Hero Wars
Issaries, Inc. |
Fan MaterialFan Publication Policy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)While the official policy is necessarily in legalese, this FAQ will do all it can to avoid that kind of language. Be sure to also read the Publisher's Introduction to the Fan Policy and Fan Policy Legalese which have other information as well.Why have a policy instead of just letting me do what I want?A benign world, free of rules, policies and onerous compliance would be great to live in. But (sorry!) life doesn't work that way. Bad things can happen to honest businesses that don't protect themselves, and we've fought the "makin' rules" trend for probably longer than we should have. Business is tough enough without worrying about legal battles with other companies that would want to trespass onto our intellectual rights. If we let people just do whatever they want, sooner of later we stand a really scary chance of competition stealing our gaming world out from under us. You may not be in it for the money, but they will be.Is this policy a draft or another one of those "unfinished works"?No. This is the official real deal. It is a living document, and it may be updated occasionally.It is pretty draconian.It might appear to be to the newcomer, but it could be far more draconian than it is. It states the necessary facts to protect Glorantha's intellectual property rights. Legal language goes for defining worst conditions and brutal definitions. But most of the conditions in this document can be alleviated by licensing, which is what this is about.Licensing?Yea. Getting a license from Issaries is the key to making it easy. Just write in and tell us what you want to do. We will work out a deal and make a license for what you want to do. It's easy for simple things - write in to us by email to get your web-license forms.Isn't this Policy just a hollow sham without the appendices?No. While it would be better explained with them, none of the appendices (that are still being written) contain anything beyond examples of the policy in action to help make it understandable. They are a nice addition, but do not add to the policy rules.What is the grace period for complying with the policy?We would really like everyone to be compliant as soon as possible. What we're asking immediately is that you apply it to all of your current and future publishing efforts. If you work with us, especially to get the ball rolling, we will do all we can to work with you. If you would rather wait for us to hound you into compliance we are sincerely sorry that you feel that way, and hope you will rethink your strategy. Let's all find a way to make this work. We want to get on with enjoying the game world and all its creative joy, not being compliance cops.Who does this affect?Most Gloranthan fans will be totally unaffected by the policy. You can carry on as before; playing the game, talking about your ideas, posting messages on newsgroups, enjoying the social atmosphere of the Gloranthan community. The only time you need to pause and think about the policy is when you want to publish something that isn't wholly your original creation. Some people love expanding and building upon Gloranthan material that has already been published. We want to encourage everyone to do that as much as they desire and need you to respect the process we have set up to do this.Is this just a money thing?Not really. Money is important and without it there will be no published Glorantha. But wherever money changes hands then the implications of legal intellectual property issues take seed. So Issaries needs to get involved and have a say in what you do with those creations when you want to distribute them when money is involved.It's pretty dense and boring.Absolutely. You don't have to read it all if that is more than you want to tackle. Just scan through the Table of Contents at the beginning and zero in on the sections that apply to what you want to do. If in doubt, contact Issaries and ask. Communication is a good thing.What kinds of Gloranthan activities are outside of this policy?Most things aren't covered. Continue doing the following as before with:
What main types of things is Issaries covering with this policy?The Policy covers four main things:
The "Concept Use" statement seems to give you permission to steal from me and not credit me.This is absolutely not true. It would be illegal, and Issaries has absolutely no intention of using your work without your permission and without giving you credit. What needs to be made clear is the difference between using a "concept" and using a body of your work. A concept is something as simple as a single place name, the name of a person, or the name of an event. It is very difficult for Issaries to track down the original author of a simple idea, like who came up with the concept that "Harvar Ironfist has red hair," and always give them credit. There is no realistic way to credit everyone who contributed some cool little item as part of a larger concept. Often, small concepts were worked on by a number of people and there is no clear development history. It is impossible for Issaries to do it, and the policy needs to state that Issaries has no obligation to do this.Bodies of work are an entirely different matter. An example would be writing a page on the City of Boldhome. Issaries can only use a body of work with author permission and credit. You are not giving away your rights to be named as the author. If you honestly believe that Issaries would steal your work, you may want to seriously consider another gaming world to write about. Glorantha has been a group creative effort for many years now. Every effort is made to give credit where due. Also, whenever someone has made it known to Issaries that they have not credited someone properly Issaries credited that individual through a subsequent announcement, usually with an apology for the omission. What about my rights to "Fair Use" of Gloranthan material?"Fair Use" allows anyone to make use of copyrighted material within certain guidelines. This includes discussion, commentary, criticism and parody. The bulk of what is posted on various newsgroups is "Fair Use", and all of that can carry on as normal. No permission or licenses are needed for those types of "fair use". Issaries actually extends "Fair Use" to include additional types of similar things, including: campaign write-ups, alternative viewpoints, house rules, and the like.I have a website just for fun and no money is involved, so how can I quickly become policy compliant?This is probably the most common situation where people are affected by the policy. We want to keep the process as transparent, simple, and successful as possible. Just contact Issaries and let us know you want to get licensed. You will get a letter of instructions and an agreement. If you agree, then follow the instructions in the letter. Your site will not have to pause, just put a few new paragraphs (listed below) on your site and follow these easy steps:
How long will it take to get my derivative work or other stuff through the approval process?There are no guarantees because there are too many variables involved, but we aren't here to stifle creativity. We aren't going to try to make you write something else. It all depends on how much material you submit and how many other submissions are also being reviewed. Issaries will strive to do the approvals as quickly as they can, and have hired someone specifically to do the initial screening. Additional offers to help are always welcome.Furthermore, if you are on a deadline, Issaries cannot guarantee we can meet it. Ask as far ahead of time as possible. What's that thing about Issaries can publish it instead of me?We want the best stuff and the core Gloranthan materials to be from us. So Issaries retains the right to ask to publish key material from any source. The authors can refuse, of course, but so can Issaries if they are working on that very subject, or any other reason. That is the ultimate use of the property, after all. But we hope that anyone working on Gloranthan material would like to have it published and become Gloranthan canon.What if Issaries demands changes (or indeed says no) to a submitted work?Negotiation and discussion of such decisions is possible, but in the end Issaries has the final say. If you can't find a way to compromise and rework the material to get it approved, you won't be able to publish it.How tough will it be to get "Derivative material" approved for publication?Without sounding trite, it all depends on how derivative it is. If it makes very heavy use of Issaries material then it is less likely to get approved, since it would require us to license a great deal of our proprietary material. As for approving content, if something you want to publish adversely impacts what we will want to publish, we may forbid it (see above).Quite simply, much of the time when you ask us to approve derivative material we will quickly say yes, and in return we will expect you to follow our guidelines for doing so, namely crediting the original sources, and using the appropriate concept use and trademark statements. Are you trying to crush opposing viewpoints with your Iron fist of veto power?Issaries is not out to crush alternative viewpoints or diversity of theory. After all, who better personifies and supports the concept of "YGWV" than Issaries Inc. itself?The License is your Friend |
