Hi Dark, Now, that is probably doable. Taking donations for sounds, music, etc but releasing he game as free fan fiction would probably not raise a stink with anyone over copyrights. I might be able to get away with selling a Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Star Trek game, but I don't know if I want to run the risk.
That said, your brother is absolutely right. A lot of times the cease and desist letters are the lawyers way of attempting to scare the other party into backing down and complying with what the company perceives as their rights even when they don't have a case. For example, a while back a company called Audyssey Technology wrote Raul and I to say that we were violating their trademark and wanted us to turn the Audyssey.org domain over to them etc. Well, by that time I was a good more educated about copyright law than I was when I got hit over the head with a cease and desist letter regarding Monte and chose not to back down. Raul and I wrote them back explaining that the Audyssey Magazine was started in 1996, with no knowledge of Audyssey Technology and no intend to infringe, and the Audyssey site is merely a non-profit extension of the Audyssey Magazine. Audyssey Technology backed down in a hurry, and we have never been bothered by them again. So, yes, these companies really don't want to pay expensive court costs if they don't have to. Most of the time they are paper tigers trying to scare people into submission unless its something they know they can win, and moreover if there is profit in it for them. If there is no money in it to sue another party over copyrights chances are slim to none they won't do it. That is why if I did do a Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Batman, or similar game I probably wouldn't charge for it. If I claim no money was taken for the product they can't claim I made thousands of dollars in ill gotten gains of their intellectual property and sue me over it. They are less likely to sue someone over a free game than someone who creates a game and charges $30 for x number of copies. However, that's just my point of view. Its always possible I could make a Lord of the Rings game, sell several copies, and no one will bother me over it. If so that's great, but what if they do decide to press the issue. Then, I will have to have the funds to fight it in court if they take it that far. :D Cheers! --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
