Paizo Reinstates Its Community Use Policy After Community Outcry
Paizo has walked back controversial changes to some of its community policies, reinstating its old Community Use Policy after community outcry.
Late last week, Paizo announced that it was reversing course on a move made back in July. In July, the company took down its 15-year-old Community Use Policy. The license that lets players and creators use Pathfinder content, including rules and logos and the like—replacing it with a Fan Content Policy instead.
This move was met with criticism from the community, many of whose existing Community Use projects were in danger of being disrupted. After almost a month, the company reversed course on its decision to remove the Community Use Policy, reinstating the 15-year-old license while remarking on how it had taken fan feedback into account and was working now to correct an error.
Paizo Reinstates Longstanding Community Use Policy After Community Outcry
Paizo addressed the community in a blog post late last week:
“In July, we terminated Paizo’s longstanding Community Use Policy and replaced it with a new Fan Content Policy. This was an error, and we’re taking steps to rectify that today.
We are reinstating the Community Use Policy as it has existed for over 15 years, with a few minor updates and clarifications intended to make using the policy even easier. We have removed both the Approved Products List and Community Use Registry and clarified some elements that were previously in FAQs or simply not addressed (like being able to use our art and logos in black and white products).
We have not changed the permissions granted by the policy. The specific language in the Community Use Policy declaration you need to include in your project has changed to reflect a new URL for the policy on paizo.com, and we have added the provision that you provide contact information somewhere on your product in lieu of the now-removed registry. This change will allow existing Community Use Policy projects to continue to operate as they have for over a decade.”
Per Paizo, the Community Use Policy has been reinstated alongside the Fan Content Policy, which hasn’t changed yet either. However, that’s something Paizo still intends, hoping to “refine the Fan Content Policy to more clearly define what commercial uses are allowed”.
Paizo still wants people to have more avenues to “monetize their creations” and will work to let the community know what changes they’ve made.
