Orc Space Marauders KS slapped with IP claim

[somegeezer 18480xp 1]

Kev Adams and Andrew May’s latest Kickstarter: Orc Space Marauders is the subject of an intellectual property dispute

To no one’s surprise the lawsuit emanates from Lenton. No one in the industry invented orcs, and no one has a monopoly on giving them pew pew weapons.

I hope this gets laughed out of court and doesn’t claim the livelihood of one of my favourite indie studios (actually one of my favourite studios full stop, indie or no).

Such details as there are are on the KS page.

[grantinvanman 5718xp 1]

Not surprised, but also … GW gave up on this type of “Orc/Ork” like … three decades ago. Plus, these were THE OG designers.

I am no lawyer, so I have no clue how this would go, but … I can’t see this actually being anything but frivolously litigious.

[somegeezer]

It does seem so. My big fear is it may be beyond Kev and Andrew’s means to defend.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by somegeezer. Reason: Bloody autocorrect

[a27cromwell 3212xp 1]

It could also be a 3rd party scam . They know that Orks are / were a big GW property , so they claim in GW’s name . It happens on You Tube with music clips all the time . One channel had their music  theme  claimed by some lawyer’s office  , but the music belongs to the channel owner under his stage name . So no case and there was a counter suit / claim against the suit filers . They’re just hoping you panic and rush to make a cash settlement . Bastards !

[grantinvanman 5718xp 0]

The filing is from Lenton, so probably not a scam; seems like GW IP lawyers doing what they do.

[Lazagram 48xp 0]

And so the lawyers will feast. Very poor form.

[a27cromwell 3212xp 2]

How can GW own a generic term . And I thought GW changed all the orcs , elves , dwarfs etc to their own versions with their own terminology ,  If you copy GW’s figures I can see a problem . Might be just lawyers being dicks

[somegeezer 18480xp 2]

It’s telling they’ve gone after a one man band rather than anyone larger such as Kromlech or Spellcrow. Themselves hardly million euro businesses but might be able to put up something of a fight.

[grantinvanman 5718xp 1]

@somegeezer – agreed; Kromlech are far more delving into GW territory than the KS was. Nostalgia? KS had it. But those design concepts are so old. Small operation indeed – it would nice if there was a hobbyist who was a lawyer who would grab this torch pro bono…

[gorram 2665xp 2]

It sucks, especially when the KS had basically been done. Looking at the two models it seems like they are taking issue with, I can see why the did it. They are designed to ape the originals and it is very close to it. Still, few things that are best for the company are best for the community. Though I doubt anyone who backed that KS have bought a lot of GW minis recently 😀

[gorram 2665xp 2]

As for why they haven’t gone after Kromlech, Spellcrow etc, I suspect it is easier to file with Kickstarter’s legal team than start chasing companies outwith the UK.

[grantinvanman 5718xp 0]

@gorram good points – KS will kill projects rather than take risk, and the other companies are EU – more expensive/different legislation than UK.

[limburger 22063xp 1]

Build up legal precedent cases using small fry … and then go after the big fish.

As for not having ‘a case’.
Yes, they were the original creators/designers.
But were they working for GW/Citadel at that time ?
If so then GW could argue that they do in fact own the design …

Keep in mind that GW is trying real hard not to have designers/authors listed on their gaming materials for a reason.

Wether this is legal is something that usually also depends on how much money and time you can afford to spend on lawyers and all the bureacracy that comes with that territory.

[sundancer 43674xp 1]

So lets try to be fair here.

First: G’Wullu is taking a stand on a mini from the kickstarter that looked A HELL like the original Ghazghkull . Their (C)-claim is:

Description of copyrighted material: Ghazghkull Thraka is a character from the ORKS faction in WARHAMMER 40,000 and the characters and units that make up this range have a unique and identifiable appearance, instantly recognised by hobbyists.

And now take a look at the mini in question:

I feel this is a case of “flying to close to the sun”.

Second: As far as I know neither Kev Adams no Andrew May sculpted the OG Big Waaagh Boss so the rights to that OG sculpt are either with G’Wullu or the sculptor.

Third: The rest of the minis are contested as “infringing material” because they look very similar to the old stuff.

Ignoring the last point I feel I have to say: I can see and understand why G’Wullu pulled the lawyer card with Ghazghkull.

But I am no lawyer, I just feel that sculpt was maybe “a step too far”.

[angelicdespot 4700xp 2]

Andrew May has emailed all backers of the Kickstarter (including me) today:

“Hi all,

As you are probably aware, we have received a copyright infringement notice on this campaign. We are currently looking into this, and are trying to determine the next steps towards a resolution.

Please rest assured though, that if we do find ourselves in the unfortunate position of having to cancel this campaign, you will absolutely receive a full refund. Although your pledges have been collected by Kickstarter, we have not been sent any funds for this campaign as yet, and so returned monies will come directly from Kickstarter.

As soon as we have more information, we will inform you all. Thanks so much for all the kind messages we have received regarding this issue.

All the best
Andrew
Meridian Miniatures”

I’m no lawyer and can see why perhaps this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. That said, I do think consumers and the market benefit from erring on the side of competition, so I HOPE that GW don’t succeed. Yes, the inspiration is clear. I don’t think there’s any danger of anyone buying one thinking it’s actually a GW miniature. Fingers crossed.

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