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Gygax Magazine? [UPDATE 3 - Electric Boogaloo]
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<blockquote data-quote="JohnRTroy" data-source="post: 6054042" data-attributes="member: 2732"><p>This is a key problem for me.</p><p></p><p>The big thing is, while people are arguing for the "moral rights" to the name, we need to think about it for a minute. People are probably basing this on what they personally want for Gary's IP treatment or thinking of Luke and Ernie as the campaigners who gamed with their famous dad, etc, and that they are heirs to a dynasty.</p><p></p><p>Luke and Ernie had plenty of opportunities to get involved with their Dad's business, post TSR, both before (at Gary's invite) and after (at Gail's invite) he died. They refused all the time. Gary, for instance, asked both of them to be involved in Castle Zagyg, but they refused. And they have not written a lot in the industry, outside from a few things in the early days of TSR, and that one module from Troll Lord Games. It's only a few years after Gary died that they started in the industry.</p><p></p><p>Meantime, in terms of moral rights--Gail married Gary, as a spouse she comes first in inheritance than the kids (and Alex would probably be the heir if she died, if there's not a trust setup). I can appreciate the other part of the family's possible frustration that they don't have the rights to do stuff with their Dad's work or reputation, but, hey, that's what happens when somebody gets divorced and remarries. And I think if either they contributed to a lot of Gary's post-TSR work or there wasn't a family disagreement, this wouldn't be a issue.</p><p></p><p>But it's not just marriage. Trigee was registered in Gail's name. Gail may not be the "creative force", but she has done plenty of things for Gary--accounting, legal, keeping the business aspects afloat--she was definately a true partner in the endeavor. If Gary wanted things to be different, he could have established a will or trust that made things different. But, at least from my interpretation, it's clear that the person who probably did the most work for Gary's legacy gets control of it, both from a legal and a moral perspective.</p><p></p><p>The big problem I see with the term "Gygax Magazine" is that, since the kids aren't famous on their own yet for their writing, the use of just their family surname is confusing enough--it implies endorsement from the estate, and/or a implicent endorsement from Gary, as in "Gary passed on the torch to us". This is especially problematic if the magazine ends up having the bulk of the writing by others.</p><p></p><p>If the kids want to establish their own name--from what I've seen based on other creative types in the industry, usually you try to distance yourself from the parent. Jakob Dylan, for instance, works hard to keep people from bringing up Bob Dylan as his dad--he even has things in his rider expressly forbidding show venues from ever using that term. I would think because of this--if they wanted to establish their own name, they would not just use the surname--I can think of several ways to make it creative. "Sons of Gygax", "Luke and Ernie Gygax", or have the magazine not mention Gygax by name. Because, no matter what, any gamer is gonna look at the name Gygax and think of their Dad. Usually, when people are trying to establish a name for themselves, they try to distance themselves from the legacy. </p><p></p><p>There is a clear case for "consumer confusion", because this has actually happened before. The kids established their own "Gygax Family Memorial", and a lot of people who went to GaryCon confused that with the Gygax Memorial Fund. A lot of people thought these efforts were united, but they weren't. Based on that I can understand Gail's objection to the title of the magazine. </p><p></p><p>Finally, I think too many people are making their judgement based on their own personal likes rather than what is right. To me, what Gail is doing or not doing with Castle Zagyg, Lejendary Adventure, or whether or not she makes her plans transparent to the gaming community or whether she is a "gamer" is not an issue. It's the rights she inherited that I think is important. She's the sole person who can authorize Gary's name and likeness for us in any endeavor that is not covered by Fair Use. I suspect she could even object to GaryCon's name because it uses Gary's name and likeness, if she chose to. </p><p></p><p>Whether you agree or disagree with her plans or treatment, that really shouldn't influence a judgement of what's right or not.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JohnRTroy, post: 6054042, member: 2732"] This is a key problem for me. The big thing is, while people are arguing for the "moral rights" to the name, we need to think about it for a minute. People are probably basing this on what they personally want for Gary's IP treatment or thinking of Luke and Ernie as the campaigners who gamed with their famous dad, etc, and that they are heirs to a dynasty. Luke and Ernie had plenty of opportunities to get involved with their Dad's business, post TSR, both before (at Gary's invite) and after (at Gail's invite) he died. They refused all the time. Gary, for instance, asked both of them to be involved in Castle Zagyg, but they refused. And they have not written a lot in the industry, outside from a few things in the early days of TSR, and that one module from Troll Lord Games. It's only a few years after Gary died that they started in the industry. Meantime, in terms of moral rights--Gail married Gary, as a spouse she comes first in inheritance than the kids (and Alex would probably be the heir if she died, if there's not a trust setup). I can appreciate the other part of the family's possible frustration that they don't have the rights to do stuff with their Dad's work or reputation, but, hey, that's what happens when somebody gets divorced and remarries. And I think if either they contributed to a lot of Gary's post-TSR work or there wasn't a family disagreement, this wouldn't be a issue. But it's not just marriage. Trigee was registered in Gail's name. Gail may not be the "creative force", but she has done plenty of things for Gary--accounting, legal, keeping the business aspects afloat--she was definately a true partner in the endeavor. If Gary wanted things to be different, he could have established a will or trust that made things different. But, at least from my interpretation, it's clear that the person who probably did the most work for Gary's legacy gets control of it, both from a legal and a moral perspective. The big problem I see with the term "Gygax Magazine" is that, since the kids aren't famous on their own yet for their writing, the use of just their family surname is confusing enough--it implies endorsement from the estate, and/or a implicent endorsement from Gary, as in "Gary passed on the torch to us". This is especially problematic if the magazine ends up having the bulk of the writing by others. If the kids want to establish their own name--from what I've seen based on other creative types in the industry, usually you try to distance yourself from the parent. Jakob Dylan, for instance, works hard to keep people from bringing up Bob Dylan as his dad--he even has things in his rider expressly forbidding show venues from ever using that term. I would think because of this--if they wanted to establish their own name, they would not just use the surname--I can think of several ways to make it creative. "Sons of Gygax", "Luke and Ernie Gygax", or have the magazine not mention Gygax by name. Because, no matter what, any gamer is gonna look at the name Gygax and think of their Dad. Usually, when people are trying to establish a name for themselves, they try to distance themselves from the legacy. There is a clear case for "consumer confusion", because this has actually happened before. The kids established their own "Gygax Family Memorial", and a lot of people who went to GaryCon confused that with the Gygax Memorial Fund. A lot of people thought these efforts were united, but they weren't. Based on that I can understand Gail's objection to the title of the magazine. Finally, I think too many people are making their judgement based on their own personal likes rather than what is right. To me, what Gail is doing or not doing with Castle Zagyg, Lejendary Adventure, or whether or not she makes her plans transparent to the gaming community or whether she is a "gamer" is not an issue. It's the rights she inherited that I think is important. She's the sole person who can authorize Gary's name and likeness for us in any endeavor that is not covered by Fair Use. I suspect she could even object to GaryCon's name because it uses Gary's name and likeness, if she chose to. Whether you agree or disagree with her plans or treatment, that really shouldn't influence a judgement of what's right or not. [/QUOTE]
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