by professional legal advice, like the GPLv2, Creative Commons v1-3, MIT, Apache v1, they all have the same omission of irrevocable, and it was about another ten years before they released newer iterations with that magic language (or didn't, in the case of MIT).

It's also not speculation that that was the intent of the original author, they're on record from both the time of license publication as a wizards employee and recently in light of the controversy and both 20 years ago and today were consistent they meant it to be irrevocable
1 comments
wolverine876 1243 days ago
> It's also not speculation that that was the intent of the original author, they're on record

Yes, a corporate executive is on record making a claim like that. Do you take it a face value?

This person is a sophisticated actor in a company that runs on IP. It doesn't matter what FOSS licenses said, and I don't have time to look into that. If Wizards wanted "irrevocable", it would say that. Did you see Wizards' attempt to redefine 'irrevocable' in the first revised draft? Same company.

link
Macha 1243 days ago
> Yes, a corporate executive is on record making a claim like that. Do you take it a face value?

When there's twenty years of track record and a prior occasion (D&D 4e's GSL) where it would have been advantageous for them to try this, sure. You can't have a legal contract say an ambiguous statement then spend a literal decade promoting one interpretation then switch to another. This is why US laws about detrimental reliance or EU standards like promissory estoppel exist.

link
wolverine876 1243 days ago
> You can't have a legal contract say an ambiguous statement then spend a literal decade promoting one interpretation then switch to another.

OGL 1.0a isn't ambiguous; I didn't read anything ambiguous and I didn't see anyone point to ambiguity in it.

Elsewhere, outside any license, they did promote another interpretation, but every IP attorney I read said that didn't matter.

link
dragonwriter 1243 days ago
> Wizards wanted "irrevocable", it would say that

It does, that's why when, when they wanted to revoke it without also. casting doubt on their next “irrevocable” license, they relied on the “any authorized version” language, and moved to deauthorize the original version.

link
wolverine876 1243 days ago
>> Wizards wanted "irrevocable", it would say that

> It does

I'm almost certain that it does not. I've read the license, and many attorneys have commented on the word's absence. Can you quote where the license sasys that?

link