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]

If you can bottom other people tents, you can borrow their rpg books instead. That is cheating.

So people are paying every night for camping as opposed to a players handbook lasting what 5-10 years? Longer if you don’t switch editions?

 

[Zardnaar]

If you can bottom other people tents, you can borrow their rpg books instead. That is cheating.

So people are paying every night for camping as opposed to a players handbook lasting what 5-10 years? Longer if you don’t switch editions?

More people had tents than rpg books. It's niche.

You don't need proper camping gear to go camping. You can raid the kitchen utensils.

5-10 years is nothing. In 1997 I was eating out of mess tins left over from 1945 army surplus. Ye old school canvas tent in keas/cubs/scouts was probably from the war years as well.

By age ten could cook using empty cans (hobo stove), live of the land to some extent and by age 18 could cook food Polynesian style hangi. A hangi is an earth oven as kids we ate shellfish off the rocks (mussels, paua, kina, oysters). Could weave flax as well.

Hell went camping without the tent just those army style cover things. Everyone had stretchers here's a mountain off you go.

Wasn't that different to Communist youth camp come to think of it.

 

[TheSword]

More people had tents than rpg books. It's niche.

You don't need proper camping gear to go camping. You can raid the kitchen utensils.

5-10 years is nothing. In 1997 I was eating out of mess tins left over from 1945 army surplus. Ye old school canvas tent in keas/cubs/scouts was probably from the war years as well.

By age ten could cook using empty cans (hobo stove), live of the land to some extent and by age 18 could cook food Polynesian style hangi. A hangi is an earth oven as kids we ate shellfish off the rocks (mussels, paua, kina, oysters). Could weave flax as well.

Hell went camping without the tent just those army style cover things. Everyone had stretchers here's a mountain off you go.

Wasn't that different to Communist youth camp come to think of it.

Ok. I mean we can play the Monty Python Yorshireman “I was glad of the price of a cuppa tea” sketch all day.

While that kind of lifestyle is laudable. It’s not normal and beyond the desire or experience of most people.

 

[Voadam]

WOC isn’t a charity. Up to the minute rules aren’t a god given right. WOC doesn’t owe anyone spit.

Nobody owes WotC anything either.

WotC's choices and actions to allegedly pull shenanegins on its business partners and shut down translations is fair game for criticism and negative reactions even though WotC is not a charity and does not owe anyone anything.

 

[TheSword]

Nobody owes WotC anything either.

WotC's choices and actions to allegedly pull shenanegins on its business partners and shut down translations is fair game for criticism and negative reactions even though WotC is not a charity and does not owe anyone anything.

And if we had seen any actual evidence of that verified then you may have a point.

 

[MoonSong]

If you truly can’t afford it, don’t buy the book. Doesn’t stop people playing the game.

WOC isn’t a charity. Up to the minute rules aren’t a god given right. WOC doesn’t owe anyone spit.

Well, duh. Obviously nobody needs D&D to survive. Obvious statement is obvious and contributes nothing to the conversation. Unless you use it to mean that we don't deserve D&D just because we aren't suburban white middle class AMERICANS, in which case I'd rather not speculate about your motivations.

 

[MoonSong]

En World skews younger not older. The bulk of users here are in their 20s and 30s I think with us older folks for are 40+ in the minority. I would suspect that RPGs as a hobby skew towards the middle class though.

Age here is relative. Enworld skews younger compared to yourself and others like Lanefan. But in the context of our conversation -accessibility of D&D to teens and older children-, enworld skews older.

 

[Voadam]

And if we had seen any actual evidence of that verified then you may have a point.

You mean besides the allegations of the complaint as filed in court?

 

[TheSword]

You mean besides the allegations of the complaint as filed in court?

An allegation is not verification.

I find it fascinating that you assume WOC are bad actors in this circumstance. Not that Gf9 might be a bad actor, or even that neither are bad actors?

 

[Eltab]

And if we had seen any actual evidence of that verified then you may have a point.

Two business partners of WotC have decided to go to Court rather than resolve two separate disputes via negotiations. That is actual evidence that some kind of problem has arisen.