Chapter House VS. GW

[Sean King]

Evidently the trial is finally over. I have absolutely no idea what the results exactly are, but both Forge World and Chapter House renovated thier websites in the last 24 hours. I also know that some of the things that had been on offer at Chapter House are gone, but a lot of others are back and the finally released arms for thier female guardsmen.  

[Vikki Stardust]

Chapterhouse is forced to pay a lot of money to GW: 25k!!  

[DarkElf27]

Backstory please? I'm out of the loop on this trial. sweatdrop  

[Sean King]

GW sued Chapter House for copyright infringement, but the corporate lawyers they hired were morons. Chapter House counter sued stating that GW's claims of intellectual property for certain designs(shoulder pad insignia for example) which GW had never even made a physical example of (shoulder pad insignia for the Soul Drinkers is a specific example) did not violate US copyright laws. Unfortuneately the lawyers for Chapter House were equally inept. They were trying to argue that the original sculpts for GW figures amounted to "ART". It was a strange trial from what I understand. None of the lawyers had any experience with the gaming industry or with the wider gaming community. Some of the arguments were quite laughable. The whole affair could be a good thing or a bad thing for the gaming community as a whole we will have to wait and see. I am probably leaving a whole lot out, but I have not been able to get any decent accounts or records of the trial.  

[Sean King]

OK I found what I had been looking for. Verdict  

[Sean King]

Here is some more info on the case.
Nov, 2012
Apr, 2013
Summary  

[Vikki Stardust]

Breaking down the counts along the different categories we have:

Copyright Claims
160 claims alleged against CHS
-GW won on 1/3 of the claims, including items such as CHS’ Powerfists
-CHS won on 2/3 of the claims, including the use of the underlying shape and size of GW Shoulderpads.

General Trademark Claims
9 claims alleged against CHS
-CHS won all 9 claims, including either no infringement, or fair use of the GW trademarks on CHS’ website.

Disputed Trademark Claims
21 disputed trademark claims alleged against CHS
CHS won 11 claims
GW won 10 claims

GW Trademarks ruled “Previously Used in Commerce” Claims
61 claims alleged against CHS
CHS won 35 claims
GW won 27

Notable Trends and Individual Products Under Dispute
CHS lost on some individual products including:
-Doomseer
-Dark Elf Arch Tortress

CHS won on some individual products including:
-Jetbike
-Super-heavy walker model
-Lizard Ogre

Damages Awarded:
CHS ordered to pay GW damages of $25,000 USD

Both sides may appeal the ruling.

Thoughts and Implications:
It’s looking like however CHS as an entity comes out of this ruling, the implications for the 3rd party industry are profound.

-The ruling of no infringement for the use of the underlying shape and size of GW shoulderpads is now on the legal record.
-Possibly more important is not guilty verdicts on the use of GW trademarks and terms on the CHS website.
-While certain CHS products themselves may disappear from the Earth in the aftermath of this case, it looks like the verdict may have provided a clear blueprint for the 3rd party accessory bits market. One that allows legal use of certain GW trademarks and terms in a way that goes way beyond what Nottingham themselves ever wished to allow.  

[Asmondai]

I´m just glad this court-case is finally over,
GW was being they´r typical dumbasses as always,
not the mention intentionally with-holding information about their
IP and Copyright laws they have for their mini´s, from a court of law!

For gamer-community... it has little to no effect,
just another cross on the "GW is Dumb!" wall.
That and 3rth-party companies can make and design addon-products
for other miniature games,
while allowed to advertise them being compadible for specific "XX"-mm series
and/or GW products.

...as far as I understand that is.... sweatdrop  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Asmondai

...as far as I understand that is.... sweatdrop

If I may.. wink

While we love to shout that Games Workshop is pure undiluted evil and that they are out to get each and every one of us, it should be noted that this sort of case is not uncommon, as in, a company wanting to protect its own creations and source of income.

It goes without saying however that GW has mostly created this situation their selves with the cancellation of their always excellent bits service they used to run. GW thinks that if you want a certain bit, you'll buy the entire kit or one of their upgrade packs.

What does make this case unique is that for the first time (to my knowledge) we've had a case where people have actually sat down and looked at what GW can and cannot copyright in terms of physical shapes and designs. Most interesting of all, they no longer hold a monopoly on the shoulder pad design, which while it did not stop other companies from creating their own, has now more or less been a green light for them that it was okay all along.

While Chapterhouse Studios is the loser here, they did strike a mighty blow for the aftermarket parts sector as a whole: It is now more clearly defined as to what you may or may not sell yourself, plus which terminology you must avoid using.