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Level of Protection

5 replies [Last post]
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 18:41
spidey03
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Hi All,

I am really thinking about selling my game, but I am a little nervous about being sued. I have made sure that all of my images and fonts are public domain. All other graphics have been created by me. My game is very loosely based on Dominion. Games such as Thunderstone are closer to Dominion than mine. With that being said, and the fact that you have not seen my stuff and the fact that you are not lawyers, how concerned about being sued should I be? Am I just being paranoid? I have a wife and two kids so it is making me a little nervous about something that happening that I just cannot foresee. I am thinking of starting a gaming business and I don't know if I should go LLC or Sole Proprietor. Any thoughts?

Thanks and in no way will I hold anyone accountable for law advice. I just want to know what the general consensus is.

Sincerely,
Dan

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Tue, 01/03/2012 - 19:12
#1
bonsaigames
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C&D Letter

spidey03 wrote:
With that being said, and the fact that you have not seen my stuff and the fact that you are not lawyers, how concerned about being sued should I be?

All that being said, I would expect to get a cease and desist letter before I was sued if I was in your situation.

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Wed, 01/04/2012 - 09:19
#2
Dralius
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What have you done that makes

What have you done that makes you think you might get sued?

Did you copy any text, proprietary terminology from Dominion?

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Wed, 01/04/2012 - 21:46
#3
J. Alex K.
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Donald X is actually pretty

Donald X is actually pretty responsive on BGG. You can send him a message with a description and your concerns to see what he thinks.

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Fri, 01/06/2012 - 12:57
#4
spidey03
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Just want to cover my bases.

Thanks Dralius,

I really don't think that I am going to get sued. I am moving into a territory that I am not familiar with and the unknown has me a little nervous. I didn't copy any text or proprietary terminology from any source. I am starting this as a small side business and I don't want something to happen that could affect my family. I think I am being too paranoid. I am trying to think of the worse case scenario.

What is the worse thing that can happen to a person who sells a game and runs into legal trouble? Is it likely that they can take everything you have or will they just go after the profits made on the game?

I want to start as a sole proprietor but I am afraid I will not have the proper protection. My game is a simple 177 cards game.

Thanks
"Paranoid" Dan

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Fri, 01/06/2012 - 16:18
#5
Dralius
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sole proprietorships are easy

sole proprietorships are easy to set up but offer no distinction between you and the company. In other words you are the company. You might want to look into forming an LLC if you feel you might need that separation for tax or other reasons.

As far as being sued copyright doesn't protect an idea just its expression; how the rules are written, art, etc.. and there are plenty of deck building games already on the market.

If you can expand your game to 180 cards it will be cheaper to produce. Why is more less?

Cards are printed one huge sheets of paper which are the sliced up into the deck. The most common size sheets 54,55, & 60 cards. Since there is no automated process to take extra cards out of the run the printer has to pay someone to do it as the slicer cuts the cards out making it cost more per deck.

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