Nerds in Court
Nerds in Court
GAMES WORKSHOP SPOTS AUTHOR’S USE OF THE TERM “SPACE MARINE” AND CLAIMS TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT
In mid-December 2012, Amazon.com removed the e-book “Spots the Space Marine: Defense of the Fiddler” by MCA Hogarth from their store upon Games Workshop’s request. Games Workshop claimed Hogarth’s book infringed their trademark of the term “space marine.” Hogarth denied infringement, asserting to Amazon that “space marine” is a generic term and a fundamental trope … Continue reading
TIME TO KICK THAT NASTY HOBBIT: JUDGE ISSUES TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER ON ‘AGE OF HOBBITS’ MOCKBUSTER
It was 1937 when Tolkien published “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” to wide critical acclaim, from which time it has sold an estimated 35 million to 100 million copies. It was 1993 when Disney brought a lawsuit against a company, Goodtimes Home Video Corp. in the Southern District federal court in New York. … Continue reading
I ALONE GET SUED: LIGHTNING CRASHES ON EX-SINGER FOR BAND “LIVE” AS SUIT IS FILED FOR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT BY PROXY COMPANY OF FORMER BANDMATES
Vocalist/frontman Ed Kowalczyk started the band “Live” in 1991 with three other musicians. Friends in York, Pennsylvania, they had played under various combination until a 1991 contract with Radioactive Records saw them enter the studio under the new moniker. They also formed United Action Front Unlimited as a company to house the band’s new trademark … Continue reading
US v. KIM DOTCOM – PART I OF THE MEGAUPLOAD SAGA: THE CURIOUS CASE OF KIM DOTCOM
Kim Dotcom has led an interesting life. Born Kim Schmitz in Kiel, Germany, in 1974, the 6’6″, ~300 lbs., father of 5 (including twin girls born earlier this year) has been in the public spotlight, and had brushes with the law, since he was a teenager. At 19, he was known as Kimble (referencing the … Continue reading
IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WON’T COME: KINGDOM OF RHODE ISLAND IS RECKONING TO TAKE OVER ASSETS OF AMALUR CREATOR 38 STUDIOS WHICH SPENT $133 MILLION BEFORE GOING BANKRUPT, INCLUDING $50 MILLION OF PITCHER’S PERSONAL FORTUNE
In 2005, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was a huge fan of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, aka MMORPGs, of which World of Warcraft is probably the most famous example. At a family gathering, Schilling asked his uncle, a retired business executive, about starting their own game company, and begin recruiting friends to join the … Continue reading
ELECTRONIC ARTS SETTLES CLASS ACTION FOR $27 MILLION OVER VIDEOGAME PRICE-FIXING
In 2008, a class action was filed in the Northern District of California against Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) (“EA”) for fixing prices of their football videogames. The essential allegations were that through signing exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, AFL, and NCAA (both pro-leagues and the college league), EA cornered the market on football … Continue reading
IT MUST HAVE SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME: THQ CONTINUES TO SUFFER FOR BET ON UDRAW
In November 2010, THQ, Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) released the uDraw Game Tablet peripheral for the Wii console. The uDraw looked and functioned like a hybrid between an art stylus and game controller. One could use the stylus with the included art studio program or play games on the uDraw, including those based on Disney, Marvel, … Continue reading
UBISOFT SUED OVER “TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW 6: PATRIOTS” TRAILER
Videogame releases, particularly big titles like Ubisoft’s “Rainbow 6″ based off of Tom Clancy, are preceded by action-packed trailers and ads to hype the game. A two-minute trailer is fairly standard, and most gamers or those who watch tv shows which gamers watch, have often seen these kinds of commercials. Ever wonder how much those … Continue reading
COMPOSER OF “BADSTREET USA” LOOKS TO SUPLEX THE WWE: LAWSUIT OVER WRESTLER ENTRANCE THEME MUSIC TRIGGERED BY CALL FROM VIDEOGAME DEVELOPER THQ
While flipping channels between PBS and the Science channel, you might have caught some professional wrestling at some point. If not, you should know that when there is to be a wrestling match, each wrestler comes out to the stage one at a time, to jeers or cheers from the waiting crowd. While covering the … Continue reading
NERDS IN COURT AT #SDCC
Robotech Industry Panel Nerds in Court was able to attend the Robotech panel at Comic-Con, as well as talk to Tommy Yune, President of Harmony Gold at their booth, and we’re bringing news for Robotech junkies. Harmony Gold are in talks with Warner Bros. to do a live action blockbuster adaption in the $100MM+ mark … Continue reading
