> I am simply directing
> people that if you are concerned about any of these
> issues, seek legal counsel.
Easy for us to say, but a tough sell to a lot of people whose interest at
this point may be casual and may not want to shell out some bucks for
personal attention from a lawyer or some law classes just to put some
characters, monsters, and spells on their personal web page. (This is
especially true of the *policy* being discussed, as opposed to the
*licenses*.)
> To much is potentially at stake to rely on
> uninformed non-experts spouting off about things they
> know nothing about.
Maybe true. Certainly, one might want to consult a lawyer rather, say,
relying on feedback from this list if you are wondering how to handle the
legal portion of a commercial OGL/D20 product to protect your rights and
comply with the licenses.
On the other hand, if you're just curious about the spouting of informed
experts on the general topic of contract law, try this link:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/contracts.html
It presents a pretty clear overview in easy-to-understand language, and
offers links to much more detailed information. Good reading for anyone
involved in business.
Of course, like Clark, I'm not offering legal advice here, and I hope no one
has misconstrued me as doing so anywhere in this discussion, as it is
something I'm certainly not qualified to do. ("Offering legal advice"
itself is a bit of a legal pitfall to be avoided, or so I'm told -- but
don't rely on my word on that either, ask your lawyer! ;) Just some common
sense suggestions.
In any case, the recent tenor of this list leads me to suspect that it may
be better to return to lurking, rather than try to help clarify (or,
heavens, speculate about) issues like these or share experience with
publishing and licensing, only to risk someone relying on something I say
and holding me responsible.
Repeated for good measure: I'm not a lawyer. Listen to me at your own risk.
Like all other non-lawyers, I'm probably wrong.
(With that out of the way, if anyone off the record wanted to discuss issues
like reliance and quasi-contracts, hey, that might be fun. Provided you
consult your lawyer afterwords to expunge yourself of any improper
impressions and sign a waiver beforehand. OK, on second thought, maybe it's
all just best avoided.)
-John Nephew
President, Atlas Games
-------------
For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
