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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Wherein I Retract Something...

So, there was a HUGE amount of material waiting to be read after I did my 17 hour shift over the last evening / night.

Some of that reading has lead to the following statement. I'm still reading ;)
I never meant to say or imply that Gail Gygax, the Gygax Memorial Fund or the Gygax Revocable Trust has now, or has prior, actively sued anyone or filed suit against anyone to the best of my knowledge, and any statements to the contrary made by me are due to the unintentional misuse of legal terms by a layman. It would have been more proper to use the words "action" or "actions" regarding any trademark issues that any of the above mentioned parties may have been a part of - Erik Tenkar
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9 comments:

  1. Will ArnoldDecember 15, 2015 at 8:23 PM

    Is it wrong to use the lawyercide quote now?

    ReplyDelete
  2. KevinDecember 15, 2015 at 8:31 PM

    Semantics. Laypeople don't see a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  3. mythusmageDecember 15, 2015 at 8:56 PM

    There is one thing to remember, registered trademarks need to be renewed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CeronomusDecember 16, 2015 at 10:02 AM

      They also need to be used for business or risk being treated as abandoned. The Gygax Games website has had the same placeholder for at least 6 years btw so, not a lot happening there either.

      Delete
    2. JRTDecember 17, 2015 at 8:55 PM

      The trademark is being used, at least in a few areas, since the settlement now deals with an active product being used (Gygax Magazine).

      Trademarks have to be renewed every five years from the date the registration goes through.

      You are correct about the Intent to Use though--they are more cautious about that. You can't register a trademark for the sole purpose of blocking other's from using it. They will allow you to file extensions though--and that probably depends on proof or so...but this stuff is better for a trademark attorney.

      Delete
    3. CeronomusDecember 18, 2015 at 1:31 AM

      Yup, the settlement actually does mean that two of the trademarks are now "used" via license. A few more months and they would've hit the three month no-use mark where they could've possibly been challenged and tossed out.

      Shame really...

      Delete
  4. UnknownDecember 15, 2015 at 9:01 PM

    Well, this goes a long way toward convincing people that they're all wrong about her. She's getting great legal advice. I'm convinced!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Raging OwlbearDecember 16, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    Wow... Looks like you were lawyered to all hell.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Edward HamiltonDecember 17, 2015 at 11:19 AM

    Oh yeah, forced formulaic retractions. That'll make everyone love Gail now, for sure. Doubly delicious that the retraction is almost certainly triggered by implied threats entirely along the lines of what it's purportedly denying.

    GG, legal profession. You're a credit to our species.

    ReplyDelete