D20 System - Trademark License

Trademark License

Because Dungeons and Dragons is the most popular role playing game in the world, many third party publishers of the 2000s produced products designed to be compatible with that game and its cousin, d20 Modern. Wizards of the Coast provided a separate license allowing publishers to use some of its trademarked terms and a distinctive logo to help consumers identify these products. This was known as the d20 System Trademark License. The d20 System Trademark License (D20STL) required publishers to exclude character creation and advancement rules, apply certain notices and adhere to an acceptable content policy. D20STL products were also required to clearly state that they require the core books from Wizards of the Coast for use. All D20STL products also had to use the OGL to make use of d20 System open content, but publishers were able to use the OGL without using the D20STL. Games that only use the OGL were (and are) not bound by these restrictions, and several have included character creation and advancement rules, allowing them to be used as standalone products.

With the release of the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons in 2008, Wizards of the Coast revoked the original D20STL, replacing it with a new license specifically for D&D, known as the Game System License. The terms of this license are similar to the D20STL, but there is no associated OGL or Open Content, and the fourth edition SRD merely lists the items and terms which may be used in licensed products. Of course, third edition/D20-based products may still be released under the OGL alone.