Legal stuff

[Blum]

During the latest creator's hour we received a question about eventual legal problems with Manton. The format of creator's hour does not allow for a long response, therefore a short response was given. Here, I will try to summarise the possible problems SMR could encounter if Manton decided to sue. There was a much longer version of this, but unfortunately my computer crashed before I saved it and I am too lazy to write it again.

1. What law is applicable in this case?
There is an old principle in IP law(that's short for intellectual property, the branch of law we are dealing with) that says that the applicable law is the law of the country where the alleged infringement took place. Since Spock is in Germany and his server is in Germany, German law is applicable.

2. What rights did Manton have and that Spock could've broken in relations to SM?
Since most IP rights require registration and Manton, as far as we know, never registered anything in Germany, the only right he has, is the copyright.

3. What does copyright cover?
Copyright covers code, images and text. In this case, code is written in a different language, therefore no infringement is possible. The case is quite different for images and text.
Images: most images are so small and simple that they do not fullfill originality and creativity requirements. The only images that do fall under copyright are the racial images.
Text: Racial names fall under copyright. The "Federation is falling apart....." text falls under copyright. Some ship and weapon names fall under copyright.

4. So, what is going to happen?
Well, if Manton does sue and he has the rights to all the things mentioned above(which is something he would have to prove in a german court) he has a rather good chance to win. If he does win, Spock would have to pay Manton for all the losses Manton sustained due to Spock's use of his property(which is 0), plus a certain "fair compensation", which is something that Spock would've normally had to pay if he licensed all that stuff. As far as I understand the subject, the compensation would be very small.

5. So, will Manton sue?
Well, I don't know, but if he did, it would cost him significantly more than he would win. In most European countries(I have not checked Germany in particular, since my german is too rusty for that) the loser pays at least a part of winners costs. In this case, I am convinced that most of the costs would stay with Manton. I am talking here about the costs assosciated with being involved in a process in a foreign country. So, I find it very hard to believe that the eventual compensation Manton would receive would be larger than his costs.

6. There is a six?
Yes, a small disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, I am just a law student in the end of my education. The information I am providing is about a system that, despite being very similar to the one used in my home country, is slightly different from what I am used to, so it is quite possible, although unlikely, that there are mistakes in this document.