Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I just love how heavy handed a company can be over IP infringement...considering how much of 40k is...shall we say...'borrowed' from other intellectual property.

wow, seems that question created quite a flurry of debate. heh just had an exam for public law (American's perhaps read Constitutional law) and now coming back to discuss more law!

Firstly I think the pragmatic people are probably right. If it is just used as a skeleton and noone can see any Crisis suit in the cast then
a) no one will notice
b) doesn't seem like a balance of probabilities satisfying situation to prove infringement

I'm really not worried about international IP laws or any other international law for that matter. International law, unless incorporated (ie parliament/American equivalent voting to include it in domestic law) is not enforceable in domestic courts.

So if I want a definitive answer I will need to get onto what law specifically operates here (New Zealand), whether any International legislation has been incorporated and how strict the courts are in their protection of such intangibles...

Heh I think Ill wait until exams are over!

Divineshadow has a pretty good point.
GW are allways on a rampage about copyright, yet how many design's have they taken from other games so far?
im pretty sure they didnt invent everything that currently exists for the game.

Warhammer 40K and FB are both huge mish-mashes of many ideas and designs taken from all sorts of sources.

That doesn't mean there is no copyright in anything they produce.

For example, I can take the text of a Shakespeare play and type it out in a new format -- change the font and layout and stuff. Although the text is copyright fee, I have a copyright on my layout.

If you like, GW have done the same with a lot of their stuff. The idea of power armoured Space Marines is hardly new, but GW's sculptures for them have copyright.