Hero Quest 25th and legal problems

[GMforPowergamers]

SO there is a company trying to put out a 25th anniversary of a game they don't own. I found out they got kicked off kick starter and now are on a crowdfuning site in Spain.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2113976860/heroquest-25th-anniversary

http://www.examiner.com/article/heroquest-kickstarter-cancelled-over-rights-dispute

I don't know how this didn't get more attention. What does everyone think

 

[Kramodlog]

I wonder where humanity would be if someone had the rights to the wheel and would suie anyone of copies the original design of a circle.

 

[Deset Gled]

What does everyone think

I find little room for arguments. The company starting the Kickstarter clearly didn't have distribution rights in the US, and Kickstarter is an American company, based in America, doing business with Americans, in American currency. You would have to find the loopiest holes imaginable to pull this one off.

Really, the only reason this is an "ongoing" dispute is that the trademark owner was nice enough to say they would allow it if the Kickstarter got Hasbro to agree it was okay. And I can understand their point; if Hasbro and the Spanish company got into a pissing match over the miniatures, it's guaranteed the game trademark owner would end up getting pulled into the fray some way or another.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

SO there is a company trying to put out a 25th anniversary of a game they don't own. I found out they got kicked off kick starter and now are on a crowdfuning site in Spain.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2113976860/heroquest-25th-anniversary

http://www.examiner.com/article/heroquest-kickstarter-cancelled-over-rights-dispute

I don't know how this didn't get more attention. What does everyone think

just to play devil's advacate where would we be if you could buy a copy of a writer's work... like say the new Dresden files book, then publish it yourself and sell it for $2.50 cheaper then the original company (Since you now aren't paying anything but print costs) why would anyone write the next in the series?

Or if I need $50,000 to develop this new software, then spend $10 to reperduce each copy for sale... I sell them for $49.95 hopeing to remake that start up... then someone buys it and spends the same $10 to reperduce the program and sell it for $23.95... he will make a lot more profit...