Strangelove wrote:1) Make a thread for resources that can be used legally. I can suggest some nice places for freeware MP3 for instance.
This is a nice idea, feel free to create it
2) Allow and define "fair use" for the contest. Some degree of borrowing should be allowed out of necessity, and "fair use" is a term defined legally. Since most if not all entries are non-commercial I don't foresee any problems with this.
The way we defined it in the contest is the following:
Do not submit illegal content! In particular, it is your responsibility to make sure that you have the necessary authorization to distribute the graphics, musics, etc... included in your homebrew. We don't have the manpower to do this verification ourselves.
This is a way to be vague enough that contestants have some flexibility, but precise enough so that the judges or the sponsors are not responsible for people's choice.
That being said, when we see obvious IP infringement, we can't accept the homebrew.
Personally I solved the issue by separating any media that wasn't my own to a optional download which my compo entry would work fine without. Now my entry was just a simple application, but if you're trying to make a full-fledged game it's VERY HARD to succeed without borrowing media to some degree.
I can completely relate to that, and I think making the homebrew flexible enough that it doesn't rely on the infringing media to run is a very good way to do this kind of thing.
