Excellent opportunity but who would agree to this ?

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Ezri's Toy
Regardless of whether the contract is for new writers or industry professionals, I believe the provisions of the agreement in question are wholly unfair and, as much as I would love to see a Star Trek RPG credit to my name, I would not submit anything to Decipher under those terms.

Good for you. Stick to your guns.


One less competitor for me.

[Ergi]

Okay, let's get serious again, boys (and girls, are there any?).

Maybe somebody with good ties to Decipher should tell them about the general opinion about this contract and its effects.
Perhaps they would be willing to change a few points for the benefit of both sides. I believe it is important that they realize that this isn't a win-lose situation, meaning every step they make towards the people willing to submit something will be negative for the company's goals, but a situation that could be lucrative for everybody.

This is one of the major problems in negotiations. People usually assume that the goals of the other party are opposing their own.

[Liz Not Beth]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[Greg Smith]

Originally posted by Ineti
Good for you. Stick to your guns.


One less competitor for me.

And me. Of course I submitted my episode back in November and haven't heard anything, nor have any appeared. So I've pretty much given up on seeing Decipher publish it (or anyone else's).

As for not getting paid - been there done that. I had a scenario published in Battletechnology magazine which I never got paid for.

[KillerWhale]

I would be ready to write for no pay. Heck, I did it a dozen times willingly and never regretted it!

What I have never (and will never), let go of was my name. If I work for no fee, no problem, but if it's to be published, the only thing I won't negotiate is that I want the work clearly attributed to me.

A publisher asking otherwise of an author is not professional in many ways I can think of.

I'd be ready to sign the agreement if it was for no fee but my work were clearly identified. That's how we work for btvs-rpg.net for example: obviously we cannot pay anyone, but we take very much at heart that each author be credited accurately. Doing otherwise is... well, I think you get my picture

[xanix]

Originally posted by KillerWhale
I would be ready to write for no pay. Heck, I did it a dozen times willingly and never regretted it!

What I have never (and will never), let go of was my name. If I work for no fee, no problem, but if it's to be published, the only thing I won't negotiate is that I want the work clearly attributed to me.

And I think this is the main point that many here have been trying to drive home. I've read the agreement. The only part I'd like to see changed is the may to a will or must. I could care less if they ever publish it and pay me. I only want it clear that if they do publish it they give credit where credit is due.

It's true I'll never be able to web-publish it, or loan it to a friend, or even run it myself (I assume that falls under use of the work), but if I set out to write something specifically for the open submission all I'm personally after is the credit.

Let's face it even seasoned freelancers probably don't make all their income from RPG publishing. It probably suppliments their income. We're not talking about romance novels or bestsellers here... it's a very narrow niche market and as such the pay can't be great. That's why the money doesn't matter to me. But if I write something and it is used I want my bragging rights. Look at the LUG Trek adventures and other resources published on this site. Look at the netbooks housed here. They're all offered free of charge, but they are all properly credited. Even the layout and cover artists of the netbooks are credited.

I'm not trying to open up the can of worms any more. Do I personnally think Decipher would not give credit when they publish one of the submitted adventures? No. My experience with Decipher is that they are normally more than fair (although I know there are those who would disagree with this, but this has been my experience). But my belief that Decipher would give credit isn't a guarantee that they will. True the contract in no guarantee either, but at least if they don't hold up their end you have a way to seek reparations to make it fair (for instance by having them own up to it later on, or by relinquishing rights back to the author).

Anyway that is my 2 cents.

Oh and on the subject of the c.v.(s) there is an instance in the United States where medical and even school records are revealed in application for a job. Many public officials open up such sealed records as these when they run for office.

[Greg Smith]

Originally posted by xanix

It's true I'll never be able to web-publish it, or loan it to a friend, or even run it myself (I assume that falls under use of the work), but if I set out to write something specifically for the open submission all I'm personally after is the credit.

If you submit a scenario to Decipher you don't actually have to sign the agreement until they accept the scenario. Should they reject it, you'll be able to web-publish it, submit it elsewhere or do whatever you choose with it.

Of course I submitted mine in November and I've been waiting six months for a yay or nay. I can handle rejections (I've had more than a few of those), but I'd like to know one way or the other. It's unfortunate that Decipher won't give me that courtesy.

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Greg Smith
It's unfortunate that Decipher won't give me that courtesy.

I don't think it's a question of "won't" as much as it is a question of "can't, yet." I'm willing to bet that all the submissions are sitting on the line developer's desk (or in his briefcase or spread all over his house) along with the manuscripts for many more supplements, production schedules, contracts, layouts for upcoming work, etc. etc.

I've been waiting to hear something since early February on my submission, so I understand your pain, Greg.

EDIT: Check that. I haven't been sitting around and waiting. I've been busy working on other stuff in the meantime. Just wanted to clarify.

[Greg Smith]

Maybe, but six months is a very long time for accecptance or rejection of a submission in my experience.

[Ezri's Toy]

Originally posted by Greg Smith
Maybe, but six months is a very long time for accecptance or rejection of a submission in my experience.

And, unfortunately, under the terms of the RGA Author's Agreement, they can sit on it in perpetuity. There's no kill clause or timetable in the written contract.

Furthermore, according to my attorney, the phrase "accepted published word" is slippery terminology. How so ?

1) The work can be accepted but not published. If the work is not published, no payment to the author is necessary because the work under consideration did not meet the terms of the contract in question.

2) From the RGA Author's Agreement: 3) Author agrees that by signing this Agreement s/he is selling, transferring and assigning all his/her right, title and ownership interest in and to the RGA, including without limitation worldwide copyrights and any moral rights in perpetuity. Further, Author understands that Decipher will have the sole and exclusive right to use the RGA in anyway it wants, in any medium it wants, throughout the entire universe without additional compensation or credit to Author.

By signing the contract and agreeing to the terms of Section 3 above, you have already transferred ownership of your RGA to Decipher for compensation which is contingent on the RGA's publication.

Further, since what is under consideration is the original RGA as you wrote it, if Decipher decides to take your RGA and completely rewrite it (which they are allowed to do under the terms of the contract), they can publish their revision without payment or credit to the original author since the original RGA hasn't been published.

And that is why I will not submit anything to Decipher under the terms of their RGA Author's Agreement.

Disclaimer: Please note that the scenarios above are only what might be possible under the terms of Decipher's RGA Author's Agreement and does not necessarily reflect what _will_ happen. Furthermore, I am not an attorney-at-law and the above is NOT formal legal advice. To be absolutely certain of your rights and legal standings, please consult a licensed professional attorney.

[Don Mappin]

The horse is dead. Stop beating it.

Seriously. You're complaining to the wrong people. I didn't write the contract. Doug didn't write the contract. Jesse didn't write the contract. If you had any legitimate desire to resolve the situation you wouldn't be spending it here bemoaning the fact of how evil this contract is and how Decipher is somehow trying to pull the wool over your collective eyes.

If you really want to initiate a change you need to talk to the people that can do something about it. Send an e-mail to Warren Holland and the Adventure Submissions address. Write a clear, concise letter and be polite. Point out the problems you have with the contract then provide some suggested alternatives. Under no circumstances should you act like you have in this thread, tossing around phrases like "crap" and "ridiculous."

I know it's a lot easier to complain than it is to write and put yourself out for rejection. Get the contract fixed and put your money where your mouth is. Turn this negative into a positive…

...for everyone.

[Don Mappin]

I'm sorry if my pervious post came off soundly snarky (it wasn't intended) but I'm just shaking my head at how this thread has just continued for 4 pages without any real constructive end-result. At this point I'm pretty much convinced that no one wants to do anything, they just want to vilify Decipher's poorly written contract.

I was always taught (and teach my own employees) to identify a problem and then find options to resolve it. Failing the ability to resolve the problem, contact those that can and make them aware of it. We're waaaaaay past the identifying stage -- time to move onto the resolution stage.

Decipher probably isn't aware of the problem because they've received a number of submissions and the open call has served its purpose. In reality most people probably didn't read the contract.

[Greg Smith]

Originally posted by Ezri's Toy
And, unfortunately, under the terms of the RGA Author's Agreement, they can sit on it in perpetuity. There's no kill clause or timetable in the written contract.

...

1) The work can be accepted but not published. If the work is not published, no payment to the author is necessary because the work under consideration did not meet the terms of the contract in question.

...

By signing the contract and agreeing to the terms of Section 3 above, you have already transferred ownership of your RGA to Decipher for compensation which is contingent on the RGA's publication.

The process of submission goes like this:

1. Submit article via e-mail.
2. Decipher accepts/rejects
3. If Decipher accepts, resubmit printed article with signed copy of contract.

My problem isn't with the agreement, but with the delay in stage 2.

But Don's comments prompted me to e-mail Decipher and ask what is happening with my submission. So I'll let you know what D's response is.

[Ezri's Toy]

Originally posted by Don Mappin
The horse is dead. Stop beating it.

OK. In the interests of harmony on this board, no more posts from me on the RGA contract issue.

The reason I got really bothered about the RGA Agreement is that I really wanted to submit something. I still do. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have posted anything at all.

Seriously. You're complaining to the wrong people. I didn't write the contract. Doug didn't write the contract. Jesse didn't write the contract.

I know that. It was not my intention to make any of Decipher's writing or editorial staff feel responsible for the contract provisions. I wasn't targeting anything but the bad contract. If anyone feels as if I were making personal attacks against him or her, then I apologize.

. . . .If you really want to initiate a change . . . Send an e-mail to Warren Holland and the Adventure Submissions address . . . Point out the problems you have with the contract then provide some suggested alternatives. Under no circumstances should you act like you have in this thread, tossing around phrases like "crap" and "ridiculous."

Y'know, this may sound stupid, but I hadn't considered that. Usually, most companies don't listen to the public. . . particularly those in the legal department. So, asking for a change in the contract didn't occur to me. Thanks for the suggestion.

In regards to "crap" and "ridiculous," there's a big difference in expressing an opinion in an informal forum such as this and making a request in business dealings. I know when to be indignant and when not to be.

I know it's a lot easier to complain than it is to write and put yourself out for rejection. Get the contract fixed and put your money where your mouth is. Turn this negative into a positive…

...for everyone.

OK. . . I'll let you know what I come up with.

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Ezri's Toy
The reason I got really bothered about the RGA Agreement is that I really wanted to submit something. I still do. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have posted anything at all.

Then you have two choices.

1. Submit something. You don't even have to sign the contract until you hear a positive, which could take up to 3-5 months to receive. Greg's waited longer than I have, and I've waited just about three months. Nature of the beast, I suspect, as I'm pretty confident Decipher isn't dedicating resources exclusively to the submissions.

2. Don't submit anything.

As a followup to #2, you could write up the adventure and have it available for download on any number of decent LOTR RPG sites that host such files. You won't get paid, but you will get your name on it and all the recognition you want.

Me? I chose option #1 after reading the contract and the press release online. In the meantime, I'm working on more fanmade stuff, and will be posting it for everyone eventually.