MW5 Sued

[Bensam123]

Lawsuits like this are stupid. The US patent system needs to be fixed.

If it's beyond a reasonable doubt that they're trying to make something new and different rather then blatantly copying someone else's work it should be good in my book. When it gets down to the nitty gritty and lawsuits are won over a portion of a sentence and lose site of the whole case, it's stupid. Originals almost always sell better then knockoffs as well and if they don't, they have a lot more wrong then worrying about clinging to one precious wonder.

[Uranium - 235]

Patent law and copyright law have little in common...

And the mechs ARE similar. The rumor is they were working on getting the rights, it all looked good, and for whatever reason it fell through, so HG just issued a C&D. Nobody was sued, or will be sued.

[~SJ~ Amarus]

Honestly the Warhammer is the one I want, because it looks the most Mech-like.

I mean, the Marauder? People like that stupid looking thing? It looks like an anime cliche D:

Though I'm a clanner I happen to like that mech a lot thank you very much and just remember...we are all equal in game...that is until my PPC cores you

[Cujo]

Lawsuits like this are stupid. The US patent system needs to be fixed.

If it's beyond a reasonable doubt that they're trying to make something new and different rather then blatantly copying someone else's work it should be good in my book. When it gets down to the nitty gritty and lawsuits are won over a portion of a sentence and lose site of the whole case, it's stupid. Originals almost always sell better then knockoffs as well and if they don't, they have a lot more wrong then worrying about clinging to one precious wonder.

you don't have a clue about how the u.s. copyright system works, and neither do the people who wrote the laws I think (but their interns and aides might >.> ), there are certain criteria that the court looks at to determine, one sentence is usually not nearly enough to constitute copyright infringement.  The whole point IS for someone to make something new and different.  But when they "ride the coattails" of another's success while doing that, then they've infringed on the copyright.  So say I write a CBT book and publish it, it may be completely different, new storyline, new characters, but I've copied the universe.  That's called a derivative work, and when you make it without permission and then go ahead and market it and whatnot, I've infringed on the copyright.  Copyright law is crazy, for instance, every paper I've ever written for school, I hold the copyright for, you don't have to file for a federal copyright to have a work copyrighted, but it would help alot in court, and a few other benefits.  But I'm no lawyer, and don't claim to know any intricacies about it, I've taken an IP law class so I've learned the differences between them all and the basics, very fascinating subject that I've thought about pursuing if engineering falls through.

and yea, copyrights and patents don't cross at all.

[redrock]

...but!!!!! what if we were allowed of course the premade mechs and the mechs that are in question were actually not pre made aka no marketing what so ever but  was a design by the players themselvs in game?

so that way were not sacrificing anything the stats will all add up the same just a slight modifcation here n there i mean ever so slighty and was created by players

there a diff in a blueprint and reinventing the wheel

[Fokker1138]

What I don't get is that's a Warhammer IIC in the video and they're jumping up and down about a property that isn't the same and they're doing nothing with. 

[=KoS=Zeus]

That is NOT a Warhammer IIC. The game is clearly set in 3015, inside the Inner Sphere, 34 years before the clans even invade.

[lessergod]

Here is my question, and forgive me if I am wrong: Doesn't Harmony Gold have to file this against Smith and Tinker to protect their IP, so that they can bring S&T to the table to negotiate royalty payments for the use of their designs? With that being the case, What would happen if Harmony Gold didn't say anything and then tried to get S&T to pay them AFTER the product has released if S&T can prove that Harmony Gold decided to not persue it when they 1st found out about it?

Seriously, I think Weisman knew what he was doing when he authorized the use of these images, its not like he hasn't been down this road before with Macross. So really, was Jordan trying to screw them out of what he new they were entitled to? I suppose truley we don't know, but it does seem a bit shifty IMO that he would try and slide it past them.

Put yourself in Harmony Gold's position and see how you would feel if someone tried to take something that you owned and steal the idea and not pay you for it.

[Ghiest]

Lets get things straight, HG have not actually said or done anything to Wiesman yet ... no lawsuit or suing involved yet.

I directly quote the article

The real-life robot master has now begun to send out cease and desist orders to websites hosting MechWarrior 5 trailers and screenshots.

Cease and desist orders are as little a guy from the company saying "oi you got our stuff in that ... stop it" or in this case, they are saying it to people who are hosting the trailers and screenshots of the offending material (of which I can only guess is the warhammer in the vid), conversely they could get their lawyer to send out emails saying "oi stop using this stuff or we will sue your ass down to the ground".  Cease and desist doesn't mean they are being sued what so ever, so kinda misleading title to the thread and people are getting all hot under the collar for zero reason over a game that isn't even in production because it doesn't even have a publisher.  I suspect when time comes they actually have a publisher and are going full steam ahead on the game they will approach HG and agree a deal to use the mecha designs in Mechwarrior:3015, because lets face it allot of what 3015 was based on their designs and it wouldn't be anything without them.

[Tomato]

I wonder if Harmony Gold will even do anything.  From what I remember, Harmony Gold only has the rights to distribute and merchandise the original Macross TV show, where as the actual mechanical designs still belong to their creators Studio Nue.  And didn't Studio Nue give permission to FASA way back when to use those designs?

[KiloEcho]

Don't quote me on this, but I think that Harmony Gold is actually co-owner of the Macross/Robotech line due to how they licensed it.  Plus I believe that Studio Nue and HG are actually in a dispute as to who actually "owns" the rights.

As for my two cents, let's solve this once and for all Clanner style, aka Trial of Possession.  Harmony Gold fields the "Destructoid" [sic?] versions of the robots, and Smith & Tinker fields the 'mech versions of the robots.  Last one standing is in the right.

(Fifty C-Bills on Smith & Tinker    )

[CHHš Siege]

Don't quote me on this, but I think that Harmony Gold is actually co-owner of the Macross/Robotech line due to how they licensed it.  Plus I believe that Studio Nue and HG are actually in a dispute as to who actually "owns" the rights.

As for my two cents, let's solve this once and for all Clanner style, aka Trial of Possession.  Harmony Gold fields the "Destructoid" [sic?] versions of the robots, and Smith & Tinker fields the 'mech versions of the robots.  Last one standing is in the right.

(Fifty C-Bills on Smith & Tinker    )

The "Destroid" 'mecha were in fact the "'mech versions." The Robotech destroids were massively better equipped than their BT counterparts, and even those same destroids couldn't begin to hold a candle (except in overwhelming numbers) to a "Veritech" fighter such as an Alpha/Beta or Valkyrie.

No, I think instead the better Trial would consist of Battletech fans vs. Robotech fans. I have a feeling the more western BT audience is liable to be, by and large, a bit older, and compared to what is likely in Robotech's case a more generally Asian fan base,  probably also rather bigger, and I'm pretty sure Asian robotech fanboys aren't really any more likely to know martial arts of any sort than their American counterparts when you average it all out. I wonder who has more fans in total, though, and before anyone wants to speculate that it *MUST* be Battletech because it's your favorite game system EV4R, keep in mind the Robotech anime was highly popular throughout Asia and well-enough received in the US to find afternoon slots on even major cable providers in the early 90's. However, this must then lead to a speculation of who really has the most money, and given how much of the IP ownership has spread around and changed hands, there is honestly no telling.

By proxy for Smith & Tinker, to Harmony Gold, I bid 100 assault geeks, 150 heavy nerds, 50 medium dorks and 75 light dweebs of various types. Sorry about the top-heavy bid, but given resources I had to draw from, medium and light models are in short supply and I refuse to field fanboy models in my army due to their high maintenance and inability to work well with other units.

[Stahlseele]

Smith & Tinker, I bid 100 assault geeks, 150 heavy nerds, 50 medium dorks and 75 light dweebs of various types and configurations. Sorry about the top-heavy configuration, but given resources I had to draw from, medium and light models are in short supply and I refuse to field fanboy models in my army due to their high maintenance and inability to work well with other units.

bwahahahaahahahha ^^

[CHHš Siege]

My bad, that was supposed to be directed to Harmony Gold. My roomie distracted me and I submitted the post without a thorough review.

Corrected ^_^

[SeniorBiscuit]

Don't quote me on this, but I think that Harmony Gold is actually co-owner of the Macross/Robotech line due to how they licensed it.  Plus I believe that Studio Nue and HG are actually in a dispute as to who actually "owns" the rights.

As for my two cents, let's solve this once and for all Clanner style, aka Trial of Possession.  Harmony Gold fields the "Destructoid" [sic?] versions of the robots, and Smith & Tinker fields the 'mech versions of the robots.  Last one standing is in the right.

(Fifty C-Bills on Smith & Tinker    )

The "Destroid" 'mecha were in fact the "'mech versions." The Robotech destroids were massively better equipped than their BT counterparts, and even those same destroids couldn't begin to hold a candle (except in overwhelming numbers) to a "Veritech" fighter such as an Alpha/Beta or Valkyrie.

No, I think instead the better Trial would consist of Battletech fans vs. Robotech fans. I have a feeling the more western BT audience is liable to be, by and large, a bit older, and compared to what is likely in Robotech's case a more generally Asian fan base,  probably also rather bigger, and I'm pretty sure Asian robotech fanboys aren't really any more likely to know martial arts of any sort than their American counterparts when you average it all out. I wonder who has more fans in total, though, and before anyone wants to speculate that it *MUST* be Battletech because it's your favorite game system EV4R, keep in mind the Robotech anime was highly popular throughout Asia and well-enough received in the US to find afternoon slots on even major cable providers in the early 90's. However, this must then lead to a speculation of who really has the most money, and given how much of the IP ownership has spread around and changed hands, there is honestly no telling.

By proxy for Smith & Tinker, to Harmony Gold, I bid 100 assault geeks, 150 heavy nerds, 50 medium dorks and 75 light dweebs of various types. Sorry about the top-heavy bid, but given resources I had to draw from, medium and light models are in short supply and I refuse to field fanboy models in my army due to their high maintenance and inability to work well with other units.

hahahaha your overcomplicating things. Firearms are legal in America, they ain't in Japan. That'll be one quick Trial of Possession.