Baggronor:
Looks like GW are hitting me with a claim of copyright infringement. Haven’t seen what they’ve actually sent me yet as I’m still at work. I wonder if Mantic and AoW all got this too, or is it just the little guys who can’t afford a lawyer they pick on?
Anyway, this should be interesting.
Willmark:
Dude that sucks. TBQH one of the reasons I stopped working on Word of Hashut was some shenanigans from GW Legal as well as their general stance on IP.
Lately my endeavors have been for my own IP rather then supporting GWs for no compensation and a headache doing it.
If you fight it let me know, I’ll probably be the first to donate to a defense fund for you.
rpitts2004:
Looks like i’ll be making an order this weekend =).
Yeah once you get home you’ll have to let us know. Doesn’t look like you are selling GW copies You have your own names your own story. GW is the big dog and doesn’t like anyone stealing their food.
Open a indiegogo fund to take on the big dog =)
fairoaks024:
it’s pretty hard to see how they have the copyright on ‘evil dwarves’ isn’t it?
duergar have been in d&d since before there was a GW. The design isn’t the same either.
It’s a typical example of them throwing their legal bully boys muscle around.
best of luck baggronor
regards
jim
Skink:
No way. Why GW can’t accept that your CDs are way better than theirs??? Besides, I really can’t see what’s the connection between your minis and theirs other than curly beards. And I don’t tyhink that’s enough to be looked at as copyright infringiment.
rpitts2004:
No way. Why GW can't accept that your CDs are way better than theirs??? Besides, I really can't see what's the connection between your minis and theirs other than curly beards. And I don't tyhink that's enough to be looked at as copyright infringiment.They are not chaos dwarfs, they are evil dwarfs =)
Skink
Baggronor:
They sent me a very amateurish-looking document comparing a few of their minis to mine.
Main griping points seem to be that some of my minis are dwarfs, have scale mail and have twirly beards. I wonder if they’re suing ancient mesopotamia too? Made me laugh when they compared Infernal Guard to my Heavy Infantry - mine were released first.
Anyway, I have no desire to enter into a lengthy legal dispute against a massive company with a tonne of resources and people who are paid to do this kind of thing all day long. Its a waste of my time.
The most likely outcome is I will simply make some sufficiently different-looking Dwarves to replace the losses.
For those of you who are interested, the supposed infringers are the Dwarf Overlord, Marrog Blackhand, Heavy Infantry, Heavy Infantry Command and Royal Guard. Everything except Grulka and the Pyromancers basically.
NoisyAssassin:
That’s really a BS move on their part. There’s no way their claims would actually stand in court. Too bad they only pick on people who don’t hav ethe time and res to fight back 
Your stuff is far too awesome to stop making just because GW is having a tantrum…
Willmark:
Fight um, you’re right in this. As far as resources I’m sure plenty of folks will back you.
Their C&D letters are basically a low resource, high results tactic. The last thing they want is to go to court. You might even find a barrister that does pro bono work.
Thommy H:
You might want to at least pull out a few invoices that prove your models predate the Warhammer Forge figures. When your range started, GW weren’t producing anything even remotely similar.
Baggronor:
Seriously.
Willmark:
Anyone else find it ironic that their most popular line, 40k has an imperium that mirrors their legal department.
Thommy H:
Their Chaos Dwarf illustration doesn’t have a large flat nose though - he has a long, hooked nose, it just looks flat because of foreshortening. That’s, ironically, one of the distinctive features of GW’s CD range which Titan doesn’t share. So they apparently don’t even know what makes their own imagery unique…
rpitts2004:
Anyone else find it ironic that their most popular line, 40k has an imperium that mirrors their legal department.Kill the witch! BURN THE HERETIC!
Willmark
Swissdictator:
Anyone else find it ironic that their most popular line, 40k has an imperium that mirrors their legal department.Yes, yes it is.
Willmark
Thommy H:
It’s all very disappointing anyway, and another swift, sharp blow to my already-fragmentary faith in humanity. Maybe I’ll just find a new hobby.
rpitts2004:
It's all very disappointing anyway, and another swift, sharp blow to my already-fragmentary faith in humanity. Maybe I'll just find a new hobby.No you just need an x-wing and to fly in and destroy the Games Workshop death star.
Thommy H
Willmark:
Thommy- No as you and I discussed in the past it might finally be time to team up with Baggranor to do something outside of the realm of fantasy that we can give the preverbial middle finger to GW over.
I don’t look at it as lost faith, I didn’t have any in GW to begin with, this reinforces it.
rpitts2004:
Either way Baggranor I’m sure you have the full support of the members of this place I would certainly donate!
Thommy H:
That’s the thing though - I really like what GW are doing at the moment and defended their right to protect their IP against the blatant rip-off artists. And I know that John, like me, feels quite strongly about creators’ rights and making Titan Wargames have its own unique identity while still having market appeal is one of the reasons he asked me to come on board to write the background for these great figures.
So to have a company I love turn its misplaced anger on a guy (and another, less involved but still helping out, guy) who is actually on their side, is quite dispiriting.