[sdiy] legalities?

[James Patchell]

Common Sense would say that if you aren't selling anything, you don't have 
a lot to worry about.  And since you are in Australia, you don't have a 
heck of a lot to worry about from American Lawyers....it would be the 
Australian lawyers you would have to worry about.  This is, of course, only 
my opinion...the users of this opinion use it at their own risk. :-)

At 04:07 PM 1/27/2005 +1030, Batz Goodfortune wrote:
>Y-ellow Fellow Mutants.
>         Here's a question for those who are publishing and/or fabricating.
>
>I'm recently concerned about a legal issue with regards to publishing my 
>switch-mode quasi-project. I had read recently that just because you place 
>a disclaimer on something, doesn't mean you can't be held liable. From 
>what I can gather, it works like this.
>
>Unless the disclaimer is written in law, it's not actually legally 
>binding. Therefore if someone killed their gold fish with one of your 
>projects and they just happened to be sufficiently angry about it, they 
>COULD cause you grief. The challenge would probably not go the distance 
>but it would still cost you money to defend. You'd have to contend that...
>
>"The guy is an idiot for trying to use his gold fish as a load resistor in 
>the first place."
>
>Etc etc.
>
>If the project was simple, like wiring a flashing LED on a stick, then 
>sands for a few burnt out taste buds from licking the battery, there's 
>little chance the "Idiot" could do him self much damage. However, this 
>switch mode project is at the other end of the scale. Big bitey stuff. 
>It's not even a real project in the sense that it deals with methods for 
>determining and modifying existing computer power supplies. And since 
>there are hundreds outside of the scope of the article and of the author, 
>it doesn't actually deal with anything specific. All the more dangerous to 
>an imbecile who might think it's trivial. In spite of any warnings. Of 
>which I've placed many.
>
>The article is part written but I don't know if to finish it and get it 
>out there. I can't afford a lawyer to check out if I'm doing anything 
>wrong and whilst I'm in Australia, it's published in America, technically 
>under American  law.
>
>I'm sure that someone here must have grazed upon this problem before so 
>I'm wondering if anyone knows what the acceptable risk is or has any 
>opinions on this side of things.
>
>I don't HAVE to publish it but I'd like to. In that it's taken me quite 
>some research to gather all this information together. No-one else has 
>tackled this. Not at this level anyway. And that may well be for good 
>reason. However if someone else were thinking along these lines, this may 
>be useful to them.
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Be absolutely Icebox.
>
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         -Jim
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