Following the exchange of comments on this Kickstarter Campaign earlier in the week, Laurence Elkins, and the Company have decided to amicably and mutually part ways.

From Mr. Elkins: "It has become quite obvious that I do not have the temperament, or anger threshold level, to interact with Internet communications that turn abusive and non-social for the sake of being same. As such, I am removing myself from ADWGAMES and her KS Campaigns. Please note that none of my comments were sanctioned, condoned by ADWGAMES, and my posting on the comment section of the KS Campaign was done so without their knowledge, consent or review. I wish both the ADWGAMES team and the quiet, decent customers found on KS, the best of luck and success. And, I apologize if I let a few personal attacks from aggressive Pledgers get the best of me and diminish the quality of communication from the ADWGAMES side."

All future corporate correspondence should direct directed to Susan Taylor: susan@weaverchestertweed.com.

Schedule for production before Mr. Elkins left was is approximately two weeks. We currently believe it will take an extra week due to this change in talent resources. ADWGAMES apologizes for the unsupervised actions related to this series of communcations.

Hello. This is Susan Taylor. As you know, I am handling fulfillment of this KS Campaign moving froward.

This Update is to inform you that as of last week, there has been a change in management for ADWGAMES, and subsequently, this Campaign.

We will have a significant Update of miniature photos posted on Oct. 10, 2014 and October 17, 2104, comprising, close to 100% of the miniatures and stretch goals for the Campaign.

Shortly thereafter, we will begin production and delivery.

Thank you for your patience. susan@adwgames.com

Following the exchange of comments on this Kickstarter Campaign earlier in the week, Laurence Elkins, and the Company have decided to amicably and mutually part ways.
From Mr. Elkins: "It has become quite obvious that I do not have the temperament, or anger threshold level, to interact with Internet communications that turn abusive and non-social for the sake of being same. As such, I am removing myself from ADWGAMES and her KS Campaigns. Please note that none of my comments were sanctioned, condoned by ADWGAMES, and my posting on the comment section of the KS Campaign was done so without their knowledge, consent or review. I wish both the ADWGAMES team and the quiet, decent customers found on KS, the best of luck and success. And, I apologize if I let a few personal attacks from aggressive Pledgers get the best of me and diminish the quality of communication from the ADWGAMES side."

All future corporate correspondence should direct directed to Susan Taylor: susan@weaverchestertweed.com.

Schedule for production before Mr. Elkins left was is approximately two weeks. We currently believe it will take an extra week due to this change in talent resources. ADWGAMES apologizes for the unsupervised actions related to this series of communcations.

Majour Update and Production Schedule

Hello. This is Susan Taylor. As you know, I am handling fulfillment of this KS Campaign moving froward.

This Update is to inform you that as of last week, there has been a change in management for ADWGAMES, and subsequently, this Campaign.

We will have a significant Update of miniature photos posted on Oct. 10, 2014 and October 17, 2104, comprising, close to 100% of the miniatures and stretch goals for the Campaign.

Shortly thereafter, we will begin production and delivery.

Thank you for your patience. susan@adwgames.com

NOTICE TO PLEDGERS OF IAM RE: COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK AND TRADE SECRET INFRINGEMENT
20 comments

[From Susan Taylor]

NOTICE TO PLEDGERS OF IAM OF COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK AND TRADE SECRET INFRINGEMENT

After reading posts from the comment section and several outside sources, it has come to my attention that there are several issues that need to be directly and immediately addressed regarding ADWGAMES and the IAM KS Campaign. And, as is typical of internet posts that require no validation, most of the facts that have been presented by third-parties are wrong.

Here are the facts:

1. "Ice Age Mammals" is a miniature property and owns common law trademark that is verified through the KS Campaign itself. Specifically, this includes "Terror Birds" and the specific, illustrated IAM offered in the KS Campaign as they specifically relate to the world of miniatures. This IP has belonged to the Company well in advance of any KS Campaign, and is defined by the actual instantiation and application of the extinct animals in a particular context, i.e., as miniatures for games and collectibles and as a part of a fictional world, Doggerland;

2. One (of four) sculptors was hired by the company under a contract agreement which specified that The "Sculptor" would deliver, over the course of her employment, sculpts of IAM mammals, for which The "Sculptor" was provided extensive reference art and coaching by ADW staff. At no point was the "Sculptor", or any artist, a Partner of the Company or KS, nor or Co-Creator of the IAM IP. Furthermore, no employee has IP rights assigned to them if they simply choose to quit and steal same. The employment contracts were extensive and explicit in outlining trade secrets, duties, requirements, obligations, the non transfer of rights and non-invention by the contracted employee.

Now, regarding this "Sculptor":

The "Sculptor" was unemployed when The "Sculptor" answered the ad for ADW.

The "Sculptor" has no history working in game miniatures.

The "Sculptor" has no history of having sculpted animals.

The "Sculptor" started a competing company the day the IAM met its KS goal.

The "Sculptor" and certain "Pledgers" for the IAM KS Campaign are using all of the extinct animal IP for the miniature/game industry in a new, competing enterprise. (That is like starting a Dungeon and Dragons company, called Dungeons and Dragons, once a minor artist on the team saw the first investment come in the door.)

There has been chatter about a "con". The above provides the outline of the true "con" game.

To the specifics of the breach in contract and the intent to defraud the KS Pledgers and the KS Campaign:

1. No sculpts were handed into ADW at any time- which was breach of the "Sculptor's" contract ;

2. No time cards were handed into ADW at any time- which was breach of the "Sculptor's" contract;

3. Once the IAM KS was met its goal the "Sculptor" "quit" the company, again, without handing in a single sculpt, and after having misappropriated $1000 in materials from the company- which was breach of the "Sculptor's" contract and, as we will see, much more;

4. The "Sculptor" immediately started a competing company began contacting IAM Pledgers to purchase from her and to undermine ADW-which was breach of the "Sculptor's" contract, and, again, as we will see, much more;

5. The "Sculptor" continued to contact all ADW vendors, Business Partners and Pledgers for Band of Gnomes, including Andrea Sfilgoloi who breached his contract to publish Band of Gnomes and chose to encourage and support the actions of the which was breach of the "Sculptor" while The "Sculptor" endeavoured to - which was breach of contract and tortuous interference on the "Sculptor's" part;

6. The "Sculptor" teamed up with Andrea Sfigoloi, who suggested they The "Sculptor" change her name, and a Hearthstone miniatures to offer the exact miniatures that The "Sculptor" refused to hand into IAM while under contract - which is copyright infringement, trademark infringement and trade secret appropriation. (see, below)

7. The "Sculptor" chose to cover her intent and tracks with ad hominem attacks against the KS team and individuals on the team, as did the Pledgers the "Sculptor" contacted to support the activities. The intent, as we see it, was for a failing sculptor with no career to pretend to join a company in order to study their product and instantly knock it off if the KS was successful. With a handful of Pledgers, it seems as if The "Sculptor" is momentarily successful in stealing the intellectual property that is the registered and validated property of a U.S. Company. What The "Sculptor", and the few Pledgers who are "siding" with her actions, fails to understand is that her actions, and the actions of the Pledgers, are in violation of civil and criminal law, and a violation of the goodwill of the common Pledgers who supported the IAM KS in good faith.

To wit:

Copyright infringement is reproducing, distributing, displaying or performing a work, or to make derivative works, without permission from the copyright holder, which is typically a published or other business representing or assigned by the work's creator. It is often called "piracy".[45] While copyright is created the instance a work is fixed, generally the copyright holder can only get money damages if the owner registers the copyright. Enforcement of copyright is generally the responsibility of the copyright holder.[46] The ACTA trade agreement, signed in May 2011 by the United States, Japan, Switzerland, and the EU, requires that its parties add criminal penalties, including incarceration and fines, for copyright and trademark infringement, and obligated the parties to active police for infringement.[47][48] There is a safe harbor to use copyrighted works under the fair use doctrine.

Trademark infringement occurs when one party uses a trademark that is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services of the other party. As with copyright, there are common law rights protecting a trademark, but registering a trademark provides legal advantages for enforcement. Infringement can be addressed by civil litigation and, in several jurisdictions, under criminal law. In the United States, the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 criminalized the intentional trade in counterfeit goods and services and ACTA amplified the penalties.[47][48]

Trade secret misappropriation is different from violations of other intellectual property laws, since by definition trade secrets are secret, while patents and registered copyrights and trademarks are publicly available. In the United States, trade secrets are protected under state law, and states have nearly universally adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The United States also has federal law in the form of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. §§ 1831–1839), which makes the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime. This law contains two provisions criminalizing two sorts of activity. The first, 18 U.S.C. § 1831(a), criminalizes the theft of trade secrets to benefit foreign powers. The second, 18 U.S.C. § 1832, criminalizes their theft for commercial or economic purposes. (The statutory penalties are different for the two offenses.) In Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, confidentiality and trade secrets are regarded as an equitable right rather than a property right but penalties for theft are roughly the same as the United States.

At this point in time, we are seeking to protect the Company, her original creatives and holders of the IP, and those who Pledged in good faith. In addition, we are investigating our legal options regarding those Pledgers that have contacted and supported the "Sculptor". We will be taking all legal action available against any and all parties that have violated the intellectual property rights of ADWGAMES, or have libeled ADWGAMES in an effort to promote the sale of stolen property from same.

Thankfully, this process is assisted by the fact that the parties involved have proudly announced (on public forums and via direct email to myself) that they are taking over the IP of ADW and that they have no concern for the rule of law governing same.

I would have hoped that the community would have come down on the side of the creator- which in this case is ADWGAMES, and while the majourity have, we are shocked and dismayed that a select few are supporting, and comprising a team, that are not only willfully and blatantly infringing on the rights of the team that did create the IAM IP, but are casually dismissing the U.S. and international laws that protect the creators and owners of intellectual property.

As such, we are looking into all legal remedies offered by the law, as outlined, above, regarding all parties mentioned above, for this truly horrifying turn of events, and extreme violation of the public trust.

Why bring this up now?

Illegal activity of this sort just causes delays for the Campaign rewards and diminish the protections for all creatives, be they writers or programmers or independent business people, and it certainly effects all future KS Campaigners, that may seek to develop their own IP in the future.

As the legal proceedings move forward, we will keep you informed.

Note: this in no way effects ADWGAMES commitment to fulfill on the IAM Campaign. At most, it unnecessarily and unreasonably has slowed down the process. And, we remain committed to delivering to those Pledgers whose trust has been violated by the actions of those who have devoted their conscious actions to COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK AND TRADE SECRET INFRINGEMENT .

We look forward to a satisfying resolution to this matter in the very near future and to providing you with the miniatures and content that were developed by the core team many years ago.