Lone Wolf sends Cease & Desist letters to anyone using the term 'Army Builder'

[Xyxox]

See, I'd say they exist to make good, useful, and beneficial products. "Making money" is the means to this end. It's necessary, but it's not why they exist.

Nope, the function of any incroporated entity is to profit. Making good and useful products is the means to the end of turning a profit.

This end is altered slightly for publicly traded companies. The entire reasong for the existence of a publicly traded company is to insure shareholders profit. As above, there are many means to this end, one of which may be producing good and useful products.

Any incorporated entity which fials to keep the eye on the ball (i.e. fails to put profit above all else) will fail.

 

[Xyxox]

I know, a lot of people see it that way. But how would our approach to business change if we flipped it to the way I put it.

Any business flipping it about is doomed to failure.

 

[Fifth Element]

Nope, the function of any incroporated entity is to profit.

Quibble: not-for-profit entities can be incorporated. Maybe not in all jurisdictions, but you're overgeneralizing.

 

[Fifth Element]

Any business flipping it about is doomed to failure.

Not quite doomed, surely, but it does strike me as a "feel good" idea, with some little connection to reality.

 

[Glade Riven]

All corporation exists primarally to make money; the love of money is the root of all evil; Therefore, all corporations are inherently evil.

Someone coming out with a software product labled something like "New Legion: an army builder" Lone Wolf would have a case against, but I have a feeling that the case would come down to how good each lawyer was at arguing the point. I know copywrite and patent law has a set percentage of difference in order to not violate the rights of the origenal holder.

Now, I know Derrivitive Works deals with fan works. Army Building as a derrivitive of the Army Builder trademark might be stretching it, depending on use. Successfully sueing over a small tagline on the box of product packaging that is using it as a descriptor - well, in that case I would hope for a really, really good lawyer to argue that point.

There is always a choice on how aggressive one pursues such an endevor. For instance, I have done several D&D based peices of artwork which is technically a derrivitive work. Hasbro can send me a C&D to stop posting the artwork. They arn't going to because a. it is not worth the time and expense and b. fan works are generally considered free advertising.

Right now, what disturbs me about Lone Wolf is that they persue a heavy-handed tactic in regards to their own trademarks, but the data sets avalable for download on their site are a violation of the trademarks of major miniature game manufacturers (Privateer Press being one of them).

 

[pawsplay]

Nope, the function of any incroporated entity is to profit. Making good and useful products is the means to the end of turning a profit.

And what is the purpose of profit? The purpose of a corporation is to allow a collective to act as if a legal person; it may engage in actions that a person may engage in. Like a person in business, a corporation must make a profit, but profit can not be the sole guide of a business, whether personal or corporate. The means of making a profit are foundational to any business. Businesses that follow only the bottom line and fail to produce value for their society are doomed, if not by the actions of others against the business, than by the eventual downgrade of the society in which it exists.

The purpose of profit is to enrich a society. Therefore, if the purpose of a corporation were said to be to make a profit, the purpose of corporations is ultimately to enrich society. Profit unto itself means nothing; what does it mean to be the most profitable company in a failing economy?

 

[pawsplay]

Intellectual property *is* property, in the following respect: the owner of a trademark, copyright, or patent has, in the words of Wikipedia, "the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer, exchange, or destroy [the] property, and/or to exclude others from doing these things" (in this case, that'd be "and").

Intellectual property cannot be consumed, rented, mortgaged, transfered, exchanged, or destroyed, except in the sense the franchise or license to do those things can be so affected. Intellectual property itself is intangible, immaterial, immortal, and infinite. IP can be created with a legislative act, or vanish just as easily, without anything being destroyed, transferred or altered. IP is a prerogative created by law; it is not property in any sense except as an analogy.

 

[Dire Bare]

See, I'd say they exist to make good, useful, and beneficial products. "Making money" is the means to this end. It's necessary, but it's not why they exist.

The purpose of profit is to enrich a society. Therefore, if the purpose of a corporation were said to be to make a profit, the purpose of corporations is ultimately to enrich society. Profit unto itself means nothing; what does it mean to be the most profitable company in a failing economy?

The world you two live in sounds really nice! I'd love to visit!

 

[Remus Lupin]

Nope, the function of any incroporated entity is to profit. Making good and useful products is the means to the end of turning a profit.

This end is altered slightly for publicly traded companies. The entire reasong for the existence of a publicly traded company is to insure shareholders profit. As above, there are many means to this end, one of which may be producing good and useful products.

Any incorporated entity which fials to keep the eye on the ball (i.e. fails to put profit above all else) will fail.

1. Not all businesses are incorporated.

2. Not all corporations are for-profit.

3. Not all for-profit corporations are publicly traded.

Incorporation doesn't require that you put profit first, above the obligation to make a good product. It's unfortunate that this ideology has infected so much thinking about corporations in this country.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Any business flipping it about is doomed to failure.

I disagree. I'm not saying a busness doesn't need to make a profit. It does. It just doesn't need to say that the profit is the primary function of the business, above making a good product. I'd venture to say that a lot of gamers who go into the gaming business do it first and foremost because they want to share a cool product with the world. To do so. they need to make a profit, or they won't stay in business. But the point of going into business is to make and distribute the cool product.