Suing WoTC?
guildofblades:
That being said, you can always try to up front approach first. Call WOTC and see about speaking to the brand manager who is in charge of the product that is utilizing your IP. Inform them about the copyright violation and tell them that you are willing to settle the issue amicably, assuming WOTC is willing to obtain a proper license for the use of your IP. Then ask who would be the most appropriate person at WOTC whom you should be speaking with.
If attempts to contact them by phone in this manner get stonewalled, send them a similar letter by registered mail, including a cease and desist until such time that it is worked out so that WOTC has the appropriate license for use.
If your licensing fee is at all reasonable and you can verify appropriate ownership of the IP (who knows where they got it from...), then settling with you to become a legal licensor should prove to be a whole lot less hassle for them than a lawsuit. That and lawsuits run the risk of negative PR (something public companies tend to avoid like the plague) and of considerably higher costs due to lawyer fees and potential penalties if they lose.
So absolutely, don't rule out the direct, civil and business like approach. Could be you will walk away satisfied without ever having to pay a lawyer. They don't want to go that route, then none of us here can advise you as a lawyer can. So, best to get a lawyer at that point.
Ryan S. Johnson
Guild of Blades Retail Group - http://www.guildofblades.com/retailgroup.php
Guild of Blades Publishing Group - http://www.guildofblades.com
1483 Online - http://www.1483online.com
iago:
Taalyn, can you tell us what the font was, as well? A number of us do layout and have "the eye" for spotting fonts in use; maybe we can keep an eye out for its use in other places too.
Best of luck with this. I think the suggestion to contact Crystal Caste is a very strong one.
taalyn:
hey guys,
Thanks for the feedback. All of it it useful. I will definitely contact Crystal Caste - if nothing else, they may be able to direct me to the right person to talk to. I am going to talk with a lawyer, just to make sure I understand my rights and the issues correctly, but I don't want to go the lawyer / litigation route either. I'm really broke. :)
The font in question is called "Glyphis". A google search will bring up a number of uses, but the best place to get it is probably here, one of the original websites I released it to:
http://www.miskatonic.net/pickman/mythos/shop.htm
Plus, the website is kinda cool.
I have licensed the font to another Forgite for his game (apparently dead) - Stranger Things, I think it was called. Otherwise - personal, non-profit use, I'm fine with. It's when you make money off it...
Aidan
Veritas Games:
Aidan, if they used your specific electronic font files without permission, then that is copyright infringement. If they copied your font style (your typeface) down to the pixel, then it isn't copyright infringement. Type faces are not copyrightable in the United States of America. Font software (the font file for Windows/Mac) can be. Outside the U.S. font faces may be copyrightable in some jurisdictions. If you need case law citations, etc., I'll provide them. Prove that they embedding your font software in PDFs or that they copied the font software for illegal use and bang, they're hurtin'. Prove that they got their hands on a PRINTED version of your alphabet and copied it down to the pixel, and you're proving only that they are doing something entirely legal (although admitted harmful to you).
Lee Valentine
President
Veritas Games Co. LLC
taalyn:
heya Lee,
What you say is all true - though I can't imagine how I'd prove they were copying it pixel by pixel.
The font, which was created over 3 months, each glyph drawn by hand as I sailed through southeast Asia in the Navy, is pretty identifiable. Since it's not a Roman alphabet font, issues of art come into play, and I feel pretty strongly that it would hold up in court, copyright recognized or not. There are precedents.
The specific use is in the packaging and product of Dungeon Tiles, where they are used as artistic elements - not surprising since it's an artistic font. It's not like my font differs from others only in the way that the serifs appear and the extremity of the x-height...
In other words, it's a work of art distributed via a font, not a font in the legal sense.
Crystal Caste will likely be in touch today to talk about specific advice. We've just played tag via email, so he's gonna call.
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