Hasbro Suing Atari over D&D License
Hasbro is suing Atari over a violation in the D&D licensing agreement.
Toy maker Hasbro Inc., which has licensed out the Dungeons & Dragons IP to Atari since 2000, is claiming that the latter company may have violated its licensing agreement. Hasbro has now filed a complaint against Atari in the District Court of Rhode Island, seeking damages for economic losses. Hasbro also wants to terminate its licensing agreement with Atari, which in turn may close down the Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron MMORPG.
The licensing violation claim stem from Atari's sale of its European business distribution arm to Namco Bandai back in July. According to the Associated Press, Hasbro claims that Atari was misleading in regards to the sale, although no additional details were provided to explain the claim. Wizards of the Coast president Greg Lee said that Atari left them no choice but to take legal action after working with Atari for months on a resolution yielded no results.
Atari, on the other hand, denies any sort of mischief on its part. "Hasbro has resorted to these merit-less allegations, in an apparent attempt to unfairly take back rights granted to Atari," Atari said in the statement. "Atari has sought to resolve the matter without cooperation from Hasbro. We regret that our longtime partner has decided to pursue this action."
Atari added that it will respond appropriately through its legal counsel in court. Wizards of the Coast is the Hasbro subsidiary that actually owns the Dungeons & Dragons IP. Gamers who currently play/subscribe to Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron may want to keep a close eye on this bit of drama.
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Good thing or bad thing? I don't know. If it means I get my BG3 or NWN3... very good thing.
OMG!!! With all these lawsuits flying around its a wonder how technology moves forward.
I'd like to see a game of just filing lawsuits. The more lawsuits, the more points. Online multiplayer game even. Then the U.S. must be the top players.
Seriously? Try the EU...
"Toy maker Hasbro Inc., which has licensed out the Dungeons & Dragons IP to Atari since 2000, is claiming that the latter company may have violated its licensing agreement
"
what latter company? they licensed out the D&D IP to: 1) Atari and ...?
it violated its own licensing agreement and sued itself? cmon Kevin.
I'd like to see a game of just filing lawsuits. The more lawsuits, the more points. Online multiplayer game even. Then the U.S. must be the top players.
I could totally get behind this as an MMO. World of Lawyercraft, it could really be the fabled WoW killer.
I could totally get behind this as an MMO. World of Lawyercraft, it could really be the fabled WoW killer.
Haha I could see it now...
"You cast level 13 DMCA of the Ancients"
"You need to submit more paperwork to raise your mana levels."
"Your attorney's health level is low; transfer more funds!"
BG3 and NWN3 would be compliments of BioWare. If you've played Dragon Age, the sequel is likely to be the equivalent of BG3 or a BG reimagined.
I somehow doubt Hasbro is going to terminate the license. This will probably break down into them claiming Atari owes them a cut of their profits from things like DDO(which is free to play anyway).
The most important department for technology companies doesn't seem to be marketing or R&D anymore, it seems to be the legal department.
My guess would be that Hasbro sees Namco/Bandai as a competitor, and now the european distribution arm of Atari is now owned by Namco Bandai, in theory there are D&D branded products being distributed by Namco Bandai. It's a bit like Nike sponsoring a new sports drink with Coca-Cola, and then Coca-Cola selling its european business to Adidas to distribute it. I can understand why they'd be annoyed in principle; but it's all a bit pointless imo.
That would suck if it shut down DDO... at least for me lol
I am currently enjoying the hell out of the free to play part of the game and was considering becoming a VIP (small fee every month)
I guess it would not be the end of the world but I do enjoy it
hasbro doesn't own atari , they did in the late 90's but in 99 (i think ) was teh eyar that hasbro sold the atari name to it's curent owners
The "horde" could be Hackers or Pirates lol
I cast Bittorrent !!!
Hacker uses Spam ability and his army of zombies to send thousands of emails !!!
Lawsuits are fine when needed, but these examples just show how unethical our business practices have become. But I don't remember the last time I heard Atari or Hasbro in a lawsuit. So this could be a proper disagreement/change in management.
Don't forget Atari is also being sued by Turbine, Inc. for failure to properly promote and distribute DDO Dungeons and Dragons Online.. A MMO since Feb. 31 2006. The efforts atari has put forth is abysmal...
A Addition lawsuit by Hasbro can only be good, as it sheds light on a company hindering the licensing/promotions of a huge franchise..
I for one would like to see the contract atari has for the D&D universe to be null and void.. and granted to a company who will properly respect its playerbase.
Atari - "Can we license the D&D name for some computer games?"
Hasbro - "Sure, board games are dying out and we need the cash"
Atari - "This D&D stuff is pretty cool, we are making shitloads of money"
Hasbro - "Hey, our original agreement looks pretty crap, maybe we should sue"
Atari - "Maybe you should have reinvested years ago into the PC games market instead of hanging onto the past"
Hasbro - "We thought we could just milk you instead"
If Atari looses it's licensing of the D&D property, it's possible that some of the other D&D games will still exist. For instance, perhaps Bioware licensing the D&D property directly from Hasbro instead of going through Atari.
Or maybe something like that. There's so many legal wranglings, and companies inside of companies that I try not to follow too closely for fear of hurting my head... so I could be completely wrong in my suggestion.
If Atari looses it's licensing of the D&D property, it's possible that some of the other D&D games will still exist. For instance, perhaps Bioware licensing the D&D property directly from Hasbro instead of going through Atari.Or maybe something like that. There's so many legal wranglings, and companies inside of companies that I try not to follow too closely for fear of hurting my head... so I could be completely wrong in my suggestion.
True true there will be new games but lets hope they do not shut down the 1 out of 10 that is actually decent (although Dragon Age was cool too) hmm D&D games seem to be on some sort of streak.
Haha I could see it now..."You cast level 13 DMCA of the Ancients""You need to submit more paperwork to raise your mana levels.""Your attorney's health level is low; transfer more funds!"
"NEEDS MORE PAPERWORK!"
"YOU REQUIRE MORE CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS!"