TSR Now it’s WotC’s Turn: WotC Moves Against TSR3

I guess after you provoke somebody enough, they’ll eventually bite back. The company has begun trademark cancellation procedures against the newest TSR.

TSR3 briefly filed for a court declaration on Dec 7th as to their ownership of the TSR trademarks — with an IndieGoGo campaign to fund it — and then voluntarily dismissed it a couple of days later on Dec 9th.

This filing is dated Dec 6th, the day before TSR3 launched its campaign.

In WotC’s response, they cite fraud as one of the causes of action, alleging that TSR3 misled the trademark office in its original application.

Mike Dunford, on Twitter, breaks down the action.

TSR - TSR3.5 Voluntarily Dismisses Lawsuit

A lawsuit filed by TSR3 against D&D owners Wizards of the Coast a few days ago was voluntarily dismissed. Dismissal without prejudice means that the suit can be filed again. The suit lasted two days from the 7th to the 9th of December. The IndieGoGo fundraiser to fund it is still running...

www.enworld.org

TSR - TSR3.5 Launches IndieGogo Campaign to "Stop" WotC

The latest in the TSR3 saga, which has gone quiet for a while, is a new IndieGoGo campaign launched to "stop Wizards of the Coast". They cite wrongful bullying of TSR, and refusal to answer requests that WotC show TSR "proof of their claims" (although the campaign page doesn't mention what those...

www.enworld.org

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I hope all this doesn’t hurt the museum, the only good thing to come out of all of this nonsense.

This is a joke, right?

Everything I’ve seen about the “museum” suggests it’s another grift.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I hope all this doesn’t hurt the museum, the only good thing to come out of all of this nonsense.

I think it will probably be the end of the two most popular items on the museum's online store being t-shirts of the design mark addressed by this action (which might answer the question of why WotC's lawyers have focused on this mark alone).

So, if you're not concerned about lining LaNasa's pockets, order the t-shirts while you can I guess.

Edit: Okay, so poking around said "museum" shop a little further I find that much of their product is identical variations on the same book by LaNasa
(https://tsrmuseum.com/online-store/ols/products/tales-tots-game-book-1st-edition-lizardman) except each version featuring a different vintage TSR logo slapped on the cover. They are really pushing the logo profiteering to the limits of what the market will bear.

 

[DarkCrisis]

This is a joke, right?

Everything I’ve seen about the “museum” suggests it’s another grift.

No?

The original place AD&D was designed. The same place where you can play D&D if you want. Old books and magazine and minis etc.

It’s a big slice of gaming history and I wouldn’t mind seeing it someday.

 

[Umbran]

To be clear I feel the (presumed) copyright ownership of the underlying image is relevant to their overall position in regard to that specific mark

I don't know what you mean by "overall position".

I will admit that having one of them hold a copyright on the image and the other have the trademark would be dumb. This likely has to do with the simple fact that if you don't defend a mark, you lose it. nuTSR has encroached, so they do have to defend it or lose it.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I don't know what you mean by "overall position".

As in, what overall are their legal rights in regard to that mark, rather than what specific position they are taking in the USPTO proceeding which can only address LaNasa and Co's registration of the mark.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I'm sure that Justin LaNasa did everything properly and by the book when he registered this LLC. Justin LaNasa would never cut corners or hire less than adequate legal counsel.

Sadly for him, he outsourced that work to Justin Lavasa and Justin Lanaga.

 

[Dausuul]

Here's a question: Presuming LaNasa's LLC is sufficiently legit that Wizards can't go after his personal assets, what about nuTSR's profits off counterfeit merch (the dice sets, T-shirts, and so forth with oldTSR's logos)? Can LaNasa pocket that money from the LLC and then say it's now his personal cash, hands off?

It doesn't seem like you should be able to do that, but I'm having a little trouble imagining how you'd write a law to forbid it.

 

[Parmandur]

No?

The original place AD&D was designed. The same place where you can play D&D if you want. Old books and magazine and minis etc.

It’s a big slice of gaming history and I wouldn’t mind seeing it someday.

It's vaporware like all the rest: nothing to see, and never will be.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Here's a question: Presuming LaNasa's LLC is sufficiently legit that Wizards can't go after his personal assets, what about nuTSR's profits off counterfeit merch (the dice sets, T-shirts, and so forth with oldTSR's logos)? Can LaNasa pocket that money from the LLC and then say it's now his personal cash, hands off?

It doesn't seem like you should be able to do that, but I'm having a little trouble imagining how you'd write a law to forbid it.

That can work to a degree, (and probably will work in LaNasa's case because there simply isn't enough money in some merch to be worth trying to extract from him), but courts can "pierce the veil" of limited liability entities when someone is abusing them to shield income from something illegal or such, which is generally easiest against LLCs that comingle funds and have poor record keeping which my money would be on being the case with LaNasa.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

No?

The original place AD&D was designed. The same place where you can play D&D if you want. Old books and magazine and minis etc.

It’s a big slice of gaming history and I wouldn’t mind seeing it someday.

Wouldn't be any point trying to con people with something they didn't want to see happen.