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Battle for SpiritWars Rages On
By Sandy Brundage
Updated December 22, 2000 12:00 AM PST
When Wizards of the Coast (WoTC) put the Legend of the Five Rings (Lo5R) brand on the selling block in the wake of last week's financial slash and burn by parent company Hasbro, a question arose about the fate of a lawsuit filed against Wizards for trademark violation.
Randy Chase of Kellogg Creek Software claims that the name "SpiritWars" belongs to the online strategy game he developed. Chase advertised the game in Top Deck, a magazine owned by Wizards of the Coast. Then WotC chose to use "The Spirit Wars" as the title of a Lo5R expansion set. We asked Chase how the lawsuit was going.
"Well, lawsuits move at the pace of molasses in the winter," Chase said. "But there have been some developments. I have been counter sued by Wizards. They are alleging that I committed fraud and deception in filing for my SpiritWars trademark."
"Their basic argument is that SpiritWars is such a part of everyday language that it is exempt from trademark protection and my application was therefore fraudulent. Now, note that they are making this allegation after releasing a product with 'The Spirit Wars' TM. I have to wonder if this means that they are admitting that they too were attempting to commit a fraudulent act? Or is it just fraudulent if someone else wants to protect the name?"
Chase finds the 'common use' argument amusing, when considered in light of other names trademarked by Hasbro and WoTC - Ice Age, Arabian Nights, Clue. And he doesn't intend to let the company escape the lawsuit by selling off the brand. "The trademark infringement happened - and is still happening," he said. "Selling the product doesn't correct that problem or let them walk away from being held accountable for their behavior."
Richard Yugler, an attorney at the law firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP which is representing Chase, said that a civil lawsuit usually takes eight to 12 months to resolve. He isn't sure if the brand sale will affect his client's case.
Chase added, "It would seem that a strong outstanding trademark infringement lawsuit could be considered by some potential buyers as a less than desirable part of the package deal. But then, I'm just a game designer and that's probably a question that would be best directed to their attorneys." Hasbro and WotC declined to comment.
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