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Posted to legal-discuss@apache.org by Matthias Wessendorf <ma...@apache.org> on 2008/09/16 17:27:56 UTC
issues with competitions ?
Hi,
I was thinking about doing a competition for a Apache MyFaces Trinidad.
Looks like we will end up having prices to win. Are there any legal issues
with giving a way prices like iPod touch ?
Thanks!
Matthias
--
Matthias Wessendorf
blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
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Re: issues with competitions ?
Posted by Niall Pemberton <ni...@gmail.com>.
On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:27 PM, Matthias Wessendorf <ma...@apache.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I was thinking about doing a competition for a Apache MyFaces Trinidad.
> Looks like we will end up having prices to win. Are there any legal issues
> with giving a way prices like iPod touch ?
This has been done at least a couple of times before on the Struts
list. But it was by an individual and not "officially" anything to do
with the project - just between that person and the community. If its
done on that basis, then I don't really see it has anything to do with
the ASF - except that it takes place on the mailing list.
http://markmail.org/message/366wse2xev4szhah
http://markmail.org/message/irgnvljoqjvex5zy
http://markmail.org/message/63bvnkijndugofts
Niall
> Thanks!
> Matthias
>
> --
> Matthias Wessendorf
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and policies of the ASF. See <http://www.apache.org/licenses/> for
official ASF policies and documents.
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Re: issues with competitions ?
Posted by Santiago Gala <sa...@gmail.com>.
A reasonable way to route around those issues with agility would be to
have a third party epicmh the contest and bind it to code
contributions to the project you want. Been there, done that, but not
for the ASF
2008/9/16, Sam Ruby <ru...@intertwingly.net>:
> On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:27 AM, Matthias Wessendorf <ma...@apache.org>
> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I was thinking about doing a competition for a Apache MyFaces Trinidad.
>> Looks like we will end up having prices to win. Are there any legal issues
>> with giving a way prices like iPod touch ?
>
> I don't have any direct experience on the subject, but from time to
> time I have had the opportunity to vicariously observe others who have
> attempted to do similar things in other contexts. Enough so that I
> wouldn't personally want to pursue such a path, but don't let that
> stop you; decide for yourself.
>
> The first obstacle is that there are laws on this subject, and they
> vary widely by jurisdiction. I won't even begin to try to summarize
> them, but here is a summary, and even this is not something that I can
> personally attest to:
>
> http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Law-Summary/
>
> The second obstacle is taxes. Some countries like revenue, go figure.
> Some people get visibly upset if they are expected to pay for their
> prizes, even if that money isn't sent to you. Either plan to cover
> it, or attempt to set expectations correctly from the beginning. Be
> aware that if you go the latter route, you will likely fail.
>
> The third is the prizes themselves. An iPod touch is an excellent
> example. Some may view it as the most closed platform of all time.
> Others may view it as the most excellent engineered product of all
> time. Be aware that in a contest involving open source, the
> percentages of people you might find in those two positions may not be
> representative of the overall population as a whole.
>
> Finally, there is the source of the prizes. I can't speak for the
> board as a whole, but an individual iPod touch is not likely to cause
> any concern. But a series of prizes over a substantial period of time
> could be viewed as a targeted donation. And furthermore, depending on
> the product mix, as promotional items for a commercial entity. I
> don't mean to overstate this last concern, it probably isn't a problem
> if we are talking about small and infrequent prizes.
>
> From my perspective, the biggest concern is the first one. To resolve
> it adequately would require a legal review of the actual terms of the
> contest.
>
>> Thanks!
>> Matthias
>>
>> --
>> Matthias Wessendorf
>>
>> blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
>> sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
>> twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
>
> - Sam Ruby
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> DISCLAIMER: Discussions on this list are informational and educational
> only. Statements made on this list are not privileged, do not
> constitute legal advice, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions
> and policies of the ASF. See <http://www.apache.org/licenses/> for
> official ASF policies and documents.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: legal-discuss-unsubscribe@apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: legal-discuss-help@apache.org
>
>
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DISCLAIMER: Discussions on this list are informational and educational
only. Statements made on this list are not privileged, do not
constitute legal advice, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions
and policies of the ASF. See <http://www.apache.org/licenses/> for
official ASF policies and documents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Re: issues with competitions ?
Posted by Sam Ruby <ru...@intertwingly.net>.
On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:27 AM, Matthias Wessendorf <ma...@apache.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I was thinking about doing a competition for a Apache MyFaces Trinidad.
> Looks like we will end up having prices to win. Are there any legal issues
> with giving a way prices like iPod touch ?
I don't have any direct experience on the subject, but from time to
time I have had the opportunity to vicariously observe others who have
attempted to do similar things in other contexts. Enough so that I
wouldn't personally want to pursue such a path, but don't let that
stop you; decide for yourself.
The first obstacle is that there are laws on this subject, and they
vary widely by jurisdiction. I won't even begin to try to summarize
them, but here is a summary, and even this is not something that I can
personally attest to:
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Law-Summary/
The second obstacle is taxes. Some countries like revenue, go figure.
Some people get visibly upset if they are expected to pay for their
prizes, even if that money isn't sent to you. Either plan to cover
it, or attempt to set expectations correctly from the beginning. Be
aware that if you go the latter route, you will likely fail.
The third is the prizes themselves. An iPod touch is an excellent
example. Some may view it as the most closed platform of all time.
Others may view it as the most excellent engineered product of all
time. Be aware that in a contest involving open source, the
percentages of people you might find in those two positions may not be
representative of the overall population as a whole.
Finally, there is the source of the prizes. I can't speak for the
board as a whole, but an individual iPod touch is not likely to cause
any concern. But a series of prizes over a substantial period of time
could be viewed as a targeted donation. And furthermore, depending on
the product mix, as promotional items for a commercial entity. I
don't mean to overstate this last concern, it probably isn't a problem
if we are talking about small and infrequent prizes.
>From my perspective, the biggest concern is the first one. To resolve
it adequately would require a legal review of the actual terms of the
contest.
> Thanks!
> Matthias
>
> --
> Matthias Wessendorf
>
> blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
> sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
> twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
- Sam Ruby
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: Discussions on this list are informational and educational
only. Statements made on this list are not privileged, do not
constitute legal advice, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions
and policies of the ASF. See <http://www.apache.org/licenses/> for
official ASF policies and documents.
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