RE: [piecepack] Four Seasons. (LONG)

["Toren" <toren@...>]

Wow Ron this subject really strikes a nerve doesn't it? ( and I'm not saying
that's a bad thing )

It's good to see people get passionate about things they care about, but
don't dismiss the Mesomorph

expansion so quickly, you can always simply go by the colors of the suits
and be compatible with

two of the commercial sets and most of the sets that people print and make
themselves.  Unfortunately 

causes an incompatibility with the JCD sets but as it looks even using suits
past the original causes 

that with any set made.  

 

I've sent this the same sentiment to people in the past who were worried
about  using the IPG suits in 

their  rule sets.

 

Just a quick reply without touching on the issue.

 

Toren

IcePack Games

http://icepackgames.com

 

  _____  

From: Ron Hale-Evans [mailto:rwhe@...] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 1:24 AM
To: piecepack@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [piecepack] Four Seasons. (LONG)

 

*	
It may be news to some that you _can_ make money with ideas that are
in the public domain, or open source, or Free, but you can.  Just ask
Red Hat, or more to the point, the manufacturers of Bicycle brand
standard playing cards.  Until now, I had always assumed Mesomorph saw
the wisdom of this model, and were relying on their craft and customer
service to sell their piecepacks, not the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office.

I have no doubt that Mesomorph can get a patent on their pawn saucers.
They are indeed an innovative solution to the directional pawn
problem, but if the USPTO will issue a patent on _teasing a cat with a
laser pointer_ (no kidding), then it goes to show that all you really
need to get a patent is money.  If pawn saucers are patented, I
recommend that people who need directional pawns in their game merely
specify just that, perhaps suggesting piecepack pyramids as one
option.  That's what I'm going to do.

As for the trademark on the 4 Seasons Expansion, first of all, anyone
can get a trademark on anything.  Watch this: "Hoopichoo" is a
trademark of Ronald W. Hale-Evans for his series of articles on game
systems.  There.  Now I have a trademark, represented by the
superscripted letters 'TM'.  Enforcing that trademark, and getting a
_registered_ trademark (represented by the superscripted 'R' in a
circle) is quite another matter.  And costs lots of money.

> As a result IF a new JCD set is to follow it will be one of the
> following themes (which I list here in a feeble attempt to get the
> ideas into the public domain):
> 
>   *  The 4 cardinal points (North, South, East, West)
>   *  The 4 elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) 
>   *  The 4 horsemen  (Pestilence, War, Famine, Death)

I like the four elements idea the best of the three by far.

I am not a lawyer, but I hope this perspective helps.  Don't let
IP laws get you down.  There's almost always a workaround.  If there
is no workaround in this case, I am not going to use the 4 Seasons 
Expansion in my games, and I recommend others do not do so as well.

Of course, the actual legalities aren't the whole of it; maintaining a
stable working community by not stepping on people's toes is an
important thing to consider as well.  It would be sad to see
Piecepack.org go up in a flame war, for example.


Ron H-E

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