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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Nov 2020 : 06:20:42
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Fellow scribes,
Interesting news in the Courts of Tyr!
WotC is being sued by Margaret Weis LLC and Tracy Hickman, for alleged breach of contract. The first link is the actual filing in District Court, that way there is no interpretation about the filing. The second one is a news article about the issue.
A possibly telling excerpt from the news article is, quote:
The lawsuit also states that Weis and Hickman, as they were writing Dragons of Deceit, had complied with several requests from Wizards that “proposed certain changes in keeping with the modern-day zeitgeist of a more inclusive and diverse story-world,” which Wizards was entitled to do by the terms of their licensing agreement. Weis and Hickman claim in the suit to have carried out all of Wizards’s requested rewrites, including one that reportedly took 70 pages to resolve, over issues that included the story’s use of love potions, certain characters’ names having negative connotations, and unspecified matters of inclusivity.
Interesting news issue!
Best regards,
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Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2020 : 09:40:51
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They are being sued by Galeforce 9 now as well.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2020 : 04:13:03
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I should think this part is of greater interest to folks, rather than the without prejudice part:
"In this case it was voluntarily dismissed by Weis & Hickman. We can only guess why; perhaps a settlement occurred? In any case, Margaret Weis tweeted, thanking people for their support, and hinting at exciting news to come." |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2020 : 05:16:21
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Master Rupert,
It very likely will be for most people. It's all part and parcel, but the fact that they can take it back to court at their leisure is big news. That seems to mean that Weis & Hickman have them by the balls.
My personal preference would have been to see Weis & Hickman salt the earth with WotC. I'd love to watch that stack of c**p get it's due. That book has been checked out since........ forever, and the fine needs payin'. ;)
Best regards,
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Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2020 : 01:53:07
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| My guess is simply that WotC relented and the books will now go forward. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2020 : 20:21:49
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Great Reader Darden,
Well, it seems apparent that WotC relented. How simple it was I think is up in the air. A dismissal without prejudice, based upon the likely requested dismissal from Weis and Hickman is meaning that they really had WotC over a barrel with something significant. My guess would be something about the nature of their work arrangement, and the other bit being that WotC didn't want the actual details coming out in discovery about the specific reasons for the (70) pages of changes that WotC had them make. That likely would have been preposterously embarrassing to WotC.
Again, just conjecture on my part there, but I think in absence of something else I am not considering, the most likely.
I would have loved to attained and read all of that discovery and especially the information about those changes, which I am certain were part and parcel of the disagreement.
Best regards,
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Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2020 : 17:49:16
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As I expected the claim from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman to be, the denials from WotC were based upon, quote:
The suit also claimed that Wizards of the Coast terminated the Licensing Agreement because Wizards of the Coast “was embroiled in a series of embarrassing public disputes whereby its non-Dragonlance publications were excoriated for racism and sexism.” https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/12/21/margaret-weis-and-tracy-hickmans-dragonlance-lawsuit-against-wizards-of-the-coast-dismissed-without-prejudice/
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WotC clearly backed down in the end, even allowing the dismissal without prejudice to occur.
Looks like that would have been a juicy Discovery that WotC, seemingly, wisely ran from.
Sounds like a ticking time bomb to me. |
Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
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WotC Sued by Weis & Hickman
