Hello Folks,
Been a very VERY trying month… fighting off the swine flu epidemic, scrambling to finish an art show, and (apparently) dodging Games Workshop’s legal department! From the top…
Shortly after uploading the last page, I got struck by the flu piglets – how trendy of me. That knocked me on my behind for a good two weeks, which left precious little time to get work finished for an art show I had in Ottawa, Canada on Friday November 13th. But I got it done, and even sold half the pieces. If anyone’s interested, I put the remainder of the originals and prints up at my etsy shop (http://magicforestshop.etsy.com).
Most of you will probably have heard by now that Games Workshop seems to be on a Cease & Desist blitz. From what I’ve read they’re enforcing their trademark claims over names such as “Blood Bowl”, “Warhammer”, and their associated imagery. While all good and legal, it seems GW has (in some cases) gone to some ridiculous extremes, such as issuing a C&D to an authorized GW reseller, banning him from using GW product shots on his website! Some of the fansites given notice have complied with the requested changes, while others have chosen to shut down. In an age where there are countless Star Wars fan pages, Buffy fan fiction, and even fan-made HALO films (that Microsoft even CHOSE to endorse), I find it upsetting that Games Workshop feels the need for such a draconian hold on their Intellectual Property (IP). Though their Trademarks (TM) need to be enforced to remain valid, the same doesn’t hold true for their copyrighted material.
I decided to read GW’s entire IP policy, and what I found on page four distressed me somewhat:
Please note that we consider any background material you write to be a work which is derivative of our intellectual property. As such, you should refrain from putting any notice claiming that anyone other than Games Workshop Ltd has any right over Games Workshop-owned intellectual property or derivatives thereof.
When Josh and I started this comic back in April, we knew we were limited in what we could do. We knew that printed editions, posters, etc. were all out of the question; but never would I have guessed that GW would lay claim to anything we create in Gone to Ground! While many copyright holders (Lucasfilm, for one) allow, and even encourage derivative works such as fan-fiction… Games Workshop is exercising their right to ownership over “derivative work”, to what ends – we don’t know.
So while I sit here and nervously await a C&D notice that may or may not come, I am going to try and finish off this first storyline as quickly as I can. What happens next is still uncertain… Do we continue with the 40k IP? Do we build our own worlds for our characters to explore?
I don’t know. But I plan on keeping GtG going, and hope that you’ll join me!
I can’t believe they’re doing this. It’ll only serve to alienate the fans who want to enrich the experience. They need to sort out their priorities. By the way great comic.