GW IP rules - Stay Vigilant

[Oxymandias]

I posted this as a response to some of the questions on the discord regarding GWs updated and tightened IP policy. @MichaelX suggested I
repost here so all can see. (Caveat - this hasn’t been written by the staff team, and has been written by me. My views not CDOs etc etc)

Hello all just to let you know what Staff have been doing in relation to this latest round of IP crackdowns. @Loidrial has been working on alternative logos for the site in case we get C&D’d over it. We have also made sure that what needs to be in the treasure trove is in the treasure trove.

From our reading we think our website existing is almost definitely fine as the name chaos dwarfs is not copy writable. Its a pre chapter house case name that is beautifully generic. We are angry and like little models. There - chaos dwarfs.

If the site was called hand of Hashut, dawi Zharr online or something like that we may have had worries there.

We have the zine that I guess we could also be pulled up on at some point. But it’s non profit, doesn’t really use much if any gw imagery and free so hopefully won’t get noticed. If herohammer magazine can continue we absolutely can as they more than cross the IP line with their use of gw art etc. (Not a criticism of their work btw)

At least two maybe three of the big forums have either been hit with these CnDs or have preemptively acted because they think they are about to . We are much smaller than all of those.

Patreon. I think we are fine. The patreon is explicitly to fund the server space required for the site. If the site isn’t breaking a rule by existing , then the funding of it shouldn’t be much of an issue.

This next part is very important: As always stay vigilant and avoid sharing content or links that break IP laws and could get the website in trouble (recasting and scanning resources are possibly the most obvious case) in any public areas such as the discord or the forum. As a website we don’t condone or support that sort of thing.

If you think there’s anything we can do as a team to tighten up and protect our website drop one of the staff a message. Myself, @Admiral , @Loidrial and @tjub are quite active on the forum so you’ll probably get quite a quick reply if you message one of us. There are lots of other staff too. Feel free to message any of us.

Rest assured the staff is on top of this and making any changes we have to to keep CDO going for another decade, or nine.

• Oxy

[chitzkoi]

If you are interested, here’s the relevant sections that impact most of us, along with a link to the whole policy.

First, the forum as a whole:

Fan-sites
Individuals may create their own fan sites based on our characters and settings, but these must:

** not include text, artwork, imagery, footage or animation copied from any official Games Workshop material
** make it clear that they are unofficial, without using any Games Workshop logos
**not post or display rules or stats copied from from any official Games Workshop material
**not be prejudicial to the goodwill, reputation or integrity of Games Workshop or its intellectual property

TL;DR - "don’t host material that someone would’ve had to pay for"

Second, publications and written material like the Brazen Bulletin, Thus Spake Xarathustra and Among The Wicked Dawi.

Fan-fiction, hobby books and magazines
Individuals may write their own stories, hobby books and magazines based on our characters and settings, but these must:

** not include text, artwork or imagery copied from any official Games Workshop material
be non-commercial, with no money being received or paid. This includes all forms of fundraising activity, and generation of any advertising revenue
** not be publicly distributed, except for no-charge digital distribution
** make it clear that they are unofficial, without using any Games Workshop logos, and include the word ‘unofficial’ prominently on the front cover
** not be prejudicial to the goodwill, reputation or integrity of Games Workshop or its intellectual property"

TL;DR - "online only, no money, and no scenes where Wade Pryce gets stabbed by John Blanche"

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Intellectual-Property-Guidelines

[Oxymandias]

@chitzkoi

where Wade Pryce gets stabbed by John Blanche

Thanks Chitz

[Habitual_Lurker]

Hmm. They’re gonna come for WAP next, aren’t they? Time to download everything on that site for posterity, methinks.

[Oxymandias]

Yeah I don’t know or speak to Matthias Eliason but it stands to reason that projects very high on the priority list. It would be a true sadness. They’ve kept alive a torch that gw themselves snuffed out. I got a copy of warhammer armies chaos dwarfs professionally printed out from that project. Flirting with getting hobgob one done too

[Habitual_Lurker]

I asked about on their Discord as they seem pretty sanguine about it. Apparently Matthias was directly in contact with GW over the relatively recent WAP Amazons release and they were absolutely fine with it.

I can’t say I share their confidence tbh, but I hope they’re right.

[Reaver]

@Oxymandias

another decade, or nine

Plenty of time for quality fosching, sign me up

[MichaelX]

that seems… very VERY out of character

[Habitual_Lurker]

Quite. Their behaviour has always been a bit inconsistent, hasn’t it? But then big companies like that are rarely consistent in their views throughout. Just because you’ve had a cordial conversation with one individual or department doesn’t mean a different part of the organisation isn’t going to come for your scalp.