Cory Doctorow on the Very Bad IP Legal Behaviour of Games Workshop

[dewline]

Long Twitter thread. Go read it, starting here:

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1421215457206431744

Alternative, non-tracking venue for the same content:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/30/space-marines/#fairy-use-tale

I note that I own or co-own a few pieces of IP myself, including this weblog, and have created others under work-for-hire rules for other companies. There are still things that I - or any IP (co-)owner shouldn't expect to get away with.

Comments

[kmusser]

Games Workshop has been consistent in their behavior for over 40 years now, I'm surprised that anyone would expect them to act any differently.

[dewline]

How best to bring them to heel?

[kmusser]

Don't buy their products. The only reason they're still in business is that their customer base stays loyal and keeps buying stuff despite being treated like crap.

[dewline]

I wasn't planning to start.

What worries me to some extent is the precedent they hope to set and encourage in terms of other companies' conduct by their actions.

[kmusser]

I wouldn't worry about that, in part because of their refusal to work with anyone else in the gaming industry they aren't a industry standard for anything, if other companies were going to go down that path I think they would've long before now. The only other one that is kind of an ass about IP is Steve Jackson, but they aren't a big enough company to really throw any weight around.