<<
My father and I owned our own delivery service for 4 years. We lost it
because we were small and didn't think we could afford to use a lawyer.
We lost a contract dispute and all of our assets. I would spare anyone
else that feeling. Funny thing is it was the first contract we ever
signed, it seemed strait-forward. We missed that renewal was at their
option, not ours. They renewed, we had made other committments because
they paid poorly. They cried "breach of contract" WE LOST EVERYTHING. If
you can't afford to lose everything, get a lawyer. If you don't CYA You
will lose your A.
>>
I'd definately agree with making sure you understand a license or
contract (and if you don't, get a lawyer) before you sign.
Back in October, I had an interview with a company in the area. I did
well, and was offered a job that day. After the interview, I was given
a legal contract disguised as an "Employee Agreement" to read over, and
sign. If you didn't know what you were doing (or understand it even),
you could likely screw yourself. Since I knew the company had these
kinds of policies, I knew what to expect (but I didn't know it was that
bad). As it was, I had not actually applied for the position to that
company, but to another company who (at the time, I didn't know) was an
associate. Well, after reading through it (about a dozen pages), and
finding one interesting section, I turned it down. That one interesting
section was that "I (the employee) voluntarily choose to turn down my
right to discuss it with legal council", or something along those
lines. I definately did not. One requirement was that I work for the
company for 6 months, and if I don't, I could be sued for breach of
contract. For the work that I would be doing (tech support), the pay
was poor (IMO), and I wouldn't really be able to realistically look for
better work (as I wouldn't be able to start for a long while).
I re-read the legal contract, and decided it was not in my best
interest, and felt proud that I had control of my life (even if I
remained unemployed for about a month or two more).
Overall, I understand the OGL fairly well. I know what can be done with
the SRD, and other OG materials. I know the restrictions of the d20stl
(use of others trademarks, and not being able to describe creating and
advancing characters), and what you can and can't do with it. If it
wasn't for my currently unemployed (and no potential job on the
horrizon) status, I'd pay for a legal opinion to see if what I
understand of the licenses, won't land me in trouble. At this time, I'm
moving very carefully.
I've thought about looking into going back to school for a career in law
(specifically IP), but I don't know of any good schools in the area
(Ottawa, ON, Canada).
--
Korath,
http://www.korath.com
"He was already dead, he died a year ago, the moment he touched her.
They're all dead, they just don't know it." --Eric Draven, The Crow
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