Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Does anyone know of a copyright guide for gamers? So often I see bad advice given about intellectual property issues that I really want a place where I can direct gamers, bloggers, and webmasters with better advice. I'm talking about this from the PoV of gamers, not game-makers. In other words, there are plenty of guides about how to protect your work, but not so much about fair use. In particular, I'm thinking of issues like:

Is it legal to make a cheat-sheet? How about to sell it?

Can I make something that is compatible with XYZ?

Can I mention XYZ on my website?

I've had plenty of experience with these issues myself, but I'm not a lawyer, and it would be great to have a resource to point people to free them from the mentality that everything is on lock down unless you get permission. It should also include at least a brief discussion of trademarks and patents, just for disambiguation because it's so easy to get those mixed up. Any leads on such a thing actually backed by legal knowledge (in at least the US, for example)?

 BadMoonMek wrote:
Does anyone know of a copyright guide for gamers? So often I see bad advice given about intellectual property issues that I really want a place where I can direct gamers, bloggers, and webmasters with better advice. I'm talking about this from the PoV of gamers, not game-makers. In other words, there are plenty of guides about how to protect your work, but not so much about fair use. In particular, I'm thinking of issues like:

Is it legal to make a cheat-sheet? How about to sell it?

Can I make something that is compatible with XYZ?

Can I mention XYZ on my website?

I've had plenty of experience with these issues myself, but I'm not a lawyer, and it would be great to have a resource to point people to free them from the mentality that everything is on lock down unless you get permission. It should also include at least a brief discussion of trademarks and patents, just for disambiguation because it's so easy to get those mixed up. Any leads on such a thing actually backed by legal knowledge (in at least the US, for example)?

The big issue is that doing things "right" is not much of a defense to getting sued or receiving a C&D. That said, enforcement is pretty rare in the TTG industry.

You're better off knowing how the laws work generally, and then knowing what is commonly accepted by the industry as below-the-radar behavior.

You should never do business with any person or company that is adversarial with you. If a company sends you a legal threat because of website or blog content, cease all dealings with that company including any promotion of their game. This would include providing supplemental materials and even playing in public. Do not do business with someone who sicks a lawyer on you. Do no spend any energy promoting the playing of a game by someone who sicks a lawyer on you.

If you make a reference document or a blog post about something and a company or individual sends you a legal threat, instead of spending your effort promoting their game, spend your effort telling people about the legal bullying and find a more deserving company to support.

The UK and US governments have rather good sites that cover copyright and other aspects of intellectual property law and give general advice in terms the layman can understand.