Quote from: The Shaman;387000And an appeal for money follows in five . . . four . . . three . . .

That wasn't it? "However, if we are unable to match the spending of the opposition, the outcome may not bode well for Palladium or Rifts®." Surely that got some people running to the Palladium online store and PayPal.

Seanchai

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I used to like playing rifts but got bored of how broken it was years ago. Chairman kev's zealotry about protecting his ip is kinda beyond boring now so i really hope the guy loses badly in this case if only to make him realise he isnt the most important thing to happen to rpg's since gygax and arnson created em in the 70's and his fans are a bunch of old farts who dont know any better.

I believe pretty strongly that KS has been looking for a target with deep pockets for a while.  I think he got overconfident.  He holds technological businesses in fairly low regard, so he probably thought a obscure MMORPG maker would be a good target.  He obviously thought it would be open and shut and that he could roll the dice with a heavy modifier and win.

The whole thing shows that KS's "top IP lawyer" is a hack.  He has no idea what trademarks Palladium even has filed.  I'm not Palladium's lawyer and I could have told you that the Rifts videogame trademark is not "Rifts: Promise of Power."  KS, in his paranoia about contamination, kept the Rifts trademark separate from the Promise of Power trademark.  I could have also told you that practically none of the Rifts books use the title Rifts: fill in the blank, and I can't think of a single one which actually has the whole title as a distinct trademark rather than the Rifts trademark and the subtitle being separate.

It probably doesn't help that KS claims trademarks on things he has never filed for.  A friend and I did some research in the mid-late 90s, and our findings were that KS/Palladiumbooks didn't own half the trademarks he claims.  KS just lives in his own little world.

Oh, and let me tell you, this is all some damn sweet stuff.  It's KS's very own bullshit practices coming back to bite him in the ass.

Oh, it's going to get sweeter.  He's already trotting out the Crisis of Treachery heavily again.  I can't wait for the "concerned fan" to set up a paypal account for donations.  Also, if this lawsuit goes further, the Rifts trademark is going to be attacked as a weak mark.  For those who know their Rifts history, KS initially intended Rifts to have a different name.  When something bad happens, KS always looks for someone to demonize.

Again, I hope KS loses. I'm a little tired of people thinking they can own a word and keep anyone else from using it. Like "radio shack" goes after anyone using the term "shack" in their business.

I'm not a GW fan, but I liked it when Marvel comics tried to force them to change the name "spacehulk" because they thought they owned the word "Hulk".

Marvel: You're going to have to change the title of the game 'spacehulk" as it's too much like our character "the hulk".

GW: We're not changing the name. Use of the word "hulk" to apply to a derelict vessel is long established in the english language.

Marvel: We've got lawyers and we'll sue you and get an injunction to put you out of business by keeping you from selling your game until the suit's settled 10 years from now!

GW: We've got lawyers too, and we'll file a harassment suit against you for filing a frivolous lawsuit, so fuck off.

Marvel: Well, damn...

Quote from: Gabriel2;387092For those who know their Rifts history, KS initially intended Rifts to have a different name.  When something bad happens, KS always looks for someone to demonize.

I didn't know this. Care to elaborate?

Is a second thread on this topic really needed? Also Palladium has bowed in the past to the same pressure from other companies. Remember a little game called Nightspawn? Guess who threatened PB over that one. This crap happens everyday because the U.S. has a screwed up legal system. There are plenty of good reasons to bash KS but this lawsuit isn't one of the them.

Quote from: Cylonophile;387119Again, I hope KS loses.

To my understanding, he did. Today.

Seanchai

It appears so, though there's a jurisdiction issue - Palladium could refile the complaint to pursue it further...

Quote from: The Butcher;387123I didn't know this. Care to elaborate?

The Glitterboy's were originally going to be called Boomers, but Kev found out there was an anime that had already used the term (Bubblegum Crisis, IIRC), and instead decided to make them sound like a psychodelic andro band from the 70's instead...

What makes KS think that this MMORPG company has money?

Most of their cash would be committed already to developing the project, and rest spent on wages and advertising.

MMORPGs fail at an alarming rate.

Quote from: Lawbag;387029Is this really what a friend, family, fan of Rifts really wants?

Nope, but I would not want his future avenues of film and video games for his IP to be lost due either.

And that's what is the apparent issue.  Trion has called into question Palladium's right to make video games from their IP.   Thus, it has to go in front of a judge to dismiss.

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;387047What 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?

In the US, if you do not defend your trademarks you risk losing them.  
 
At the end of the day, I expect KS to "win" to keep his rights, but have little or no effect on Trion.   More importantly, it will drain a huge amount of time and money from Palladium.

Will there be another call to arms for fans?   Probably.  But that's not a problem if you are a Palladium fan.  

We clearly understand that Palladium is a tiny company trying to make products for a tiny niche publishing industry.  And we like their products and want them to continue making them.

It's like supporting an obscure garage band.   We like their music and want more of it and we know that sometimes means passing that hat.

If the fans don't support KS, then Palladium will join all the other failed RPG companies on the rockpile of the past and we will never get any more Palladium product.   Which for fans, isn't what we want.

Ny issue here is that KS is doing this at the expense of everything else. Forget about any new books being released in the next XX Months or XX years, because KS is focusing on this.

First round goes to Trion. Suit dismissed as the judge from the court it was filed in cited a lack of jurisdiction.

Quote from: The Butcher;387123I didn't know this. Care to elaborate?

KS originally intended to center the game around the Glitter Boy, and has claimed he had several other titles he considered.  Then Erick Wujcik or Kevin Long suggested "Rifts" as more encompassing of the whole setting.  KS liked the name and decided to use it.

Kevin Long then designed the Rifts logo which is the specific instance the trademark applies to.

If this goes further, and "Rifts" is determined to be a diluted mark with a generic meaning, I'm sure he'll demonize one or the other.