This file doesn't really pertain to Traveller, however, I'm including it, because it shows the kind of pressures that GDW was under between 1992-94 and helps illustrate the sort of environment in which they were operating. ============================================================================ ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Normal, IL May 20, 1992 GDW ANNOUNCES NAME CHANGE OF THE DANGEROUS JOURNEYS(TM) GAME Game Designer's Workshop today announced that their upcoming multigenre roleplaying game system will be released under the name Dangerous Journeys(tm) instead of Dangerous Dimensions. GDW's president, Frank Chadwick, explained the reason for the decision as follows: 'On the 13th of this month TSR claimed that the use and display of the name Dangerous Dimensions infringes on their trademark Dungeons and Dragons(R) by representing that the 'products are affiliated with or sponsored by TSR or its products...' Everyone associated with the project knows that this is an absurd claim. I know that it's not nice to bad-mouth the competition, but the simple truth is that that's the last thing we would want anyone to think. No consumer would ever be confused, in any way, as to the difference. But GDW is in business to publish games, not to argue in court. We're not really interested in spending the time or money required to prove that TSR is wrong, and neither are the other companies involved in the project. As a result, all of the companies involved both here and abroad, agreed to simply change the name to the Dangerous Journeys(tm) game. It is an equally good name, and should let us get on with what's important -- delievering a great family of game products. The Dangerous Journeys(tm) game was created by Gary Gygax, and is the property of Omega Helios, Ltd. GDW is the licensed publisher of the English language version of the roleplaying game. Other licenses include JVC in the electronic game field, Penguin/ROC in the book trade, and Hobby Products GmbH of Germany for game miniatures. In addition, the roleplaying game is currently being translated into nearly a dozen foreign languages. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1993 05:26:26 EDT Sender: Mythus Fantasy Roleplaying Game List From: David Newton Subject: ARMOR / T$R LAWSUIT T$R VERSUS GYGAX/GDW The T$R lawsuit is still pending, and will probably drag on for some time yet. I've been in for one deposition, and they want me back in for another one (the next date hasn't been set). The whole suit originally revolved around T$R's charge that DJ was derived from 1st edition AD&D, and that there were over 300 different items that were taken from their game (including such things as the word "Multiverse", Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, etc.). They are now charging Gary with copyright infringement! This is nothing but a ludicrous personal attack against Gary as far as I'm concerned. I'll let you all know if anything interesting develops (as long as the attorneys okay it - it's best not to talk about it when possible). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release March 22, 1994 Tom McLaughlin, Director of Public Relations TSR Inc TSR Aquires Dangerous Journeys Game System Lake Geneva, WI - A two year lawsuit involving the rights to the Dangerous Journeys multigenre roleplaying game recently came to a conclusion. On March 18, TSR, Game Designers Workshop (GDW), Omega Helios, Trigee Enterprises Corporation, and Gary Gygax jointly announced all rights to the game system were acquired by TSR. The specific terms of the settlement are undisclosed, but all parties are satisfied with the amicable agreement. According to the parties, GDW will cease distribution of Dangerous Journeys game products as of april 1, and TSR will recieve remaining inventories. The parties said the tremendous amount of time, money, and energy expended on this lawsuit have left the gaming industry measurably poorer than it might have been otherwise. However, the ability of the parties to negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement allows the parties and the industry to coalesce and move forward in positve and constructive directions with all parties working together. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 23:25:00 UTC Reply-To: Mythus Fantasy Roleplaying Game List Sender: Mythus Fantasy Roleplaying Game List From: "John R. Troy (JRT--Mad Demiurge of Vargaard)" Subject: Gygax and TSR: The Story I'll tell you what I know. I ended up doing some reading from a few business journals, as well as read what's been said on-line via GEnie. I'm telling you here in public for a few reasons. First of all, others may be interested. Secondly, it is because my knowledge is limited. Dave Newton and Frank Mentzer patronize this list. I want them to read this to clarify any inaccuracies. I don't want to give out the wrong info. And I must put a disclaimer on this notice--it is based on what I have read and heard. There may be things I'm missing, or innaccuracies based on the sources I have read. It is not my intention to libel any party, or to give out false information. Here's what I've found out: When Gary formed TSR, he got the help of some partners. The major backers of TSR I believe were the two Blume brothers, Brian Blume and Kevin Blume. They had a influx of capital from their father. Mr Gygax held about 30% of the stock in the main days of TSR. Together, the company marketed D&D and later (slowly, as it was developed) AD&D. I guess in the 80's things started to go sour. Gary and the Blumes were at odds. Mr. Gygax once stated that the Blumes wanted to produce inferior product rather than quality, at least in his opinion. Stuff like the Fiend Folio tome (a potluck gathering of White Dwarf creations) was an example of that--a book that IMO had a lot of monsters that weren't well thought out and had lots of inconsistancies. (I base this judgement primarilly on a review in Dragon Magazine by Ed "Mr. Ecology" Greenwood, which I agree with). Even with Mr. Gygax being both president and CEO of TSR, they ended up shipping him out to the West Coast in the early days, I guess to oversee the "young readers" licenses--stuff like the AD&D LJN action figures, the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show (developed by Mark Evanier, and perhaps the "moonlighting" of cartoon shows for the time), the AD&D coloring book-- you name it. Eventually, due to some things the Blumes did, Gary saw fit to fire the two brothers. I do know that TSR had some financial problems at that time--I guess they overextended their market. The Blumes had their share of the stock. At the same time, Gary's first wife (Mary I think was her name) divorced Gary. Now, from what I know, Wisconsin Divorce Law is very strict and basically divides the assetts in half--which of course would include Mr. Gygax's 30%. I think she and the Blumes got together in a fight for TSR control. The board of directors, I guess which included the Blumes, and perhaps to-be-president Lorraine Williams, a member of the Dille Family (who own Buck Rogers), fired Gary as CEO, though he was still president. I also know from reading magazine Gary took legal action. I think he was promised a "first-buyout" option. I think he lost that. He tried to get along with Ms. Williams, but it was a "parting of the ways". They didn't see eye to eye on the business/creative ends. I think based on concerns, TSR wanted to make sure he wouldn't do AD&D work for other publishers (such as Mayfair). I really don't know if there is a non-competition clause with the first settlement. The only thing Gary gained was the ownership of the Gord books, and the ability to write further novels. He was allowed to keep him in the "Greyhawk Universe", with the strange condition that he could not use names of personas/entities that were part of the campaign unless they were included in the first two novels. Thus, Iuz, Graz'zt, and Tharizdun were allowed in the book, but Entities like Boccob, Incabulous, and Zagyg were changed to Cabbac, Infestrix, and Gigantos. Weird, huh? With the Second Edition, EGG gets nothing! Despite the fact that very little of the game mechanics were changed--mostly presentation, EGG gets nothing for the derived work. I find that really dumb! In 1992, Gary, GDW, Omega Helios Ltd. (an enigmatic company which holds the copyright to DJ and is located on the Isle of Man), and Trigee Enterprises Corporation were all sued, claiming that DJ violated TSR's copyrights to AD&D, that it was derived from AD&D, and a whole bunch of garbage. They've made several claims against DJ -- things that are parts of ALL RPGS! If they ended up suing and won... it would set a precedent giving TSR rights to ALL RPGS. IMO, it was a nuisence suit. TSR and the others settled. They gained ownership of the whole DJ line. GDW was paid for the inventory, and I think Gary got something out of it--money, promises, control, something, though I don't know for sure. All he's said is--he's "happy with the outcome". The future of the system is up to TSR--they call the shots. BTW--The Lawsuit was so ugly, TSR gained the rights to have their law firm and perhaps even their game staff read PRIVATE MAIL TO GARY GYGAX!!! In other words, I write Mr. Gygax a letter, he has to turn it and the response over to others. This is the lowest thing that TSR has ever done, IMO. So that's why I warned people here about copyrights and trademarks. Imagine if say, Hawkeye or Matt had to turn over all E-Mail--or more likely the SysOps of their system had to forward copies of their messages (and they likely have the power to do that) to TSR if they were concerened about possible infringement. Scary, Huh? John R. Troy (JRT) j.troy@genie.geis.com