Updates on the Community Use Policy and Fan Content Policy

Now there's the Paizo we know and love! This is a much better solution than the previous change. Thank you for taking criticism well!

Nice

That sounds great, thank you for listening. The Community Use Policy has created a lot of great products and services, and it would be a shame to lose that type of motivated volunteer and innovative project.

This is a great move, but what about 1e content on infinite?

Thank you for hearing the voice of your community and recognizing all of the volunteer effort that has made Paizo and the community great.

I'm so relieved that the Community Use Policy lives on. Thank you for listening!

Let's *go*

Thanks Paizo for continuing to reward my faith and optimism!

Awesome! Thanks for listening to the community.

Thank. You.

That's SUCH a relief.

Thank you for continuing to validate the trust the community places in you to approach things in good faith!

What a breath of fresh air. Glad to see both of the policies existing alongside eachother

Hot dog! That's great to hear.

Lawyers work slow. Good ones, anyways. Especially when responding to a backlash, where you really don't want to have to come back a third time.

HUZZAH!

Glad to see this!

Hip hip, hoorah!

Lawyers work slow. Good ones, anyways. Especially when responding to a backlash, where you really don't want to have to come back a third time.

Fair enough.

Paizo is simply the best <3

This is terrific! Thank you for listening to fan creators on how this change was going to impact them.

i'm so happy i should commission an artist to draw Valeros and Imrijka kissing

I am glad to see the CUP back, and the FCP staying and be used for "small" profit use.

I hope there will be a good way for Paizo and its community to protect properly Paizo's IP

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you !!

So very glad this happened before things became a full blown crisis.

Thank you Paizo! <3

This is a great move, but what about 1e content on infinite?

If you're asking about OGL content on Infinite, that's not Paizo. You have to go fight WotC if you want to publish something they own on Paizo's store. If you're asking about Paizo-owned 1e content, that was never disallowed. (IANAL tho so if somebody contradicts me on this, they might just know better than I)

Lawyers work slow. Good ones, anyways. Especially when responding to a backlash, where you really don't want to have to come back a third time.

On top of that there were two lost weeks due to Gencon and then due to con crud from Gencon

Thank you.

This is certainly not something that I think Paizo NEEDED to do - you were well within your rights and industry standards to change the license as you did.

I do appreciate your listening to the feedback of your customer base and once again going Above and Beyond for us.

Glad this got changed! Was a good bit worried about it and how it'd affect things moving forwards for fan creations, but it all worked out in the end it seems.

Bravo! Thanks for again listening to the community.

Ravien999 wrote:

This is a great move, but what about 1e content on infinite?

If you're asking about OGL content on Infinite, that's not Paizo. You have to go fight WotC if you want to publish something they own on Paizo's store. If you're asking about Paizo-owned 1e content, that was never disallowed. (IANAL tho so if somebody contradicts me on this, they might just know better than I)

The New infinite license that starts on September 1st strictly prohibits any OGL Content which means ALL PF1 and SF1 game content as those rules are OGL.

Further this also likely means the slow reprint on demand 1E books we were getting on Infinite are also likely to completely stop.

I figured this, or something like this, would be the response to the backlash. Thanks for proving me right Paizo!

If there's one thing Paizo's always been good at, it's responding to playtest feedback.

Ravien999 wrote:

This is a great move, but what about 1e content on infinite?

If you're asking about OGL content on Infinite, that's not Paizo. You have to go fight WotC if you want to publish something they own on Paizo's store. If you're asking about Paizo-owned 1e content, that was never disallowed. (IANAL tho so if somebody contradicts me on this, they might just know better than I)

Well it's weird then that *checks notes* Paizo is still doing that.

But also, I'm talking about Paizo owned 1e content.

Like all of starfinder.

We were told that "until SF2E comes out, all starfinder content must be entirely rules free" because you cannot write anything OGL, including Paizo OGL or OGL styled rules.

Excellent timing!

I just finished updating my Class Proficiency Tables.

Community Use Policy statement added. :)

The Infinite changes are still somewhat frustrating, but understandable enough - it was the combo of those and the sudden CUP-FCP rugsweep that really stung, but this is very appreciated, at least.

This is a great move, but what about 1e content on infinite?

Today's announcement and action relate to the Community Use Policy and Fan Content Policy. We are continuing to monitor community feedback to changes to our other licenses and will share what information we can when it is available. Thanks for your patience and dedication to the Pathfinder and Starfinder communities.

The OGL stuff sucks, and it sucks that WotC decided to put the industry in this position, but it makes sense that Paizo doesn't want to tether its licenses to shaky legal ground.

So relieved! I feel like companies burn customers/community so often - i never take for granted that they’ll be listened to.

One of the few companies that always comes through when concerns are expressed. Idk if I’ll ever get to a point where I automatically trust a company to always do the right thing, but if I had to stake money on it - I’d choose Paizo.

A big "Thank You"! To Paizo as a whole (for taking a step back, listening, considering, and adjusting course to the benefit of the
community as a whole), to Mark (for patiently engaging with the various feedback received), to a variety of community creators (around the world, for being both articulate and passionate)... and to the real unsung heroes, the lawyers (for doubtless working their butts off to make sure Paizo is protected *and* the Paizo Community can continue to create, collaboratively, for free.) :)

I wish to specifically say kudos to Paizo for reinstating the CUP while also maintaining the FUP for those who do want to engage with the monetization channels that this opened up. Some companies, naming no names, would have taken their proverbial ball and gone home. Paizo instead stepped up in the right way.

Hopefully, some positive process changes can take place on the communication side of things in future, so there is less stress for all in future. (I expect the discussion would have been less stressful for all if there was time to provide feedback prior to the CUP being revoked). Regardless - I'm glad Paizo graciously changed course, and I think it speaks well of their intentions and (more importantly) their actions.

Thank you! This is a perfect response.

Hey, something I've been wondering about--what's the status of stuff from PF2 that was fully created by Paizo but published pre-ORC? Are Pathfinder Infinite creations not allowed to feature poppets and thaumaturges? I'm sure that's not right, but I'm not sure what the correct read is here. What happens to Grand Bazaar and Dark Archive content?

EDIT: Got my question answered elsewhere! Apparently Pathfinder Infinite covers just about anything Paizo's made, OGL or ORC, as long as it's a Paizo creation and not, say, chromatic dragons. Poppets are fine. Don't mind me.

Awesome! Relieved to see Paizo listening to the community, and as a DM I can spend my money on Paizo without feeling conflicted; going to prime a token pack purchase www

Well done, Paizo, well done. Thank you.

I think there's still a lot of questions about how this will all shake out, but its a very encouraging response.

I suspect that PF1e and SF1e (and probably anything PF2e Legacy that is OGL adjacent) is still going to be a no-go on Pathfinder Infinite, but I also suspect that Paizo doesn't have much choice on that one.

I'm still going to keep encouraging bookstores and gaming shops to carry Paizo content, but I'm also still going to keep scrubbing anything vaguely Paizo IP adjacent from my own existing work and avoiding completely it going forward.

If we've learned anything from OGL, the best of intentions mean very little in a court of law.

I just wanted to add my voice in saying thank you for reversing course. While I understand the logic used to arrive at your decision in July, I couldn't agree with it. I think this is the best outcome for the SF and PF communities.

You listened, and I do not take that for granted. Thank you Paizo.

Awesome News!!! Thank you for rethinking the choice.

Hey, something I've been wondering about--what's the status of stuff from PF2 that was fully created by Paizo but published pre-ORC? Are Pathfinder Infinite creations not allowed to feature poppets and thaumaturges? I'm sure that's not right, but I'm not sure what the correct read is here. What happens to Grand Bazaar and Dark Archive content?

EDIT: Got my question answered elsewhere! Apparently Pathfinder Infinite covers just about anything Paizo's made, OGL or ORC, as long as it's a Paizo creation and not, say, chromatic dragons. Poppets are fine. Don't mind me.

I'm glad you got your question answered, but I also wanted to address it because it is very much a FAQ that we get across all channels. The reinstatement of the CUP today means that some of the FAQs we were going to issue to clarify some stuff (like this) got pushed to a "phase 2" status, but such clarification are coming as soon as more pressing issues are handled.

It seems that the answer you got is accurate, so I'll let the community continue to be the helpful helpers they are.