On Wed, 15 Nov 2000 15:18:37 -0500 "Stiles, Christina L"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Do you guys think that getting a lawyer from the
> get-go is
> necessary?
Well, I am an extremely cautious person. I feel that I need a lawyer
because I know so little about business. Lawyers do more than cause
legal trouble for your "enemies", they can also act as personal advisors.
If I'm going to lose money in this endeavor it's not going to be
because I was uninformed or careless.
Should a new startup necessarily incorporte to protect
> his/her
> personal assets instead of going sole proprietorship? Basically,
> are these
> MUSTS?
I think so but not because of my fear of WotC. It's just good business,
IMO. You owe it to yourself, your industry, and your employees to make
sure your license-dependent business is functioning accurately and
efficiently under that license.
>
> Or, is Wotc going to warn small startup companies who stray from the
> original intent of the license before suing them for all their
> worth?
Both licenses have grace periods for correcting errors. The real threat
to your company , IMO, is in misinterpreting the licenses in the first
place. Fixing those problems will cost a lot more money and time than
hiring a lawyer to give you a few hours worth of (hopefully) sound
advice.
> Also, is there going to be someone relegated to looking over
> people's works
> beforehand--if asked--to make sure that no unintentional
> transgressions are
> made against the license? If not, someone should.
There is no one and there probably won't be because they either don't
have the time or don't want to be held responsible for your business.
Currently you have these options: 1. Figure it all out for yourself 2.
Get unofficial help from people on these mailing lists 3. Read unofficial
FAQs 4. hire a lawyer and/or 5. wait and see if any of the highly visible
d20 projects get nailed for their interpretations.
I'm sure there is more but this is all I can think of at the moment.
: ),
Maggie
