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Thanks for the compliment on
Thanks for the compliment on my Sandbox post. I would like to do something like Points of Light for SJ Games and GURPS but all my proposals go down a black hole :(
As for D&D Clone, yes people can make D&D compatible products (without saying so) by changing the terms. But the issue with that (as we found in the early 80s) is that it enough of a pain to use to inhibit sales. In contrast with the OGL you don't have to do that. The result the products produced via the OGL are preceived as directly compatible with the games.
There are still issues in coming out with an actual clone rulebook particularly in tables. OSRIC had a bunch of IP Lawyers advising the authors and the process was rather nit-picking. The other clones like Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardry opted for an approach where it plays the same but uses a different procedure or table.
For example in Swords & Wizardry instead of having the five catagories of saving throws you have one saving throw and modifiers to get the values you would use for the other catagories.
Many authors involved in the retro-clone stuff, like myself, have moved beyond rules books now that all the early editions are covered. Instead the focus is on settings, adventures, and supplements.