[Icehouse] Huh?

[Carl Worth]

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:44:49 -0400, Andy Looney wrote:
>
> Speaking of patents, here's a highly relevant article I wrote 5 years ago,
> which provides a lot of detail on our thoughts and wishes for the pyramids:
>
>     http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Andy/Games/PatentsAndLawsuits.html

Thanks for sharing that Andy, (both originally, and reminding us of it
in the discussion now).

It is interesting to discuss what the various details of copyright,
trademark, and patent law allow for. But I think it's more important
to just respect the wishes of people that create and share wonderful
things.

Andy says:

    Here is our new official policy:

    * If you manufacture and sell your own Icehouse pieces, but you
      make less than $100 a year doing so, we ask only that you send
      us a sample of your wares.

    * If you're making more than $100 a year profit selling Icehouse
      pieces, we would request then that you pay us a small royalty on
      each sale.

Now, a Big Evil Corporation might look at a statement like that and
ask, "What law gives him the power to enforce that?", or "Can we work
around any of his trademarks, copyrights, and patents and still make
money off of these pyramids".

But, me, I look at that and understand and accept Andy's wishes. If I
were ever to consider going into the pyramid-making business, I'd make
the decision to do it or not based on the terms above, (which would
mean negotiating the royalty amount with Looney Labs).

Personally, I think it's really important to respect the intent of
creators, (whether of games, software, etc.), regardless of whether
there's any codified law that gives them the ability to use the
government to enforce that intent. And I think that's simply part of
being a good human.

-Carl
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