Help me name my store

[Cedric]

I'm imagining a blinking Neon Sign outside the store with an arrow pointing at the front that says,

Play at Joe's

Cedric

 

[JPL]

As another fellow lawyer, I've got to say "don't be silly". Of course you can play the radio or a CD in your store. Nobody is going to go after a small game store for copyright infringement because they are playing the radio or a CD in their store. Nobody. And even if some insane copyright holder did do that, they would start with a cease and desist letter, not a lawsuit.

Dingleberry, stop scaring people!

That's my take on it, too. You get into trouble, me and Mistwell will assemble the EnWorld Legal Strike Force and smite your enemies.

And as far as getting the rights to use Orc and Pie...why not just go over to Monte Cook's site and ask him? He seems to be a reasonable fellow.

Heck, I think it would be worthwhile to look into getting the rights to use the art used on the Orc & Pie shirt.

But Dorkshack works, too. And as a lawyer, I give you my permission to use my lyrics for the Love Theme from Dorkshack for whatever purposes you see fit.

 

[Paladin]

How about "the Dragon's Hoard" or "the Dragon's Tail"...any dragon reference should bring in who you want...if they're gamers, they'll take notice of any name like that...also a motto could be "Gaming treasures for the true warriors" or some other equally impressive saying! ...Paladinwife

 

[Paladin]

How about just "The Dungeon"...keep it simple...Paladin

 

[Shallown]

I have always been partial to The Gamer's Haven

or Citadel of games of Gaming Citadel.

The last two I wouldn't use where I live due to the associations made to the Citadel. Both good and bad.

I also think you should carry CCG. Why.

I have a good friend that owns a gaming/hobby store. He doesn't care much for a lot of CCGs but they make him money. Pokeman kept him solvent as far as gaming goes. He watches his stock and orders what games are moving.

All you need is the knowledge (or his case my knowledge) of what the trends are what is getting hype and what is really popular.

It is always a gamble in any case.

Later
and good luck

 

[Dingleberry]

As another fellow lawyer, I've got to say "don't be silly". Of course you can play the radio or a CD in your store. Nobody is going to go after a small game store for copyright infringement because they are playing the radio or a CD in their store. Nobody. And even if some insane copyright holder did do that, they would start with a cease and desist letter, not a lawsuit.

Dingleberry, stop scaring people!

I'm not trying to scare anybody. I didn't say "you'll be successfully sued for millions." I said "you should talk to a lawyer." If he came to me, I would probably advise him as you did - but only AFTER I determined that there are no special circumstances that neither you or I know about from reading this thread. I would certainly hope, as a fellow lawyer, that you're not suggesting that someone opening his own business should rely on a D&D message board for legal advice rather than speaking with an attorney about specific courses of action.

If "check with a lawyer" scares people, I suspect that receiving a cease & desist letter from BMI or ASCAP would be terrifying (they're the "nobody" you mentioned). And consulting with an attorney at that point would most likely take longer - and therefore be more expensive - than asking the question up front and avoiding getting the c&d in the first place.

 

[WayneLigon]

How about just "The Dungeon"...keep it simple...Paladin

No, no. I think you would get a.. number of phone calls and visits from people expecting an ... entirely different kind of shop, depending on how cosmopolitan your area is. I'm reminded of the hassles the publisher of 'Harsh Mistress' (A SF magazine playing off the name 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress') had getting into a number of distributors because 'they didn't carry porn mags'.

 

[wizardoftheplains]

Store names for you sir-
Sir Gamesalot
Sir Knucklebones
GameAddict
Dead Characters' Society
Dice Chuckers
Tower of Scary Stuff
Dice Tower
Goblins, Gremlins, and Trolls, Oh My!
Critical Hit
Philosopher's Stone
Eye of the Beholder
Pawn of society

Good luck on your venture!!!

 

[Mistwell]

I'm not trying to scare anybody. I didn't say "you'll be successfully sued for millions." I said "you should talk to a lawyer." If he came to me, I would probably advise him as you did - but only AFTER I determined that there are no special circumstances that neither you or I know about from reading this thread. I would certainly hope, as a fellow lawyer, that you're not suggesting that someone opening his own business should rely on a D&D message board for legal advice rather than speaking with an attorney about specific courses of action.

If "check with a lawyer" scares people, I suspect that receiving a cease & desist letter from BMI or ASCAP would be terrifying (they're the "nobody" you mentioned). And consulting with an attorney at that point would most likely take longer - and therefore be more expensive - than asking the question up front and avoiding getting the c&d in the first place.

I disagree. Some matters are obvious, and consulting an attorney would be a huge waste of money. This is one of those times. There are no possible extenuating circumstances I can think of for this situation. Playing a radio, or a CD, in your small-retail-business store is a common thing (in fact, playing a radio is almost an industry standard for some industries). I would even add that playing old video tapes of cartoons and bad fantasy movies on a rotten TV tucked into a corner of a store is a pretty common thing. I know of nobody, anywhere, who has even gotten a cease and desist letter over any of those issues (though if you are running a larger establishment, or one that is more populated, it would be a different story). As far as I can tell, BMI and ASCAP do not pursue the issue with any business with revenues less than a million a year (which is not nearly as much as it sounds like, but still way more than any small game store would see). It just isn't profitable for them to touch a small business (since statutory damages mean nothing if your defendant is so poor that the fine cannot be paid).

And if you did get such a letter (very unlikely), the consultation cost would be the same as the prevention-consultation cost. It's a very easy answer - you can pay for the license, or cease & desist. Same answer whether it is pre or post C&D, only making it post-C&D makes it extremely likely that you will never have to consult an attorney at all.

People should save their legal fees for realistic issues. Are there tax ramifications in the business formation choice? Are there regulations specific to my industry? What employment laws cover a business of my size? How big can I grow before these answers change? Those are all questions worth paying for.

I would even say that "What are my chances of getting away with selling food without a food & beverage license if I limit it to 4 packs each of tic-tacs, Doritos, and coca cola?" is a better question than the radio / CD question. Can I blast Megadeath in my small game store? That question is probably not even in the top 20.

If you scare people into thinking they cannot cross the street without an attorney consultation, they will just dismiss the idea of opening their own business entirely, which hurts everyone.

 

[Dingleberry]

If you scare people into thinking they cannot cross the street without an attorney consultation, they will just dismiss the idea of opening their own business entirely, which hurts everyone.

Again, I'm not trying to scare anyone, and there's a big difference between opening a business and crossing the street. Hyperbole doesn't help anybody.

Something that is "common sense" to lawyers can sometimes seem otherwise to non-lawyers. Most of my clients appreciate the distinction between "this is legal" and "this is technically illegal, but the likelihood of enforcement is minimal," even though the substantive result is the same.

If there are no extenuating circumstances, that 's great. But we simply don't know. Maybe his lease permits the landlord to terminate if he's in violation of any applicable law, in which case playing unlicensed music could be used as pretext if the landlord wants to get out of the lease.

jezter6 - sorry this has gotten off track. If you are discussing other issues with an attorney, it's ultimately up to whether you want to ask him/her about this. I think you should - we all agree that it'll be a short discussion. Or, if you want to learn more but don't have (or want to pay additional fees to) a lawyer, do some web searching on "establishment music licensing." Your local BBB could probably also offer information.