Chapterhouse Lawsuit - Settlement reached, Appeals withdrawn - Pg 234! Chapterhouse to re-open store

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**weeble1000**

sourclams wrote:
Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
Sad, I can understand a lot of the hatred for GW, but that people see being ablet to buy cheap knockoffs of someone's IP, just so they can save a few quid, as some kind of golden vision... it's hardly utopia.

It's actually pretty much exactly how a marketplace is intended to work. Chapterhouse is not simply recasting GW sprues and selling them as GW sprues for 25% of GW prices on eBay. They are making bits that GW itself largely does not/will not produce for which they have found customer demand for.

You cannot decide that something looks like something that you might produce someday (that you have no legal ownership of) and somehow lay claim to that, forever. Especially in a tropes-laden environment like the GW design space.

If GW doesn't like it, then they can produce those models and bits themselves in easily accessible/individually purchaseable ways like what CHS offers. That would actually be the big boy approach to the apparent dispute between GW and all 3rd party producers.

And to add to this, copyright is and was always intended to be of limited duration. Special interests in this country have effectively eliminated this limited scope and duration, but copyright was originally intended, much like patents, to last for 20 years. This gives authors plenty of time to monetize a work of art, but also encourages the growth of new artwork, both because an author cannot ride on a single work for his/her entire life, and because once the protection expires, others are able to use that work freely in their own artistic expressions.

Disney, for example, made a killing off of using non-copyrighted works, such as The Little Mermaid. GW also very much uses the work of other authors quite freely. Is that wrong, no, nor should it be. It becomes hypocrisy when you turn around and attempt to 'protect' a business built on borrowing, using, interpreting, reinventing, and stealing the work of other artists by denying someone else's right to build a business on that very same basis.

**Janthkin**

AGAIN, this is NOT the thread to be discussing implications of the ruling. Knock it off.

**warboss**

Can anyone refresh my memory on what the trial revealed about the closeness of the relationship and interaction between GW and FW? I've seen it mentioned in passing but I must have missed it in my checks of the thread.

**Janthkin**

warboss wrote:
Can anyone refresh my memory on what the trial revealed about the closeness of the relationship and interaction between GW and FW? I've seen it mentioned in passing but I must have missed it in my checks of the thread.

Okay, you're not even trying.

2 pages ago; read from there.

ClockworkZion wrote:
Vaktathi wrote:
Because this thread is 176 pages and I unfortunately don't have the time to peruse it all, there was mention of this case revealing Forgeworlds relationship with the larger GW entity, any idea in what ways?

That's a very silly question. GW owns FW. FW is just a brand that has it's own dev team. Why do you need court documents to explain this?

**warboss**

Janthkin wrote:
warboss wrote:
Can anyone refresh my memory on what the trial revealed about the closeness of the relationship and interaction between GW and FW? I've seen it mentioned in passing but I must have missed it in my checks of the thread.
Okay, you're not even trying.

2 pages ago; read from there.

ClockworkZion wrote:
Vaktathi wrote:
Because this thread is 176 pages and I unfortunately don't have the time to peruse it all, there was mention of this case revealing Forgeworlds relationship with the larger GW entity, any idea in what ways?

That's a very silly question. GW owns FW. FW is just a brand that has it's own dev team. Why do you need court documents to explain this?

See that part where I said it was "mentioned in passing"? That's what I was referring to. I was hoping someone had an answer with less snark and more actual information.

**Enigwolf**

warboss wrote:
Janthkin wrote:
warboss wrote:
Can anyone refresh my memory on what the trial revealed about the closeness of the relationship and interaction between GW and FW? I've seen it mentioned in passing but I must have missed it in my checks of the thread.
Okay, you're not even trying.

2 pages ago; read from there.

ClockworkZion wrote:
Vaktathi wrote:
Because this thread is 176 pages and I unfortunately don't have the time to peruse it all, there was mention of this case revealing Forgeworlds relationship with the larger GW entity, any idea in what ways?

That's a very silly question. GW owns FW. FW is just a brand that has it's own dev team. Why do you need court documents to explain this?

See that part where I said it was "mentioned in passing"? That's what I was referring to. I was hoping someone had an answer with less snark and more actual information.

There wasn't one. I've been keeping up with this thread fairly regularly. Blackmoor, I believe, made an offhand remark in the "Do we need FW in tourneys" thread about something that never arose here.

**SeanDrake**

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
sourclams wrote:

Chapterhouse is not simply recasting GW sprues and selling them as GW sprues for 25% of GW prices on eBay. They are making bits that GW itself largely does not/will not produce for which they have found customer demand for..

Perfectly reasonable point. But my post referred to those who want beakie knockoffs for a tenner.

My point is not that I want beakie knock offs as you put but that simply that under english design law they are no longer protected and that anyone can make beakie styled miniatures or pretty much anything older than 25 years

**silent25**

weeble1000 wrote:
You can make up your own minds about who won this lawsuit. But never forget that for Games Workshop this was always a "zero sum game" that Games Workshop walked into with eyes wide open.

Only question I would have on this whole "CHS won" view. Why is Nick of CHS going around then saying how they are going to appeal the ruling? They have a much clearer area of what they can and can't do and I wouldn't think the 25K fine is worth spending more time in court. Heck, I suspect he will have the funds for the fine paid for in several days with his KS.

There is something in that ruling CHS and their lawyers don't like and are willing to go back into court on and we're not seeing.

**xraytango**

Something about Dark Space Elf it seems. Maybe something else as well.

**czakk**

New filings, still reading them. Draft judgments from both sides.

The parties respectfully submit the following joint status report in connection with the
Court’s request that the parties settle a judgment herein to reflect the jury verdict – prior to entry of
final judgment with injunctive relief. Games Workshop submits that the Court should enter the
judgment attached as Exhibit A. Chapterhouse submits that the Court should enter the judgment
attached as Exhibit B.

Now we have a list of copyrights / trademarks that were infringed and what was fair use.

First thing I noticed, there is going to be a fight over costs..

**Janthkin**

silent25 wrote:
weeble1000 wrote:
You can make up your own minds about who won this lawsuit. But never forget that for Games Workshop this was always a "zero sum game" that Games Workshop walked into with eyes wide open.

Only question I would have on this whole "CHS won" view. Why is Nick of CHS going around then saying how they are going to appeal the ruling? They have a much clearer area of what they can and can't do and I wouldn't think the 25K fine is worth spending more time in court. Heck, I suspect he will have the funds for the fine paid for in several days with his KS.

There is something in that ruling CHS and their lawyers don't like and are willing to go back into court on and we're not seeing.

It's not a binary decision, where simply "won" or "lost" covers all the legal complexities; there are a couple hundred individual decisions in there, some of which went against CHS, and each of which can be appealed. Should CHS pursue an appeal, it's because a) they believe the rulings on one or more points is incorrect as a matter of law; or b) they believe the trial court erred procedurally.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

First thing I noticed, there is going to be a fight over costs..

Yup, and that'll be messy.

Nice to have the definitive list of what the jury decided, though. I'm curious if there are still post-verdict motions pending before the judge.

**Sinful Hero**

I find it interesting that Games Workshop asserts that they requested $25,000 in damages. It's what they assume was CH's profits were from the sales of those miniatures.

**Maddermax**

Found this bit interesting:

Although Chapterhouse agrees that costs may be awarded under Rule 54(d) to the prevailing party, Chapterhouse disputes that Games Workshop is the “prevailing party” in this case or that
Games Workshop obtained more “substantial relief” than Chapterhouse. Games Workshop brought 160 copyright claims against Chapterhouse and alleged trademark infringement of 125 alleged
trademarks. After extensive litigation, Chapterhouse had prevailed on many of Games Workshop’s claims even before trial began. Under Rule 54(d), “[w]here there is a dismissal of an action, even
where such dismissal is voluntary and without prejudice, the defendant is the prevailing party.” First Commodity Traders, Inc. v. Heinold Comoddities, Inc., 766 F.2d 1007, 1015 (7th Cir. 1985)
quoting 6 J. Moore, W. Taggart & J. Wicker, Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 54.70[4] (2d ed. 1985). At trial, Chapterhouse won on the majority of claims. And although the jury awarded $25,000 to
Games Workshop, that was a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of dollars Games Workshop had initially sought. Far from showing it prevailed, the fact that Games Workshop was forced to
make a demand for that small amount after years of litigation confirms it did not prevail. If it were otherwise, any plaintiff could simply change its damages request to an arbitrary small amount at
trial just to call themselves a prevailing party.

So, basically CHS is saying that because it won on most of the claims, it is the prevailling party, while GW is arguing that because it won on some claims it is the prevailing party.

**Maddermax**

From CHS proposed judgement (because it includes the claims dropped by GW or ruled on in summary judgement, making it more complete).

3. Chapterhouse has been found to infringe Games Workshop’s copyrights with respect to the following forty-nine products (product numbers refer to numbering in Plaintiff’s Trial Exhibits 1020 and 1021):

Selected Shoulder pads:
“Terminator pad for Exorcist Space Marine,”
“Power Armour Pad for Exorcist,”
one of the “Sawblade Shoulder Pad & Jewel” pads,
“Shoulder Pad for Serpent or Iron Snakes – Terminator,”
“Shoulder Pad for Serpent or Iron Snakes – Tactical,”
“Shoulder Pad w/ skull and flames - tactical”,
“Shoulder Pad w/ Studs and Skull for 28mm marine - Tactical”,
“Shoulder Pads for Chalice or Soul Drinker – Tactical,”
“Shoulder Pads for Chalice or Soul Drinker – Terminator,”
“Hammer of Dorn Power Armor Pad,”
“Hammer of Dorn Terminator Pad,”
“Power Armor Shoulder Pad for Scythes of the Emperor,”
“Scythes of the Emperor Terminator Shoulder Pad” (Products 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 149, 150, 153, 154);
Assault Shoulder pad with number VII and VIII, Devastator marine shoulder pad with IX and X, Tactical shoulder pad with I, II, III, IV, IV, and VI (Products 46, 47, 51, 52, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62);
Crested shoulder pad (Product 49);
“Generic Power Armour Shoulder Pad” and “Smooth Shoulder Pad for 28mm tactical – marine” (Products 54, 55);
“Banded Tech Pad” and “Banded Armor Pad” compatible with power armor and terminator armor (Products 68, 73, 74);
Studded rimmed shoulder pad MKV, MK I Heresy Era for 28 mm Marines “Thunder Armor” shoulder pad,
studded power armor pad for MK 5 (Products 75, 78, 80); Tervigon conversion kit (Product 37);

Skull or Chaplain Head or Bit for Power Armor (product 3);
Heresy Era Jump Pack (Product 76);
Spikey heresy heads (Product 79);
Wolf Rhino Conversion Kit #1 and Wolf Rhino Conversion Kit #2 (Products 82, 104);
Iron Snake conversion kit for Rhino (Product 106);
Doomseer Iyanar Duanna (Product 108);
Gun Halberd (Product 112);
Conversion Beamer Servo Harness (Product 113);
Armana'serq Scorpion Warrior Princess (Product 123);
Open- Fisted power claws and Closed-Fisted power claws (Products 132, 133);
TRU Scale Knights Praetorius “Order of the Empress’s Tears” Conversion Kit and TRU-Scale Knight Praetorius Conversion Kit (Products 142, 143);
“Shrike Conversion Kit” (Product 159); Dark Elf Arch Torturess (Product 160).

4. Chapterhouse has been found to infringe the following thirty-eight trademarks of Games Workshop:

(i) Adeptus Mechanicus
(ii) Flesh Tearers
(iii) Genestealer
(iv) Howling Griffons
(v) Imperial Guard
(vi) Iron Hands
(vii) Land Raider
(viii) Predator
(ix) Rhino
(x) Salamander
(xi) Soul Drinker
(xii) Stormraven
(xiii) Storm Shield
(xiv) Techmarine
(xv) Thousand Sons
(xvi) Thunder Hammer
(xvii) Tyrant
(xviii) Tyranid
(xix) Flesh Tearer Icon
(xx) Imperial Fist Icon
(xxi) Legion of the Damned Icon
(xxii) Space Marine Tactical Squad Icon
(xxiii) Space Marine Devastator Squad Icon
(xxiv) Space Marine Assault Squad Icon
(xxv) Iron Hands Icon (xxvi) Space Wolves Icon
(xxvii) Salamanders Icon (xxviii) Blood Ravens
(xxix) Exorcist
(xxx) Jump Pack
(xxxi) Mycetic Spore
(xxxii) Tervigon
(xxxiii) Ymgarl
(xxxiv) Exorcist Icon
(xxxv) Iron Snakes Icon
(xxxvi) Soul Drinkers Icon
(xxxvii) Scythes of the Emperor Icon
(xxxviii) Hammer of Dorn Icon.

5. Chapterhouse has been found not to infringe Games Workshop’s copyrights with respect to the following forty-three products (product numbers refer to numbering in Plaintiff’s Trial Exhibits 1020 and 1021):

Eagle Thunder Hammer (product 1),
Shoulder pad with shield and studs (product 2),
Shoulder pads for blood eagle (products 4-5),
Shoulder pads for celestial lions (products 6- 7),
Terminator Shoulder pad for flesh tearers (product 13),
Shoulder pad star fox or wolf (products 21-22),
Dragon or salamander power fist (product 27),
Dragon or salamander thunder hammer (product 31),
Combi-weapons magnetic kit (product 34),
Conversion kit for farseer jetbike rider (product 35),
Conversion kit for warlock jetbike rider (product 36),
Ymgarl model heads (product 43),
Super Heavy Assault Walker (product 45),
Salamanders or Dragon drop pod door (product 63),
Salamander Dragon skull shoulder pads (products 64-65),
Salamander or Dragon head bit (product 67),
Storm combat space tech shield for wolves (product 83),
“Heresy” armoured drop pod door (product 87),
Armored door and kit for rhino tank (product 90),
mycetic spore (product 95),
Shoulder pads for blood ravens (products 101-102),
Tru-scale conversion kit for rhino (product 111),
Death angel doors for land raider (product 114),
SCAR lasguns (product 117),
Javelin imperial jetbike (product 121),
Hotshot lasgun pack (product 128),
Iconoclast conversion kit for land raider (product 129),
Magnetic turret kit for storm raven (product 130),
Pilum imperial attack jetbike (product 134),
Alternative heads for Tau (products 135-136),
Heresy-era shoulder pads (products 140-141),
Lizard-ogre characters (products 144-145),
Iron Hand Nut shoulder pads (products 146-147),
Hotshot lasgun pack (product 158).

6. Chapterhouse’s use of Games Workshop’s copyrights with respect to the following twenty-four products was found to be a fair use and therefore not infringing (product numbers refer to numbering in Plaintiff’s Trial Exhibits 1020 and 1021):

Howling Griffon style Shoulder Pad (product 14),
Assault Shoulder pad plain (product 48),
Devastator shoulder pad (product 50),
First squad or I Shoulder pad (product 53),
Tactical shoulder pad (product 56),
Salamander dragon hammer (product 66),
Cog shoulder pad (product 69),
Dragon or Salamander kit for rhino (product 94),
Scarab shoulder pad (product 97),
Starburst shoulder pad (product 98),
Shoulder pad for mantis warriors (products 99-100),
Dragon door kit for rhino (product 103),
Magnetic turret kit for razorback (product 131),
Heresy-era shoulder pads (products 137-139),
Winged skull power armor pad (product 148),
V Power shoulder pads (products 151-152),
Scaled shoulder pads (products 155-157),
Heraldic knight shoulder pads (product 163).

7. Chapterhouse has been found not to infringe the following twenty-eight trademarks of Games Workshop:

(i) Warhammer logo,
(ii) Games Workshop logo
(Aquila or Two-Headed Eagle),
(iii) Alpha Legion,
(iv) Carnifex,
(v) Chaos Space Marines,
(vi) Chimera,
vii) Death Watch,
(viii) Devastator Space Marine,
(ix) Dreadnought,
(x) Eldar Farseer,
(xi) Eldar Jet Bike,
(xii) Eldar Warlock,
(xiii) Heresy Armour,
(xiv) High Elf,
(xv) Horus Heresy,
(xvi) Land Speeder,
(xvii) Mk V Armour,
(xviii) Striking Scorpion,
(xix) Termagants,
(xx) Blood Angels Icon,
(xxi) Tau Empire Icon,
(xxii) Assault Cannon,
(xxiii) Iconoclast,
(xxiv) Power Claw,
(xxv) Jetbike,
(xxvi) Tyranid Bonesword,
(xxvii) Tyranid Laswhip, and
(xxviii) Howling Griffons Icon.

8. Chapterhouse’s use of Games Workshop’s trademarks with respect to the following twenty-six trademarks was found to be a fair use and therefore not infringing:

(i) Warhammer,
(ii) 40k,
(iii) 40,000,
(iv) Eldar,
(v) Dark Angels,
(vi) Space Marine,
(vii) Tau,
(viii) Assault Space Marine,
(ix) Black Templars,
(x) Blood Angels,
(xi) Crimson Fists,
(xii) Drop Pod,
(xiii) Gaunt,
(xiv) Heavy Bolter,
(xv) Hive Tyrant,
(xvi) Imperial Fists,
(xvii) Inquisition,
(xviii) Legion of the Damned,
(xix) Librarian,
(xx) Space Wolves,
(xxi) Tactical Space Marine,
(xxii) Terminator,
(xxiii) Tyranid Warrior,
(xxiv) Heavy Flamer,
(xxv) Lascannon,
(xxvi) Lightning Claw.

9. The Court previously found that Chapterhouse did not infringe Games Workshop copyrights in connection with the following thirty-four products:

Shoulder Pads for Deathwatch or Dark Angels – Tactical (Product 8);
Shoulder Pads for Imperial Fist (Tactical and Terminator) (Products 15–16);
Dragon or Salamander Shoulder Pad (Tactical and Terminator) (Products 25–26);
Dragon or Salamander Storm Shield (Diamond Scales, Smooth No Skull and Smooth w/Skull) (Products 28–30);
Salamander, Alpha Legion or Dragon Conversion Kit for Land Raider (Product 32);
Vehicle Icon for Flesh Tearers (Product 33);
Lashwhips (Tyrant Size and Warrior Size) (Products 39-39);
Bonesword Arms for Tryanids (Tyrant and Warrior) (Products 40-41);
Xenomorph 28mm Head Bits for Tyranid (Product 42);
Female Heads Imperial Guard 28mm (Product 44);
Shield for Iron Hands (Product 70);
Shoulder Pad for Iron Hands (Power Armor and Terminator) (Products 71-72);
Celtic Wolf Shield for Space Wolves (Product 81);
Celtic Storm or Combat Shield (Product 84);
Generic Hammer 2 (Product 85);
Imperial or Eagle Storm Shield (Product 86);
Armoured Predator Armour Kit (Side and Center) (Products 88–89);
Brazier (Dragon/Serpent [2 pieces] and Eagle [2 pieces]) (Products 91-92);
Mark I Rhino Conversion Kit (Product 93);
Pre-Heresy Scarab Shoulder Pads – Thousand Sons – Terminator (Product 96),
Shoulder Pad for Mantis Warriors Marines (Power Armor and Terminator) (Products 99-100);
Tactical Rhino Doors with Skulls Kit (Product 105);
28 mm Spartan Heads (Product 107);
Rapid Response Wheeled Kit for Chimera (aka Imperial Guards Chimera APC Kit) (Product 109).

10. Consent judgment was entered against Games Workshop in this matter and Chapterhouse was found to not infringe Games Workshop copyrights with respect to the following eight products:

Masked heresy heads (product 77),
Proposed expansion product (product 110),

SCAR and sniper rifle (product 115),
SCAR drum magazine (product 116),
Death angel storm shield (product 122),
Abbithian Banshees guardswoman 28mm (product 124),
Thunderstrike missile rack (product 161),
Large ammo belts for heavy weapons (product 162).

11. Consent judgment was entered against Games Workshop in this matter and Chapterhouse was found to not infringe Games Workshop trademarks with respect to the following twenty-three marks:

(i) Adeptus Mechanicus Cog Icon,
(ii) Black Templars Icon,
(iii) Blood Ravens Icon,
(iv) Celestial Lions Icon,
(v) Chaos Space Marines Eight-Pointed Star Icon,
(vi) Chaplain,
(vii) Dark Angels Winged Sword Icon,
(viii) Dark Elf,
(ix) Empire,
(x) Heavy Weapon,
(xi) Hellhound,
(xii) Howling Banshee,
(xiii) Mantis Warrior Icon,
(xiv) Plasma Cannon,
(xv) Thousand Sons Icon,
(xvi) Ultramarine Icon,
(xvii) Cadian,
(xviii) Eldar Seer Council,
(xix) Games Workshop,
(xx) GW,
(xxi) Melta,
(xxii) MK II Armour,
(xxiii) Plasma,

Edit: trying to make it a bit more readable.

**czakk**

Is the post judgment interest rate 0.14% or 14% per annum? Both drafts have .14% as the rate which seems low to me (14% would be awfully high though - it's around 3% up here).

If it is 0.14% that should make repayment less of an issue.

**Howard A Treesong**

GW apparently own shoulder pads with studs and skulls, or flames and skulls, huh? Anyone else get the impression the jury took a bit of a dartboard approach to sorting these 160 claims?

**jonolikespie**

So.. of the 273 claims CH won 186?

**Howard A Treesong**

Does this mean GW actually own 'Imperial Guard'? Isn't that a bit of a generic and historical term?

**Enigwolf**

Howard A Treesong wrote:
Does this mean GW actually own 'Imperial Guard'? Isn't that a bit of a generic and historical term?

The first Google page's results only pull up 40k except for this Wikipedia entry. But I think these days it's distinctive enough that mentioning "Imperial Guard" is a clear reference to 40k.

Edit: Then again, you are right in the sense that Imperial Guard does have some very historical roots, as evidenced by this Wikipedia page too.

**Hivefleet Oblivion**

Howard A Treesong wrote:
Does this mean GW actually own 'Imperial Guard'? Isn't that a bit of a generic and historical term?

As has been pointed out, you can trademark a generic item, if it's in a specific context. Which is why you can have an Apple as the trademark of both a computer copany and a record company.

However, as has also been pointed out, the judgement isn't particularly logical. CHS have infringed GW's copyright and trademark for Shrikes - meaning, presumably, the wings are copies of the copyrighted codex. But, as far as the Tervigon, they've only infringed the trademark - when the model was clearly derivative of the codex art.

Yes, the judgement was logical in respect of the fact that GW were claiming a ridiculous number of generic terms, like Chaplain and Heavy Weapon.

The logical inconsistencies increase even more when you realise that CHS have dropped the Tervigon model, which infringed trademark, but have retained the Ymgarl heads and Mycetic Spore, which also infringed trademarks.

**d-usa**

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:

The logical inconsistencies increase even more when you realise that CHS have dropped the Tervigon model, which infringed trademark, but have retained the Ymgarl heads and Mycetic Spore, which also infringed trademarks.

There was a pretty good portion of the actual testimony in the trial that did a nice job explaining that Trademarks identify a product (ie: it's what you put on the package to identify the product) so it's pretty hard to have a trademark for a product if you don't produce that product.

So you can trademark "Codex: Tyranids" and "Warhammer 40,000" and "Games Workshop", which are all trademarks on the book that contains stories and pictures of a Mycetic Spore.

But you cannot trademark "Mycetic Spore" if you don't make a product called "Mycetic Spore".

**Hivefleet Oblivion**

Good info, thanks. But CHS were found to have infringed the trademarks for Mycetic Spore, according to clause 4, as above.

Anyway, I'm a bit depressed by this whole business. All this lawsuit makes it way mroe likely that the next GW 'Nids release will be a Mycetic Spore - which makes the hours of work making our own redundant. Sigh.

**Enigwolf**

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
All this lawsuit makes it way mroe likely that the next GW 'Nids release will be a Mycetic Spore - which makes the hours of work making our own redundant. Sigh.

Well... On the bright side yours will look a lot different? Maybe it's just me, but I as a converter I don't see what's there to be upset about.

**d-usa**

Enigwolf wrote:
Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
All this lawsuit makes it way mroe likely that the next GW 'Nids release will be a Mycetic Spore - which makes the hours of work making our own redundant. Sigh.

Well... On the bright side yours will look a lot different? I don't see what's there to be upset about.

There is always the chance that GW's model will look like crap!

**Enigwolf**

d-usa wrote:
Enigwolf wrote:
Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
All this lawsuit makes it way mroe likely that the next GW 'Nids release will be a Mycetic Spore - which makes the hours of work making our own redundant. Sigh.

Well... On the bright side yours will look a lot different? I don't see what's there to be upset about.

There is always the chance that GW's model will look like crap!

Yeah, I mean, look at the Khornedozer and the Babycarrier...

**Hivefleet Oblivion**

Enigwolf wrote:
Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
All this lawsuit makes it way mroe likely that the next GW 'Nids release will be a Mycetic Spore - which makes the hours of work making our own redundant. Sigh.

Well... On the bright side yours will look a lot different? Maybe it's just me, but I as a converter I don't see what's there to be upset about.

Personally, I liked there were these wild cards, that people have to work on themselves, especially items like the Prime, Spore etc in the Tyranid 'dex. It's a shame that, due to the intransigence of both GW and CHS (feel free to disagree), that this will probably end.

Anyways, it looks like there is a Mycetic Spore coming, probably as a result of this, even the local GW staff are quite open about it, they're already saying we're ok using our present ones. But wouldn't surprise me if some of the more officious stores will be funny about it.

**Steelmage99**

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
Good info, thanks. But CHS were found to have infringed the trademarks for Mycetic Spore, according to clause 4, as above.

Anyway, I'm a bit depressed by this whole business. All this lawsuit makes it way mroe likely that the next GW 'Nids release will be a Mycetic Spore - which makes the hours of work making our own redundant. Sigh.

On the other hand it might create some other kind of work. Presuming GW made a Spore Pod they damn well better not make it look like the one I have produced and sold in the past.
It would be some sweet sweet irony to send a C&D letter to GW.

Pod in question;

**Kilkrazy**

I have my own Tervigon, Spore Pod and Tyrannofex all made by converting other models and I would not give up any of them just because GW made one.

**SickSix**

Woah, wait a minute. They actually upheld GW's claim to the generic geometric shapes representing devastator and assault squad shoulder icons?

I guess I don't get some of these decisions. CHS infringed on 'Rhino' but not 'Black Templar'. They infringed on 'Flesh Tearer' but no 'Blood Angel'....

It just seems nonsensical to me.

**skyth**

What I am amazed is that they found a copyright infringment on the super heavy walker...GW doesn't make one of those and there isn't even a concept of one of those from GW...(I'm assuming that we're talking about the Tau one here).