## Summary Doctorow argues the Open Gaming License is a defective instrument, worse than useless, because corporate lawyers wrote it instead of a public-interest nonprofit. The license trades on a legal trap: it's "perpetual" but not "irrevocable," so the licensor can pull it at any time. It also grants permission for things you never needed permission to use while carving out almost everything that matters. He treats the OGL crisis as a reason to move open gaming content onto standard Creative Commons licenses. ## Key Points - "Perpetual" and "irrevocable" aren't the same word: a perpetual license has no automatic expiry, but unless it's irrevocable the licensor can terminate it whenever they want. - The OGL predates Creative Commons and shows the danger of letting corporate lawyers, not public-interest nonprofits, hand "open" licenses to a legally unsophisticated audience. - Doctorow calls the OGL grossly defective and significantly worse than useless. - The license gives permission to use things you don't need permission to use in the first place. - Its exemption list pulls back nearly everything of value: product names, logos, trade dress, characters, storylines, spells, places, artwork, and any trademark. - He frames the moment as a chance to build or contribute to real open gaming content under standard, universal licenses like Creative Commons. ## Claim Atoms - **"Perpetual" doesn't mean "irrevocable"** — a perpetual license can still be revoked at will unless it's also irrevocable. - **Corporate "open" licenses trap unsophisticated users** — public-interest nonprofits, not corporate lawyers, should author open licenses. ## Links - Connects to the case for Creative Commons as the standard public-interest licensing baseline over bespoke corporate licenses. - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Openness Is a Surface Property Not a License Property]] — extends: the OGL is open in name while its exemption list and revocability decide what third parties can actually extend - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Inclusion on Terms You Did Not Set Is Conditional and Revocable]] — evidence-for: a "perpetual" but revocable license is the same structure, access granted on terms the licensor can withdraw - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Distribution Channel Control Is a Governance Surface Separate From the License]] — extends: Doctorow locates the real power in who can terminate, not in the license text, which is this note's point about control points - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Open Source Governance MOC]] — applies-in: Joins open licensing and governance notes.