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You all know you can just actually Google the whole Kenzer v WotC thing right?

You are typing uncertain statements into the same machine that can give you certainty.
 

As I've begun my next monetary adventure (unrelated to 'real life' things like renos!) I picked up a selection of zines and modules.

Echoes From Fomalhaut #01: Beware the Beekeeper!
Echoes From Fomalhaut #06: The Gallery of Rising Tombs
Echoes From Fomalhaut #07: From Beneath the Glacier
Echoes From Fomalhaut #09: Beyond the Gates of Sorrow
The Barbarian King
The Lost Valley of Kishar
In the Shadow of the City-God
The Well of Frogs
The Webs of Past and Present
Cloister of the Frog-God
City of the Ape-Men
 

This is technically not true. While Kenzer certainly had a very strong case, the matter never went to trial and Kenzer settled with WotC out of court, so there was no trial to "win".
They came away with a whopper of a settlement... that's a win by all but the narrowest of definitions.
 


Well, David Kenzer is an intellectual property attorney and there was, by all accounts, a clear contractual breach, so WotC was probably very happy to settle for something that wasn't a large amount of cash.
In point of fact, the "clear contractual breach" is far from clear. For instance, Greenberg v. National Geographic was a case with extremely similar circumstances (i.e. National Geographic released a CD-ROM compilation of old issues, and were sued by a photographer whose photographs they'd only licensed to use in the initial publication of their magazines), and after a circuitous round of cases in multiple courts, eventually resulted in a win for National Geographic.
 

In point of fact, the "clear contractual breach" is far from clear.
My understanding of the Kenzer case is that the agreement they had with TSR/WotC specifically excluded any form of reprints, so it wasn't a case of WotC relying on the Greenberg precedent, but simply overlooking the fact that they had (in Kenzer's case specifically) contractually agreed not to do what they did.
 

My understanding of the Kenzer case is that the agreement they had with TSR/WotC specifically excluded any form of reprints, so it wasn't a case of WotC relying on the Greenberg precedent, but simply overlooking the fact that they had (in Kenzer's case specifically) contractually agreed not to do what they did.
My understanding was that the case hinged on TSR/WotC having first-publication rights only, not that it specifically excluded reprints per se (which sounds like two different ways of saying the same thing, but actually isn't). Likewise, given how long it took to get a ruling in Greenberg, it wouldn't have been precedent at that point; I brought it up only to point out that while David Kenzer likely (and understandably) thought he had a slam-dunk of a case, the reality (had it gone to court) might have turned out very differently.
 



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