>The "Concept Use" clause prevents you
>from being able to litigate on the basis that Issaries have "Stolen
>your concept and changed the name" to avoid paying you for your
>idea.
All IMO.
There is a potential problem for Issaries around fans producing material that forms a barrier to their being able to make a living from their IP. Consider this scenario. You write some great Jrustela material. Your friends and admirers tell you how great it is, awards beckon, no other supplement on Jrustela need ever been written. You look forward to filling the hearts of the community with joy. II now has a problem. It is unlikely that they will be able to sell much Jrustela material in competition. Yours is definitive. Even if Greg doesn't agree with it, anyone looking at it would just use yours and II would meet objections from the community to releasing anything else. So II will never make any money from Jrustela. So they ask to work with you and make it an II product. But let's say you cannot agree terms, because you cannot stand II creative viewpoint or you are unreasonable about the economics of any deal. IMO, but then I have been schooled in some fairly ruthless capitalism, II has to be able to turn you down to protect its ability to make money from its IP with future Jrustela supplements. They also have to prevent you from dragging them through the court if they try to do so. Ultimately Greg has to eat and pay the rent.
The way to avoid being a bunkmate to disaster here is to communicate with Issaries. Tell them what you want to do before you do it. I expect Greg would love to have the world's greatest Jrustela supplement, and I'm sure you are sensible enough to be realistic about changes and economics.
Let's keep some perspective though, the real problem the community faces is that is more likely that no one is writing the world's greatest XXXXX supplement and we need people to contact II and offer to do so for them, directly. The rest is just 'barracks lawyer' speculation.
Remember folks II don't have to give us anything. The fact that they do so, which may be commercially sensible in the gaming field, but is certainly altruistic, is positive. The fact that they are trying to protect their IP is only sensible. Let's not act like a bunch of ungrateful children.
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