> I think the over all jest of this page can be summed up quickly by saying, if you are worried in the littlest bit get a lawyer.  I am not at all attempting to fill a lawyers shoes here folks, I am however giving you a heads up on some things you may want to talk to them about.  I know of other LAN parties who have paid for a lawyer to draft stuff up for them, and they have missed some things that I feel are important.

Again, I am attempting to throw some ideas out there for you to talk to your lawyer about.  I have no idea if these are applicable to your situation and am not making recommendations past the one about getting a lawyer.

> Insurance
What type of insurance is right for you?  Event insurance or club insurance?

> Under 13 provisions *see also web site
In accordance with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)  as of April 21, 2000 guidelines for the collection of data on persons under the age of 13 have changed.  This basically pertains to individually identifiable information.

!! http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/coppa.htm
!! http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html
!! http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9910/64fr59888.htm
!! FTC's Consumer Response Center toll-free at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357), or write Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.

> Disclaimers, permission slips... *see also forms
We feel very important to have some kind of document that your guests sign, that in some way protects you and the guest.  This probably should be drafted by your lawyer.

Lets take rights to use their name and image for instance.  We at FWGG have in our agreement that by attending our events the guest gives us and our sponsors the rights to use their name, image and or likeness in anyway we/they see fit for promotion.  They should expect then that their image may later be used in a commercial, advertisement or even just posted on the web.  They also should expect no compensation for that usage.

Another one we added in that most people may not think of has to do with our door prizes.  Basically this amounts to, you get what you get whether you can use it or not.  We don't guarantee you will get anything, that it will be what you want, be useful to you, and we don't give a warranty on anything we give out.  All applicable taxes, licenses, and fees, are responsibility of the winner.  So if you won a usb mouse and you don't have any usb ports, tough.

> Curfew
What are the local laws regarding curfews and to what ages.  If you have a note from their guardian is it different?  What is the rule if you do a lockdown where no one is allowed in our out after a certain time? You need to know!

!! http://www.usaweekend.com/97_issues/970504/970504teen_curfews2.html
!! http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/news/publications/curfew.htm
!! http://www.aclu.org/

> Pornographic material
Check with your local authorities but almost certainly allowing anyone under 18 to view pornographic material is Illegal.  We have chosen to maintain a no porn viewing policy at our events.  Some other events have made special no porn sections or under age sections.

How will you handle this?

> Theft, vandalism, other illegal acts
What is your policy and plan of action.  Does your entire staff understand your policies on how things are to be resolved?

Ask your lawyer about a clause that states that the guest is responsible for their own stuff before, during, and after the event.

> If you sue, it will be on my turf
What this says is that if someone is going to sue you, they have to bring it before a court that is local to you.  The main benefit to you on this is twofold.  Number one you don't want to have to spend time away from work, and your family, to fight a suit.  Number two is that maybe the person trying to sue will think twice about it if they will be the ones having to be away from work and their family.

!! http://www.ftc.gov
!! http://www.usdoj.gov/
!! http://firstgov.gov/
!! http://www.aclu.org/