I know this is old news, but since KS just spit this out to the public himself. From his rambling weekly e-mail to the faithful. I ask you, what do you think of it?
For those who dont recieve the ramblings,

QuotePalladium Books® Weekly Update – June 11 2010
By Kevin Siembieda

A lot has been going on these past several weeks.

By now, many of you may have heard Palladium Books® has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against a company named Trion Worlds over their MMORPG recently renamed Rift: Planes of Telara.

For me the issues are simple and self-evident.

See for yourself – riftgame.com

My apologies, but for a variety of reasons and legal concerns I cannot discuss anything about the lawsuit. I can tell you that for the last six weeks we've been consumed by it.

That's why there have been few Murmurs from the Megaverse®, little news in our weekly updates, and no new product.

Despite what some people would like to believe, lawsuits are never fun or taken lightly, at least not by me.

Over the last several weeks I've been quiet on the subject, but even though the suit is still going on, and may continue for some time, I feel I need to tell you, Palladium's fans, friends and supporters, what I'm feeling.

Adversity can either break you or make you a stronger, better person. I'd like to think the events of the past eight or nine years have made me a better and wiser person. Stronger too. The Crisis of Treachery is such a hallmark event. The day I went public about the embezzlement and how Palladium needed its fans to help keep the company alive, something changed for ALL OF US. We transcended the corporation/customer relationship. Fans rushed to help Palladium survive the Crisis and poured their hearts out to express their love for the company, our products, me and the other Palladium creators and staff. It was beautiful and miraculous. It helped us survive. It created an unspoken covenant that made the already strong Palladium community a family. A family based on trust, openness, communication and fun.

I'm not going to stop talking to my family. I can't do business like that. The Crisis of Treachery (and other things both private and public) changed me forever. And I think that change is for the better.

Maybe some people think that's a sign of weakness, naivete, misplaced sentimentality or even stupidity. I think they're wrong. It doesn't really matter, because this is the way I've chosen to conduct my business. I can't operate on a dog eat dog basis. I can't live in fear that my sincere, heartfelt words will be used against me. Maybe that's foolish, but you are my friends and my extended family. You have been for a long time now.

So here's the situation

Palladium is plugging away with this lawsuit. It's no secret Palladium has suffered its share of challenges and adversity these past several years. Those difficulties may work against Palladium in waging a full defense of the Rifts® trademark because it appears the opposition can outspend us. This has nothing to do with the merits of the lawsuit, and everything to do with size and money.

Palladium is fighting the good fight. We're doing all we can. And we aren't giving up. Not by a longshot. However, if we are unable to match the spending of the opposition, the outcome may not bode well for Palladium or Rifts®. I fear the infringement and confusion could have a negative impact on the many opportunities that seem to finally be coming our way for Rifts®. How ironic.

None of us knows how any of this will all shake out in the end. Despite the fact that Palladium has suffered more than its fair share of adversity, we've faced every challenge, and have walked away with hard fought triumph after triumph. This is one more challenge we must face.

These days, it seems, we all face adversity. Most everyone is struggling to keep their homes, their jobs, and their families fed, or businesses going. These are difficult and uncertain times for most people, and I wish each and every one of you the best. Hang tight. You too need to fight the good fight. Hold your loved ones close and show them how much you love them. Find comfort and joy in those you care about and who love you back. Keep those imaginations burning bright and please turn to Palladium's games to find some moments of laughter and fun.

I want you to know that whatever is going to happen with the Rifts® trademark lawsuit, is going to happen. We'll give it our all and make the best of the end result – whatever it may be. Knowing you are there wishing us well helps give us the strength to keep pressing forward.

Oy.


No, really. Oy.


The phrase "Do you have to make EVERYTHING a Federal Case" springs to mind.

He'd live longer and be happier if he'd come out of his cave full of (imaginary) gold coins and see the blue sky once in awhile. That's just my impression, of course.

This is a recent post from His Siembiedaness?  I thought a judge smacked this thing down recently?

And an appeal for money follows in five . . . four . . . three . . .

It's the little trademark symbol that continually pops up which makes KS's stuff so special to read.

Wonder if one can actually hear that symbol when he says, "Rifts," (or any other term he claims as his)?

Hmm. :hmm:

Drama, anyone?

Sounds like he's losing badly and is setting himself up to play martyr against the big bad company with pricey lawyers that beat him up. Of course, I think he is probably going down because if you Google Search "rift game" the wikipedia article about KS's RPG comes up fourth, with an online puzzle game called "RIFT" coming up three fucking times before that.

Since KS obviously hasn't sued "RIFT" for infringing on his copyright, but is suing "RIFT: Planes of Telara" for exactly that. The lawsuit is laughable on the face of it, and KS is going to get his butt kicked up and down court.

-Frank

It's not the name Rift that's the core issue.   It's the combo of Name + Concept.  

If you look at the R.I.F.T. puzzle game, its about a robot collecting cakes for his starving master.

If you look at Rift: Planes of Telara, it is a RPG where you use "rifts" to travel to other dimensions.

The question isn't the strength of his case, but the depth of pockets on either side and how much either will spend.   If KS is lucky, his lawyers will tie up the video game company into being unable to launch until the suit is settled.   That's possible if the judge feels sympathetic to the strength of the case.  

Otherwise, they will just drag the case out for years until it is clear the MMO is a real hit or miss.   If its a hit, then its payoff time.   If its a miss, then they collapse the shell company and walk away.  

KS has no choice but to fight this tooth and nail.  His hold on the Rifts TM is the only chance he has to see profit from the movie (if / when) it happens.

Is this really what a friend, family, fan of Rifts really wants?

I mean, with KS doing everything these days, from writing to editing, he still only has 24 hours in a day to run his company, And where would they like to see his efforts directed?

If you take the analogy to its extreme he is spending YOUR money to protect his IP so he can take more of YOUR money.

Personally, I have no interest in anything KS has produced (other than 4 rifts supplements with I've used for Deadlands), but if I did give a shit, I'd not want him to spend his time on this lawsuit, instead to carry on with new books and updates to the website. Who is to say how many years this legal case may go on for, and could you really wait that long for the next book?

QuoteIf you look at the R.I.F.T. puzzle game, its about a robot collecting cakes for his starving master.

If you look at Rift: Planes of Telara, it is a RPG where you use "rifts" to travel to other dimensions.

Exactly. And in the Rifts tabletop RPG there are a series of dimensional portals that dump things into one blender setting. There's no going back or dimension hopping. The Planes of Telara game in closer in concept to GURPS: Infinite Worlds.

He'd be better off suing Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. At least that game takes place on a future Earth.

-Frank

"I cannot discuss anything about the lawsuit." (talks about it for a dozen paragraphs)

... seriously?

That being said: While I'm not a huge fan of Palladium or their "business" practices, I think this lawsuit is pretty well merited. RIFTS is a registered trademark for a roleplaying game. And this is a company trying to sell a computer roleplaying game called RIFT. The infringement is pretty self-evident.

I mean, if someone produced a CRPG called DUNGEON & DRAGON, would we really be shocked when WotC went after them? I mean, those guys totally dropped the "s"! And it's not like it's the only RPG to feature dungeons or dragons, right?

Karma is a bitch.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;387036I mean, if someone produced a CRPG called DUNGEON & DRAGON, would we really be shocked when WotC went after them? I mean, those guys totally dropped the "s"! And it's not like it's the only RPG to feature dungeons or dragons, right?

What if they called it Dragon Quest, Dragon Age, Dragon Fable, Dragon Hearts, Dungeon Siege, Dungeon Crawl, Dungeon of Doom, or Dragonstrike?

It's called Rift: Planes of Telara. It's a fantasy game where people can be a Ranger or a Warlock. No giant robots or mutant animals from the moon that I can see. For fuck's sake, doesn't Dragon Age have an identifiable Otiluke's Hamster Ball?

-Frank

What does he think will happen if he doesn't sue/win in court? I can see his point, but this is a completely different product surely?