RE: Proposal in Progress
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This is a two party deal: the DAO and Splinterlands. You are receiving advice from the Splinterlands lawyers. Is the DAO receiving its own independent legal review of the contract or are we taking the corporations's lawyers advice and putting it to a vote? In other words, is the DAO as a legal entity entering into a two million dollar contract with no independent legal counsel. I would personally never do this. I feel this meets a textbook definition of negligence.
I am sorry if my question offended you. I do not mean to imply you are not communicating. I do imply that it is not clear if the corporation communicates with you or us. Legal matters are highly delicate. Most American companies avoid discussing legal matters in the public. "On the advice of attorneys, we do not comment on ongoing legal matter." Hopefully that clarified my intent. May I ask my question again?
What if the DAO was sued? Who pays the legal bills? Would the Splinterlands corporation keep the lawsuit secret from the DAO or would they inform the DAO? I mean this as a genuine question, not a sneaking way to attack you personally.
No offense taken... I'm not working with their lawyers. The only thing they are talking to their lawyers about (well as it pertains to this and that I'm aware of) is whether or not the DAO as a decentralized organization can actually own the IP. We're trying to figure that out so that it's not just "oh hey we gave the DAO a license" and it's unenforceable. The only alternative I really have if it doesn't work like that would be the Foundation could own the license, but that doesn't really work for decentralization in my opinion. I'm not talking to their lawyers at all.
In the past myself and the guys on the Foundation Council (@mattclarke @bjangles and @dwaynecunningham) engaged legal council in regards to exploring different jurisdictions for setting up a foundation to act on the DAO's behalf if the DAO wants it to do so, which so far has only been done once to enact a proposal the DAO voted for (the Ramp network integration). That really doesn't relate to this exactly and I'd rather avoid any unnecessary centralization risk.
The DAO could hire a lawyer to review the contract once it's been made available, which will need to be done before we vote on anything, if that's what the DAO wants. There's also at least a few lawyers that are part of the community that could perhaps review it for us. If you guys want to look into having a lawyer represent us and provide an opinion, we can do that. Price will very drastically based on region and skillset. If we're looking for lawyers familiar with blockchain case law in the U.S. that is going to for sure get expensive.
Yes, I think the DAO should have its own legal council with its own opinion on this matter if it considers itself an independent entity. If what we are planning for is independence if Steem Monsters goes sideways, we need to ensure those rights now and not hope they exist later.
Expert legal review is insurance. You are proposing to make a two million dollar commitment but are worried that understanding what we are purchasing will "get expensive." $50,000? That sounds like a lot to me. That would be 2.5% of the transaction price.