by SoftTempest » Sun Sep 28, 2014 9:39 pm
My read of it was that this is basically Kickstarter trying to redeem itself after the rash of unfulfilled projects (especially in the video game arena) and angry backers. So, now, Kickstarter is trying to make the whole pledge process a legally binding contract between project creator and backer. From a strictly legal perspective, I don't think it has a leg to stand on. I know a few backers who happen to be lawyers have gone to small claims court and sued certain project creators. But, generally speaking, IF the project is a newly "invented" idea, and IF the creator makes appropriate disclaimers in the risk subsection of the Kickstarter campaign, I think you have a situation akin to investing in a dotcom IPO (remember?). Nothing is guaranteed, so even if you are fully funded or reach stretch goals, manufacturing or programming or other hiccups can result in the rewards going legitimately unfulfilled, IMHO. Kickstarter, like every other crowdsourcing endeavor, involves case of CAVEAT EMPTOR (fancy Latin legalspeak/legalese for "Buyer Beware").