Games Workshop Forbids Warhammer Fan Films

EikeHein writes "Made by dozens of fans over a period of several years and featuring impressive special effects, the feature-length Warhammer 40.000 epic DAMNATUS ranks among the most elaborate fan productions ever made — and yet may never see the light of day. Despite initially giving a go-ahead to the project, UK-based Warhammer franchise owner Games Workshop has come around to forbid distribution of the film just as it was being readied for release. What's more, they've amended their IP Policy to forbid any such projects in the future. At the heart of the matter appears to be Continental European copyright law, which grants the German film makers certain irrevocable rights to their creation which they cannot sign away. Given that the owners of the other two SF mega-franchises, Star Trek and Star Wars, have been able to come to terms with such issues and arguably benefit greatly from the media attention paid to popular fan productions, it would seem that Games Workshop still has to learn a thing or two about how to capture fan enthusiasm for their benefit."

Comments

Re:Why doesn't GW just build a public website

[lena_10326]

So GW creates a website where fans upload to their creations, giving up their rights in exchange for the opportunity to be creative? Great idea!

Ever heard of youtube.com? It'd work like that.





slashdot = eager to assume

Re:Why doesn't GW just build a public website

[lena_10326]

You completely missed his point. I suggest you read the rest of his comment.

I understood his point. He had two points. Germans can't give up irrevocable ownership rights and the copyright law is flawed. I consider that particular law moot because forbidding is not enforcement, and thus is not a violation of irrevocable law, which is why I didn't specifically refer to it.

Courts and governments enforce. Not companies. Just stop injecting other's trademarks and copyrighted stuff into your art and there won't be a problem. Simple as that. I have no sympathy for one's belly aching if one does.

Anyway. My original point was there could be a happy medium where the two could merge. GW lets you insert trademarks in your work if you limit publishing of your work on GW's youtube clone site, otherwise they sue you within the guidelines of the law. As I said before, they would yield profits and credit because it's their trademark on your creation. You could still maintain ownership and author credit to satisfy the German law. By submitting your work, you would be licensing GW to publish your work on the site. If you wanted to take it elsewhere, you'd have to strip the trademarks and anything resembling copyrighted material.

The point is it could be done. If you say it it can't, then how else could trademarked products be co-branded in Germany? Think about that for a minute.

lena_10326 = eager to jump to conclusions

You're right. I made a conclusion in error: that you could understand my point without the training wheels.