Re: (TFT) Dragons of Underearth

["Craig W. Barber" <craigwbar@comcast.net>]

Correct.   The first legal purchaser of IP gains a legal right to sell it
(thus those shrink wrap "license" agreements for s/w!).  But that person
doesn't own the IP rights, just the copies they legally purchased and can
sell.  So the DOU sellers, if not affiliated with HT, have *no* rights to
complain against John.

Regarding HT himself: The actual exception I'm thinking of is not "fair use"
(which is never as much protection as people think it is) but rather
unavailability, vis, if it ain't available on the market you can do a bit of
limited copying.  (The problem with this legal theory is that I can no longer
remember the names of the cases that support it.)

Next level of legal anal (that stands for legal analysis, of course) would the
people selling DOU second hand count as making it available???   Doesn't seem
reasonable either: they could run out any day, not even actually have it in
stock at all, or whatever.   And their sales do not alter HT's position of not
making it available and not making any profits on it.

(And yet another comment: HT should be encouraging guys like John, as what
John is doing INCREASES the value of TFT, not decreases it.  Remember, HT is
not selling TFT.  Thus, John's efforts increase interest in TFT and thus make
it more likely that someday someone WILL pick up where HT left off, buy /
license TFT from HT, net result to HT's financial advantage.  It would be
almost impossible for HT to prove John financially hurt him in any way. )

Hard to see how HT could win, or even why he would *want* to complain.  And if
HT got in touch, John would obviously cooperate completely anyway.

Of course, ask me tomorrow and I'll give you the opposite opinion.

Other lawyers on the list have any better opinions?

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Ed Thorn
  To: tft@brainiac.com
  Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 9:54 PM
  Subject: Re: (TFT) Dragons of Underearth


  I have to disagree.  You may anger the merchant.  But I suspect DOU and
other TFT-era games are not being bought for marketing buzz, but for
nostalgia.

  I've got a Kipling's collected works on my shelf, bound in leather.  I
should not assume that if I put up a  website offering it for sale, that I
would then have cause against Project Gutenburg.


  ----- Original Message ----
  From: Craig W. Barber <craigwbar@comcast.net>
  To: tft@brainiac.com
  Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 1:21:49 PM
  Subject: Re: (TFT) Dragons of Underearth

  John:

  If DOU is available, than it is probably *not* a good idea to PDF that
one!!

      Craig
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