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Games Workshop vs the Fans; Warhammer org IP
Topic Started: 29th February 2012 - 11:40 PM (1,589 Views)
SkavenDan
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Well it seems the big wigs are at it again warhammer org will soon be changed to wargamer.co

The reasons given that the site no longer just focuses on fantasy and that games workshop are annoying about owner ship.

and the .uk part will do as the ETC runs though the site and is not strictly UK based.

What do you make of the change?
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Nurglitch IX
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SkavenDan
29th February 2012 - 11:40 PM
Well it seems the big wigs are at it again warhammer org will soon be changed to wargamer.co
What do you make of the change?
I wouldn't discuss the preposed name of my design company with anyone for fear of someone else using it. And they have legal precident to be that paranoid.

Personally I think we need less lawyers.
Edited by Nurglitch IX, 29th February 2012 - 11:44 PM.
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izmerul
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Not sure i understand what you mean ...

Are you talking about this site: http://www.warhammer.org/ ?

As far as Games-Workshop beeing paranoid I think they are not fighting in the right place. I'm going to post a couple links to "taobao" which is the Chinese ebay and you can see some nice little price of recast miniatures everywhere. Aparently people are buying this stuff here even though there is only 1 games workshop in Shanghai and a couple of playing clubs in Beijing (we're talking cities with more then 12 million inhabitants)

There's a striking one, and there are many more similar web-stores for games workshop product, they seem to be having a feild day with Forge World as well cause the better the quality and bigger the model the easier it is to make a decent copy. FYI 140.00 CNY = 13.9507 GBP and they deliver within 5 days, or quicker if you're in the same city.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=9267352554

and there's this store in Guangdong province that sells some metal skaven for next to nothing those 3 gutter runners are 30.00 CNY = 2.98941 GBP

http://tkmx.taobao.com/search.htm?spm=1103XKqR.2-4Cbr1.6-2zxCbc&scid=448920527&scname=U2thdmVu&checkedRange=true&queryType=cat

i've yet to try because i doubt the quality, but the client reviews are happy
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SkavenDan
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No dude this site and here is the topic:

http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=98343&start=0
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izmerul
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aah ok ^^

well the people over there dont seem to mind aparently?

I still think GW is wasting it's ressources fighting this war in europe, it's not you guys they should be worried about *shrugs*
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Nurglitch IX
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izmerul
1st March 2012 - 02:29 AM
aah ok ^^

well the people over there dont seem to mind aparently?

I still think GW is wasting it's ressources fighting this war in europe, it's not you guys they should be worried about *shrugs*
The Chinese Government refuses to admit that those are fake, and so won't prosecute. Whereas the English government is more than happy to enforce corporate interests. Trust me, if the Chinese government was as supportive of corporations as the western governments that site would be gone in about 25 minutes.
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izmerul
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I know about the government of China!!!!

It's just like the music industry here, if you want to make money and sell your products you need to find a new way of functioning.

Are citadel miniatures produced in China? cause i was suprised to see so many of these web-stores, and normally they only make copies of the stuff that is produced locally, because the best way to keep China from copying your products is NOT to produce them there lol!

Do they have ways of exporting the copies and is there a black market in Europe for their miniatures?

Another idea is to produce an asian themed game with miniatures adapted to the local market (they dont like lord of the rings and only play warhammer cause it reminds them of warcraft) and produce those locally for a lower cost, that way the forgers would probably stick to these and leave the EU / USA markets alone.

Just random thoughts, i didnt think it through but you have to take sidesteps with China, the face on approach always looses!


EDIT

Better yet, there's an address on it in Shanghai and I know the area around that subway station, i'll go check it out when i visit a friend there probably next week ^^
Edited by izmerul, 1st March 2012 - 08:08 AM.
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hannanibal
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So you can't use a domain with the name "warhammer" in it? Who makes these rules? Who owns single words that were already in use hundreds of years before companies existed? It's odd.
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Nurglitch IX
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hannanibal
1st March 2012 - 08:11 AM
So you can't use a domain with the name "warhammer" in it? Who makes these rules? Who owns single words that were already in use hundreds of years before companies existed? It's odd.
The same people who patented your DNA. And if the website were actually about the medieval weapon they probably wouldn't be having as much of an issue. But when you run a mini's website using the name of a major mini line the lawyers feel there's a reasonable expectation that said site is 'official' and that the common man is to stupid to know the difference.

I guess I can buy this, but like most of you, I don't see where this can do any harm to the game. the problem is those same lawyers are going to argue that if you don't face-stomp a website for using the name of a weapon that's existed for 1200 years, then obviously you don't care about your IP, so some guy making copies of your sculpts and selling them must be ok too. This notion that any allowance constitutes a willing dilution of IP is silly, and leads to stupidities like this.
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izmerul
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1st March 2012 - 08:29 AM
I guess I can buy this, but like most of you, I don't see where this can do any harm to the game. the problem is those same lawyers are going to argue that if you don't face-stomp a website for using the name of a weapon that's existed for 1200 years, then obviously you don't care about your IP, so some guy making copies of your sculpts and selling them must be ok too. This notion that any allowance constitutes a willing dilution of IP is silly, and leads to stupidities like this.
Warning this Rant is more about economics but i feel it is linked to the subject

It's a lawyer's world, because there isnt enough cake and those smart or lucky enough to have some are convinced that sharing leads to lazyness ...

The fact is we SHOULD be in a society of leisure, because it doesnt take 7 billion people to take care of basic needs: producing and distributing food, building homes and taking care of basic infrastructure like heating water electricity. But somehow due to the laws of "free market" the only outcome possible seems to be that 1% ride bentleys and 99% shine shoes or die for refusing. Any country that refuses the concept faces the distruction of its industrial base and massive emmigration of the wealthy to places with a more convenient tax system. Until the shoe shiners cant take it and decide to cut some heads.

Anyway for miniature wargaming Games-Workshop is adapting perfectly well to the economic situation:

The middle class is loosing it's disposable income
The wealthy are gaining in disposable income

So you aim for the wealthy and protect your property rights to keep the prices as high as possible, because that's where the income is. If they cant turn their miniatures into an upper class hobby they loose.

EDIT: = dont sell for peanuts to the masses, sell for gold to the few
Edited by izmerul, 1st March 2012 - 08:51 AM.
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Kimzi
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Skaven Lord Vinshqueek
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hannanibal
1st March 2012 - 08:11 AM
Who owns single words that were already in use hundreds of years before companies existed? It's odd.
Apparently, Games Workshop.

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Boone
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I wonder if I owned a warhammer and took pictures of it and posted my amazing warhammer on a webblog talkign abotu warhammers if I would hear about it especially if it was a really nice warhammer I was trying to sell for around 40k?
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Nurglitch IX
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Boone
7th March 2012 - 05:53 AM
I wonder if I owned a warhammer and took pictures of it and posted my amazing warhammer on a webblog talkign abotu warhammers if I would hear about it especially if it was a really nice warhammer I was trying to sell for around 40k?
no, but they'd tag your site for monitoring. Remember they own the word Warhammer as it relates to Minis. So if you started selling 3 cm plastic warhammers from a site called warhammerrox.com, then they could tag you. And it's not "can they win" it's "can they show enough probable cause to tie you up in lawyers until you surrender"
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IronShark
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I'm sure GW would love to stop the chinese copies of their product. So would some other companies. If no one else has been able to stop Chinese knock offs, I don't think GW is going to win that battle either.
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