I promise this will be the last post having to do with the Space Marine trademark debacle Games Workshop got itself into. The whole Spots the Space Marine vs. Games Workshop story; I can assure you Amazon (regardless of the politics) is the most to blame for this getting way out of hand.
The reason for this is simple: Games Workshop uses automated Cease and Desist spiders/cookies to find trademarked or IP breaking material. The automated program needs little effort to maintain, so Games Workshop can easily search for terms and send out letters at will. With Spots the Space Marine the big problem was the title and I am sure GW just found it in some random search and sent a letter to Amazon for a take down.
GW uses these cease and desists more as scare tactic and the worst thing anyone can do that gets one is to respond, because it will really put you on their radar. The best is to just take down the offending material and leave it alone.
Since Amazon has blanket policy of take down and ask questions later the Spots author had no choice, but go to GW and request an explanation. After which everything was history. All the large content internet providers have the same policy and is part of the continuing evolution of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
What makes this case so interesting is looking back to how GW has evolved on this issue. I found while reading through another thread this interesting article that was published in an old White Dwarf.
It seems way back in White Dwarf issue 5 from 1978, Games Workshop had a very different view of trademarking and intellectual property. So, read this interesting Games Workshop take on all things the IP of Star Wars.
That article written is an amazing testament to how money, corporations, and lawyers change a company. No matter right or wrong, if a GW employee wrote that article today he would be instantly canned. As it is, GW employees are mostly brainwashed and tow the company line. Personally, I am happy to still write and play Games Workshop games and in many respects I am very much the fan boy.
I just hope that this whole Spots the Space Marine kerfuffle will bring some good, not just for Spots, but for Games Workshop, I want them to be a better company, but they have to know where to draw the line and respect the vastness of Sci-fi universe and understand they can nor will ever own it.
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