Content market and TM work

[Farling]

Originally Posted by Dervish

How about we just go to the source and look it up instead
Here or Here

The first link covers Fair Use and the second is in regards to game copyright however they are both germain to our discssion.

Unfortunately those links are to a U.S. government web site, so I would expect them to be only relevant to U.S. law. Other countries have other rules.

[Silveras]

Originally Posted by Dervish

How about we just go to the source and look it up instead
Here or Here

The first link covers Fair Use and the second is in regards to game copyright however they are both germain to our discssion.

Sadly, if it were as simple as just a layman reading the plain English text of the laws, we would have a much less litigious society in the U.S. However, it is seldom that simple (though it is a good start), and consulting a lawyer for your specific plans still trumps "just read the law".

[Silveras]

Originally Posted by AEIOU

@Silveras: I appreciate your stance and respect your opinion. I see things from a cynical point of view and quite frankly, legel repercussions from someone doing something stupid with LWD getting caught in the crossfire since they are the sole host and distributor of all material is the reason I am such a vocal proponent of export capability. If the feces hits the fan, LWD is toast and we all lose. And it doesn't matter what promises were made for protecting our data, it's game over.

Interesing. especially since I see that same "export capability" as being a tool that would facilitate piracy, and for that reason I don't see it ever being added as a feature.

[salcor]

Wow I am surprised this thread has exploded the way it has. There are a lot of really good points within this thread. Overall the goal is for GM's to share content legally while protecting LWD. However it is interesting because what constitutes a violation. For example if I create my own adventure for Star Wars, it is nearly impossible to create that content without referencing copyrighted material. So with the sourcing documents it will be important to attribute the appropriate rights to the appropriate owners and attribute your information through the creative commons (in the US). Thanks for the rousing discussion.

Salcor

[rob]

Originally Posted by AEIOU

@Silveras: I appreciate your stance and respect your opinion. I see things from a cynical point of view and quite frankly, legel repercussions from someone doing something stupid with LWD getting caught in the crossfire since they are the sole host and distributor of all material is the reason I am such a vocal proponent of export capability. If the feces hits the fan, LWD is toast and we all lose. And it doesn't matter what promises were made for protecting our data, it's game over.

I'd be pleased as pie if Liz popped in and told me I'm unrealistically paranoid and crazy. I want to eat crow and sleep easier.

The key element here is the DMCA that @Parody referred to above. It provides a "safe harbor" for companies like us that keeps us safe from users abusing the copyrights of others without our direct involvement. However, the DMCA also has provisions where we need to provide copyright holders with a means to notify us when a user is violating their rights, and we have to take violating material down once we've been notified. If we fail to do that, THEN we're on the hook legally. As long as we act responsibly, we do not need to actively police all content ourselves. We just need to be responsive when the copyright holder flags a violation to our attention.

Of course, it's a lot more complicated than that - we're talking convoluted laws here. But that's the quick-and-dirty overview. So you're definitely being more paranoid than is actually called for here. Hopefully, that helps and you can get some real sleep tonight.

FYI, the Terms of Service agreement that all Realm Works users acknowledge when creating an account (and installing the product) includes details about the basic rules for this stuff - including references to the DMCA. So this has all been in place from the beginning. We'll be outlining some additional reminders for users when we launch the content market.

There are lots of details involved in all of this. We'll get into all that when the Content Market becomes a reality. Discussions about many of those implications here is great to see. The more aware users are of the various concerns that exist, the smoother everything will go once the doors open.

[Dark Lord Galen]

Originally Posted by rob

................ As long as we act responsibly, we do not need to actively police all content ourselves. We just need to be responsive when the copyright holder flags a violation to our attention.............

"WE" in this case is not only LWD, if "we" the community are also diligent, it makes things better for all concerned.

..........and you can get some real sleep tonight. [/quote] Sleep?? what's that???