WotC Gale Force 9 Sues WotC [Updated]

In the second lawsuit against WotC in recent weeks (Dragonlance authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman sued the company for breach of contract and other things about a month ago), Gale Force 9 is suing the company for breach of contract and implied duty of good faith.

Gale Force 9 produces miniatures, cards, DM screens, and other D&D accessories. They’re asking for damages of nearly a million dollars, as well as an injunction to prevent WotC from terminating the licensing contract.

From the suit, it looks like WotC wanted to end a licensing agreement a year early. When GF9 didn't agree to that, WotC indicated that they would refuse to approve any new licensed products from GF9. It looks like the same sort of approach they took with Weis and Hickman, which also resulted in a lawsuit. The dispute appears to relate to some product translations in non-US markets. More information as I hear it!

UPDATE. GF9's CEO, Jean-Paul Brisigotti, spoke to ICv2 and said: "After twelve years of working with Wizards, we find ourselves in a difficult place having to utilize the legal system to try and resolve an issue we have spent the last six months trying to amicably handle between us without any success. We still hope this can be settled between us but the timeline for a legal resolution has meant we have been forced to go down this path at this time."

 

[TheSword]

NotAYakk’s comparison is interesting and appropriate, more so in light of a simple fact: if distribution of legit d&d products is abruptly interrupted in several countries because of this legal dispute, you can bet people will resort to piracy.
And, well, I won’t judge them.

Translated materials don’t exist. That’s the point. The result of refusal to approve is the translated products don’t exist. How do you pirate something that doesn’t exist yet?

 

[Olrox17]

Translated materials don’t exist. That’s the point. The result of refusal to approve is the translated products don’t exist. How do you pirate something that doesn’t exist yet?

Unofficial fan translations. They exist and have existed for years, and they’re most likely copyright infringement.

What about books that are not yet translated, not even unofficially? Well, you can bet non-english speaking fans will snag pirated english copies and try to make do. Most groups probably have at least one person with decent English reading skills. Do not expect them to buy a costly import book that is not even in their language, though. They won’t.

 

[TheSword]

The book isn’t costly. It’s one of the cheapest hobbies there is.

Up there with card games and walking. Even then my walking boots cost more than all three of the core books + xgte + Tasha.

 

[Olrox17]

The book isn’t costly. It’s one of the cheapest hobbies there is.

Up there with card games and walking. Even then my walking boots cost more than all three of the core books + xgte + Tasha.

Sorry, but that's a very american thing to say. There are import and shipment fees to pay, and currency exchange rates vs US dollars can be brutal in some countries. All that, and you're still getting an untranslated product? Expect people all over the world to sail the high seas in WotC's face.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I guess Hasbro's strategy to avoid piracy is the multimedia franchises. If you like an IPs sooner or later you will want to buy some merchadising product, and to publish titles more for the collectors than the players.

Also I notice if everbody pirates but nobody buys then it may be the end of lots of 3PPs what are adding lots of new ideas, for example Dreamscarred Press, Legendary Games, LPJ, Little Red Goblin... and even in the future you will regret not having bought those books for your collection. This is the reason I have bought the 20 Anniversary Edition of World of Darkness.

But WotC should take care, because players will would rather to buy other books with same prize but with more pages, or same number of pages but cheaper prize.

 

[TheSword]

Sorry, but that's a very american thing to say. There are import and shipment fees to pay, and currency exchange rates vs US dollars can be brutal in some countries. All that, and you're still getting an untranslated product? Expect people all over the world to sail the high seas in WotC's face.

Ok well I’m not American

I stand by what I said. It’s not an expensive hobby. Even if you put the books at $150 between 3-5 players over the course of a campaign is what 20p an hour? I challenge you to find a cheaper social hobby!

 

[Maxperson]

Do we know if/when the Complaint was served on WotC? They have 20 days to respond from the date they get served. I want to see their Answer.

 

[Olrox17]

Ok well I’m not American

I stand by what I said. It’s not an expensive hobby. Even if you put the books at $150 between 3-5 players over the course of a campaign is what 20p an hour? I challenge you to find a cheaper social hobby!

I stand by my previous statement, except the American part. That was a dumb generalization on my part, apologies to anyone that might have felt offended.

Buying the 3 base books, if you take in consideration import fees, shipment and onerous currency exchange rates can be a serious barrier to entry.

Splitting the cost over a group would be ideal, if you already have a group before you even buy the books, and everyone trust each other with money, which is not too common in my experience.
And in the end? You would still be a non-English speaker getting a book written in English. Yeah, no.

I know several gaming groups in my country, and I’m the only guy with imported dnd books. Everyone else either has asmodee’s translations, or pirated PDFs. Take away the translations, and everyone will start pirating. Guaranteed.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

The book isn’t costly. It’s one of the cheapest hobbies there is.

D&D is overpriced compared to most other RPGs, especially once you take into consideration many RPGs are able to fit all the core rules into one single book.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

Do we know if/when the Complaint was served on WotC? They have 20 days to respond from the date they get served. I want to see their Answer.

The complaint was filed on November 17. Going by your figure, they would have up until December 7 to respond.

EDIT: though if that number is accurate, that means that the deadline for WotC to respond to Margaret Weis LLC et al v. Wizards of the Coast LLC has already passed. Did anything happen on that front?