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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: FASALou@***.com
Subject: [EarthDawn] Re: FASA and the Net
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 94 14:51:54 EDT
Hey guys,
Here is a copy of the letter Tom Dowd sent to Robert Hayden regarding
trademark/copyright issues and the InterNet.

*** BEGIN INSERT ***

Dear Robert:

Thank you very much for your e-mail of Monday, August 1, 1994. We are aware
of TSR's requests regarding Internet files pertaining to their copyright and
trademark materials. While we understand TSR's position in this matter, we at
this time have no plans to make a similar request.

The problem is a difficult one as it addresses the unanswered (at this time)
question of what, with regard to publishing, distribution, and access,
networks such as Internet, are. United States and International courts (to
the best of our knowledge) have been either hesitant or unwilling to
categorize electronic files on a network such as Internet with regard to
whether or not their existence and manner of distribution does in fact
constitute copyright/trademark infringement, or is in fact simple "fair use"
of said copyrights/trademarks.

The way current United States and International copyright/trademark law is
written is that if a challenger to said rights and marks can prove that at
any time in the past the holder of those rights/marks a) knew of a existing
rights/marks violation, and b) failed to pursue said rights/marks violation,
ownership of those rights/marks can be questioned. This means that, in order
to maintain ones rights/marks, a holder must actively pursue any and all
potential violations, no matter how questionable or non-offensive that
violation may appear. This often forces companies, such as FASA, to take
actions we rather not take. The consequence is, unfortunately, that if we do
not we could loose our copyrights/trademarks. The consequence of that would
be the dissolution of FASA as a company and employer, as the virtue and
strengths of those rights/marks is what we live and profit by.

This does not mean that we do not have our concerns about the possibility
that the presence and distribution of Internet files containing FASA's
copyrighted and trademarked material are in fact a violation of those
copyrights/trademarks. We are, however, awaiting a more definitive legal
ruling on that matter before we our selves reach any decisions. This does
mean that we have for all intents and purposes elected to reserve the right
to request at some time in the future that any and all material containing or
pertaining to our copyrights/trademarks be withdrawn from distribution.

In the meantime, there are a couple of points which if followed can and will
make life easier for everyone involved.

1) Inclusion of verbatim text from any copyrighted product or novel is
strictly forbidden under US and International Copyright law, without the
copyright holder's permission. Except if otherwise noted, by written
agreement, this right is withheld by FASA Corporation in all instances.
(What this means, simply, is that you can't copy portions of any of our
products or novels into an electronic document and then distribute it. This
primarily pertains to large blocks of text, such as rules, stories, fiction,
and so on, rather than game statistics or individual proper nouns or slang,)

2) Any electronic material that includes or reference any of FASA copyrights
or trademarks must include the statement (in all copies):
Shadowrun is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. Original
Shadowrun material Copyright 1994 by FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Used without permission. Any use of FASA Corporation';s copyrighted material
or trademarks in this file should not be viewed as a challenged to those
copyrights or trademarks.
(In the above, Shadowrun is used as an example. The relevant game line
should be referenced instead. Also, the current year, or year of creation of
the electronic file should be used as well.
Ideally, this statement should be positioned as close to either the
beginning of the document/file or immediately following the title/credits.)

3) Any use of artwork or graphics without written permission is expressly
forbidden. This includes use of the trademarked line-identifying logo.

4) Under no circumstances, for any reason, can any money at all exchange
hands with regard to the duplication, transmission, forwarding, handling,
shipping, packaging, or transfer of material containing or pertaining to FASA
copyrights and trademarks. This includes shareware and fees/costs for
duplicating online material for non-online distribution.
(This is because the courts have been very vague about defining what is
meant by "profiting" from the use of a copyright or trademark. It is
generally taken that the exchange or payment of any money for any reason
could be viewed as "profiting" and thereby violate the copyrights or
trademarks. This is usually the area that most copyright/trademark violation
occurs that we have to deal with whether we want to or not.
Specifically, as a result of all this, we have learned that fees are
being charged for duplication and shipping of the Shadowlore book from the
NERPS mailing list available at NERPS@*****.BITNET. We must request that this
practice cease immediately. The book may continue to be distributed via the
Internet, or on paper, as long as the above noted trademark and copyright
notices are included, but money cannot change hands regarding it. We regret
having to make these forms of demands, but feel that current law requires us
to.)

We believe that this, at this time, addresses all of our concerns regarding
online files and net.publication. The law, however, will undoubtedly change
in the near future, and when it does FASA may need to change its position as
well. Many future problems with regard to online files and net.publications
could be avoided if network users remained vigilant of the potential
violation of copyrights and trademarks of all kinds. It appears obvious to me
that if the net is able to police itself, others will not feel the need to.

The last thing that we want to do is stifle anyone's enjoyment of the
material we create. That is, after all, one of the primary reasons we do it.
We are also aware that the discussion of the material and the creation and
elaboration of new or existing material is part of that enjoyment, and we
encourage it. There are, however, valid copyright and trademark
considerations that have to be addressed within those contexts.

Again, thank you very much for your letter. We are very pleased that you and
others on Internet (and other locales) are concerned about our trademarks and
copyrights to inquire as to our stand on the matter. If you have any further
questions, or need any additional clarification, please feel free to reach me
at either FASA.SUPPORT@*****.GEIS.COM or FASATom@***.COM. Please, however, do
not subscribe me to any mailing lists or user groups as I, unfortunately, do
not have the time to read, let alone respond, to that volume of mail (though
I wish I had.) We can also be reached at our archaic address of 1100 West
Cermak, Suite B305, Chicago, IL, 60608.

Sincerely yours,
Tom Dowd
Director of Product Development
FASA Corporation

*** END INSERT ***

I hope this clears things up regarding our (FASA's) policies regarding the
InterNet.

Take Care,

Lou Prosperi
------------

I hope I have been of some assistance.

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