I was troubled by all the problems with IP, and mentioning it would be one big problem... BUT!
As an European i was amused by one term in American law ,,fair use" which allowed to distribution derivative work (including animations and games...) under banner of fair use. One of them being library archivisation and other research.
As insane as it may sound, player driven game is something new, usntable and would we form a common front, typical research project, about social behavior, as many people here noticed it is breakthrough as far as gaming communities go.
Of course, it would be problematic would we aim for profit from the game, but, forming of foundation (as I believe, one of the mods suggested) with following idea in mind, could be an option.
I of course, would be glad to chip in for such foundation. With all tools created by Titan it could be in depth research, gaining a bit of insight into ability of gamers to co-ordinate and create interesting enviromnet based on first hand experience instead of analysis and following market trends. I also think one of the articles noticed how innovative solution it is.
Stil, as an outsider, I am not sure how far we could go with that, but as far as I am concerned, especially backing up our choice of lore picked with great community following (therefore most promising to success) I would dare saying we have a chance. One of law specialists could be very useful here though ^^'
Also, please pardon me if I was babbling or harming english language, as it is my second language. I would appreciate any form of feedback.