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1.0 Legal Mumbo-Jumbo --- 1.1 Wouldn't it be nice... --- 1.2 Please Be Advised 2.0 E-mails --- 2.1 Initial Request --- 2.2 Chris Avellone --- 2.3 Lynch-Meyer Lawyers --- 2.4 Feargus Urquhart 3.0 Fallout 2 Product License --------------------------------- (1.0) LEGAL MUMBO-JUMBO --------------------------------- (1.1) WOULDN'T IT BE NICE... -------------------------------------- When we started this project back in about March 2002, we did it with the knowledge that various other modification projects for games had been ceased after being threatened with legal action. We knew that by doing what we were, we were risking the same. So, the decision was made to contact Interplay Productions and Black Isle Studios, the copyright owners of Fallout 2, and see if we couldn't get some kind of legal protection. The last thing we wanted was to start the project, only to be stopped by legal action further down the track or even before we got anywhere. Truth be told, we also wanted a really cool legal page that we could show off to people who asked about the project. Having legal permission so we could stand up upon high and shout "Behold! For we have legal protection!" to the masses below was a nice dream. Unfortunately, it remains as just that, a nice dream. However, we took the chance. We contacted Chris Avellone of Black Isle Studios with a letter which we spent far too much time on. After a few back and forth e-mails, we receieved our reply (a reply that eventually ended up in one of the Fallout Bible releases). That reply offered no protection, but it did advise us that we could "Proceed at our own risk". In other words, it wasn't a "no", but it wasn't a "yes" either. That reply also advised us to contact an intellectual property lawyer if we wanted to really protect our collective arses. We decided to do that and see what happened. After an e-mail, a meeting and a phone call, we got a response from Lynch Meyer. That wasn't good either, but it did confirm one thing, namely that we have no legal protection... ... and that's where we stand today. In short, we have no legal right to make "Fan Made Fallout" what-so-ever. In fact my understanding is that just by proceeding, we are violating copyright. On the good side, while we have no protection, it isn't as if Interplay are beating down our doors with lawyers to stop us. That doesn't mean that they won't, it just means that they aren't yet. With the current state of Interplay and if some of the rumours that are flowing fast and furious about the place are true, then things could change very rapidly. In the mean-time though (apparently "mean-time" is a good game), we'll take the advice we've received and we'll proceed at our own risk. Here's hoping that risk is worth it... (1.2) PLEASE BE ADVISED --------------------------------- * "Fan Made Fallout" is an UNOFFICIAL modification for the computer game "Fallout 2". * We are NOT ASSOCIATED with Interplay Productions and/or Black Isle Studios in any way. * We have received NO ENDORSEMENT of any kind from Interplay Productions and/or Black Isle Studios. * We have NO INTENTION of gaining financially from the creation of "Fan Made Fallout". * We DO NOT intend to cause financial or other harm to Interplay Productions and/or Black Isle Studios. (NOTE: This does not mean we will be reserving our opinion on issues concerning Interplay and/or Black Isle Studios in various internet forums.) * "Fan Made Fallout" is intended to be a whole NEW STORY within the Fallout world, not just a small mod, but essentially a new game. * "Fan Made Fallout" WILL REQUIRE the user to have an UNPIRATED copy of "Fallout 2" installed in order to install and play "Fan Made Fallout". * It is intended that once completed "Fan Made Fallout" will be available for download over the internet FOR FREE. * We are WILLING to work with Interplay and/or Black Isle Studios and alter and/or remove ANYTHING that may infringe and/or harm Interplay Productions and/or Black Isle Studios and/or their relevant copyrights. * WE WILL make sure proper credit is given to Interplay and Black Isle Studios in whatever way necessary. * WE WILL make sure proper copyright notices are given to Interplay and Black Isle Studios in the necessary legal form. * WE WILL make sure that "Fan Made Fallout" is clearly marked as an UNOFFICIAL, FAN MADE game and is in NO WAY associated with Interplay or Black Isle Studios. ----------------------- (2.0) E-MAILS ----------------------- The following are the four key e-mails that were sent and received over a period of approximately six months in 2002, regarding legal issues with the Fan Made Fallout Project. The "Initial Request" was worked on in secret in these forums (at our old site host) for about two months before finally being sent on Friday, July 05, 2002. There were then several e-mails back and forth betwen myself and Chris Avellone of Black Isle Studios, before a final reply was received from Chris Avellone on Friday, September 13, 2002. It was then a matter for me to go and chase up an intellectual property rights lawyer and see what they might say. I eventually received a phone call from Michael Hutton with his legal advice on Tuesday, December 03, 2002. That advice was e-mailed to Feargus Urquhart that day. The final reply we receieved from Feargus Urquhart came the next day on Wednesday, December 4, 2002. In the end, the result was the same as that which we received back on September 13, 2002: Proceed at your own risk. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Chris Avellone for being so willing to help us during this period. Without him chasing up people at his end, we would never have gotten anywhere (not that we really got anywhere in the end anyway, but it's the thought that counts :) ). I'd also like to thank Michael Hutton of Lynch Meyer for his very helpful legal advice, as well as Feargus Urquhart for the help he gave us from his end. (2.1) INITIAL REQUEST ------------------------------- (Friday, July 05, 2002) Dear Chris Avellone, A group of people (including myself) have gotten together with the intentions of making a "Fan Made Fallout" game. Using the Fallout 2 engine in conjunction with map editors and other tools that have been, or are being, made, we're hoping to make our own game set in the Fallout world. The problem is, we're fairly certain there will be all sorts of copyright issues, mainly because the Fallout world/engine/game is owned by Interplay/Black Isle Studios and for us to make a game using those aspects, would most likely create legal issues, unless we have permission. Which is why I'm bothering you with this e-mail. Essentially, the game we'd like to make would use everything Fallout and would end up being a big mod for Fallout 2 (meaning people would need to have a copy of Fallout 2 installed in order to play our mod). In order to avoid any legal problems associated with this, we would like to obtain legal permission to do it. However, we aren't sure who to ask in order to obtain this permission. That's why we've sent this e-mail to you. We realise that you're not in the legal department of Interplay. What we're hoping for, is if you could either contact them on our behalf (if that is at all possible) or, provide us with a person in the legal department (or someone else who handles these matters) whom we could contact ourselves. We realise you must be busy working on all sorts of projects (such as the upcoming launch of Ice-Wind Dale 2), so we can certainly understand if you don't have the time to provide us with any assistance. Essentially, we're asking permission from someone in the legal department (or whomever/whatever it is we need to do or ask) if it would be okay for us to make "Fan Made Fallout". At the moment, we've established a web-site with a forum so that we can discuss and work on ideas. The URL for this site is: http://www.brunslo.com/crimsonskies/fmf You're welcome to check it out if you wish, although you won't find much as the web-site is still in development (we've decided not to do too much, pending legal approval) and the actual dvelopment forums where we discuss the project are all hidden. The only visible forums to non-team members are the "News" and "Visitors" forums. Both of which have no details about the Fan Made Fallout project. As such, you won't find anything about the plot, locations or anything else we have discussed, as we believe it might ruin any plot or story you may have in mind for Fallout 3 and could cause unnessecary problems at this stage. As I said before, I realise you're extremely busy, but we will really appreciate any time you're willing to spend on our behalf. If there are any limitations we have for the Fan Made Fallout Project (such as using existing characters/places) or if Interplay/BIS do have a problem with the idea of us creating our own fan made game, we would like to know before we invest too much effort into the project. The Key Points. * What we intend to make is a whole new story within the Fallout world, not just a small mod, but essentially, a new game. * We are NOT asking for Interplay/BIS's endorsement, just permission to go ahead with "Fan Made Fallout" and not get sued or stopped later on. * We WILL make sure proper credit is given to Interplay and Black Isle Studios in whatever way they wish. * We WILL make sure proper copyright notices are given to Interplay and Black Isle Studios in the necessary legal form. * We will make sure that it is marked clearly as an UNOFFICIAL, FAN MADE game and WAS NOT made by Interplay or Black Isle Studios. * The game WILL require the user to have a copy of "Fallout 2" installed in order to install and play "Fan Made Fallout". * It is intended that once completed, the add-on game/mod will be available for download over the internet for free. * We are WILLING to work with Interplay and/or Black Isle Studios and alter and/or remove ANYTHING that may infringe and/or harm Interplay Corporation and/or Black Isle Studios and/or their relevant copyrights. A response (any response at all) to our request would be very much appreciated, Martin "DarkUnderlord" Schahinger - Fan Made Fallout Project Leader On behalf of the "Fan Made Fallout" Team: Daniel "Temaperacl" Gammons Will "Kotario" Nemeth Sean "zuger" Stephens Ulrich "Nervensage" Tillich Gwydion "Without any quotes or anything. It'll seem more mysterious and stupid that way." Peter "Tank" Nellemann Red, The Master of Punctuation " '...' is always 3 dots - even at the end of a sentence, and when used instead of a comma, acts like one: 'But... this is'. Quite frankly those should be avoided as much as possible." Mikkel "Rat Keeng" Danholm The following team members are wanted by various law enforcement agencies for unpaid parking fines, as such, they have refused to reveal their real names: "Mr Carrot" "Gizmo" "K~G~T" (2.2) CHRIS AVELLONE ------------------------------ (Friday, September 13, 2002) Hey, Martin, I'm sorry about the long wait on a response. I sat down with legal today and were able to get you an official answer: (And excuse the form letter nature of the response below, but this is going out to about 10-12 guys.) ---- BEGIN FORM LETTER ---- Here's the official word, and the official word is that (1) we can't give an official word, and (2) this should not be taken as "no," but as a "if you want to do it, you'll have to proceed at your own risk." Confusing? Let me explain: To give you an official word, we would have to sign contracts, which BIS doesn't have the time to do. If you still want to use the Fallout stuff, you would have to abide by trademark and copyright law regarding the Fallout license, and to do that, BIS recommends you ask an intellectual property lawyer. Lastly, this is not official permission, but as long as you don't use the Fallout license to generate income or in such a way to misrepresent or harm the license (e.g., put it up on a webpage that advertises child porn), or include misrepresentations or material that harms the license in the Fallout game/mod/whatever that you're making, or make it appear as though Interplay is the source of your material (e.g., "This is the official Interplay-sponsored MUSH!"), you should be all right. Again, this is not official permission, just a guide for what BIS suggests you do if you want to use the Fallout license. We just want you to know if you choose to use the Fallout license, you could potentially be taking some legal risks. ---- END FORM LETTER ---- So basically, you can use Fallout if you're willing to take the intellectual property lawyer risks. This isn't a "no" or an "official yes," just a "if you want to do this, you'll be proceeding at your own risk." I wish we could just come out and say, "sure," but we don't have the time for contracts. In my opinion, as long as you hold true to the Fallout license, make sure there's no money involved, and don't claim it's an Interplay-sponsored or official thing, you should be fine. Again, sorry for the wait and thanks for your patience, Martin - if you guys go ahead with it, I'm looking forward to it. :) Chris Avellone @ BIS (2.3) LYNCH-MEYER LAWYERS ----------------------------------- (Tuesday, December 03, 2002) Hi Chris and Feargus (I figured I'd send this to you both), Remember how I said I'd try to chase up all that legal stuff with an IP lawyer at my end? Well, I was finally able to chase it up with Michael Hutton, an IP lawyer from Lynch Meyer: http://www.lynchmeyer.com.au/ This is the gist of the phone conversation he had with me, after I sent him our request, the Fallout 2 End-User Licence Agreement and the response we received from you: * He thinks you (BIS/Interplay) are being "cute" and he was left "kind of cold" from the form e-mail response, it essentially offers no legal protection at all. (Which is what I think we all knew) * If we proceed without permission, we WOULD be infringing your rights. * Without some input from you, you have all rights in relation to the game and we essentially have no rights to do it. * He felt that we didn't need to sign contracts but that, if you were prepared to do so, we only needed a letter from you acknowledging our request and specifying terms and conditions by which we can proceed with the project. * He expected that one of those terms/conditions would be making sure that we at all times said this was an "unofficial" modification. * We need this acknowledgement so that if the owners (of BIS/Interplay) change, we don't have a dispute. I realise this is probably pretty much what you expected. As I said, I think we all knew that the form response doesn't offer any sort of legal protection (Considering it does actually say that in the response). His main feeling was that we did need something from you though. Otherwise, he felt that we WOULD be infringing your rights. Which I suppose becomes a problem. Either way, the FMF team are quite happy to risk litigation and/or being stopped and go ahead with the project, with full knowledge that we have no legal protection. Our main aim in all of this has been our feeling that "it would be kind of nice" to have some sort of legal document up on the web-site to show that we are serious about this, and not going to disband in a months time like so many similar projects seem to do. It's also to cover our asses so that there was some comfort in the knowledge that we wouldn't be shutdown. I realise that that may not happen. I also understand that BIS/Interplay may be unwilling to give us that protection. I can understand that in the future, for whatever reason, BIS /Interplay may want to shut us down (the running joke in the forum being that we'd be a threat to sales if a real Fallout 3 was in production). So, we're in the position of "proceed at your own risk", which we're comfortable with doing. Of course, we would LOVE to have a document from you giving us support and laying out terms and conditions under which we can proceed, even if one of those terms is "BIS/Interplay reserve the right to withdraw this support for whatever reason they see fit". Anyway, I thought I'd just make you aware of the advice we'd received on this end. Martin Schahinger Fan Made Fallout Project Leader (2.4) FEARGUS URQUHART -------------------------------- (Wednesday, December 4, 2002) Hi Martin, You and the lawyer are correct about our comments back to you concerning moving forward on your project. The difficulty is that we can not officially sanction things like this. That is why we tell people that whether they move forward or not is entirely dependent on their own decisions. We receive a myriad of requests every week about using Fallout for one thing or another and if we tried to create a contract or agreement with every person that contacted us we would then have a file cabinet full of agreements and two lawyers dedicated to it. So, at this point, I can't offer you anything more concrete. Sorry, Feargus ----------------------------------------- (3.0) FALLOUT 2 PRODUCT LICENSE ----------------------------------------- This copy of FALLOUT 2 (the Software) is intended solely for your personal noncommercial home entertainment use. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Software, except as permitted by law. Interplay Entertainment Corp. retain[s] all right, title and interest in the Software including all intellectual property rights embodied therein and derivatives thereof. The Software, including, without limitation, all code, data structures, characters, images, sounds, text, screens, game play, derivative works and all other elements of the Software may not be copied, resold, rented, leased, distributed (electronically or otherwise), used on pay-per-play, coin-op or other for-charge basis, or for any commercial purpose. Any permissions granted herein are provided on a temporary basis and can be withdrawn by Interplay Entertainment Corp. at any time. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. By acquiring and retaining this Software, you assent to the terms and restrictions of this limited license. If you do not accept the terms of this limited license, you must return the Software together with all packaging, manuals, and other material contained therein to the store where you acquired the Software for a full refund. Copyright 1998 Interplay Entertainment Corp. All rights reserved. Fallout 2 is a trademark of Interplay Entertainment Corp. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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