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    Canonfire :: View topic - Who owns Greyhawk TM now ?
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    Who owns Greyhawk TM now ?
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 15, 2001
    Posts: 30
    From: France

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    Sat Aug 24, 2013 9:06 am  
    Who owns Greyhawk TM now ?

    I just wondered who owns the rights to use Greyhawk now ?

    Reading some old AOL posts I found

    Quote:
    Date: 7/23/96 5:32:16 PM

    Being that TSR is an evil money-grubbing empire, I suspect that if someone made the right offer, they could buy GREYHAWK.

    Steve Miller
    TSR, Inc.


    Why could not Paizo try to purchase back greyhawk or why not launch a Kicksatrter subscription (however i feel that it is too late)
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    Armenfrast, Sage d'Ekbir<br />aka Belvor_x (Greytalk / AOL 1995-1999)<br />aka 100523.157 (Compuserve 1994 - 1995)<br />http://www.greyhawk.fr
    Paladin

    Joined: Sep 07, 2011
    Posts: 833
    From: Houston Texas

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    Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:45 am  

    Hazbro via Wizards of the Coast is the likely "owner". Based on the cascade of purchases from the 80s on..
    See HERE for a general history.

    Shame it cant follow suit in a business platform like the Green Bay Packers hehe
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 29, 2006
    Posts: 494
    From: Dantredun, MN

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    Sat Aug 24, 2013 5:15 pm  
    Re: Who owns Greyhawk TM now ?

    Armenfrast wrote:

    Why could not Paizo try to purchase back greyhawk or why not launch a Kicksatrter subscription (however i feel that it is too late)

    First, remember that AOL quote is 17 years old and two corporations ago.

    To answer your question, rumor has it that Eric Mona has offered to buy the Greyhawk IP from Hasbro several times, to no avail (links anyone?).

    General consensus is that GH's famous NPC's, spells, items, artifacts, and classic modules are so entwined with the the roots of D&D that Hasbro will never sell; they'd lose too much of their nostalgia monopoly.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Apr 27, 2013
    Posts: 31
    From: Yeomanry

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    Sat Aug 24, 2013 5:27 pm  

    woot GREYHAWK! and also a woot to my beloved packers (notice the small case). I know this isn't a legitimate answer for some, but WE all own greyhawk, and that is the beauty of it. My Oerth is probably a Mauerth and yours is a Galeorth and another is a ... and so on. The wonderful seed to our worlds was planted by the late (and equally beloved) EGGygax, but it was brought to fruition by US - the creative and hard working dms of the world (earth). For years we have made this fine land our own and can rightfully claim ownership (at least partial ownership) of it. The folks making money off it are Wizards of the Coast I believe, but that matters little compared to the joys of an adventurous life well lived! (thanks Gary)

    -GreyMaus
    Paladin

    Joined: Sep 07, 2011
    Posts: 833
    From: Houston Texas

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    Sat Aug 24, 2013 6:22 pm  

    Greymaus> Yes and No.. you may do with what you will to your rendition of Greyhawk and (as you put it) "Mauerth" up to what the IP and "fair Use" would allow. BUT be certain Hazbro / WOC will pay you a visit if and when you try to profit from it AND it encroaches there defined published protections....
    Vestcoat and I have already had a friendly debate of defined use of "fair use" and Derivative works... Laughing Wink
    While EGG was indeed forsightful in that most DM's would claim the world as their own (and thus he resisted chronological updating as WOC later did), WOC still holds us hostage as GH sits on their shelf.

    Vestcoat> I dont recall it being published that Erik and Paizo made such an offer, but he eluded to it on greytalk (one of the times he visited )and seems another site as well (about the time they took Dragon Mag from them.2007ish?) Mort, Cebrion, Grodog or if he could be coaxed,,, Gary aka Pluffet Smedger could probably add light to this... though it is, as they say... fruitless... since WOC / Haz is content where they are.

    And as to the spells and NPC persona being intertwined, I agree, but is it not ironic how WOC has gone out of their way to disolve this on one hand, yet use as defense for not surrendering the IP on the other??? ie Tenser's Floating disk= Floating Disk, Bigsby's Grasping Hand= Grasping Hand, etc. A definate case for "its mine, you can't have it, but I don't want to do anything with it."
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 3835
    From: So. Cal

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    Sun Aug 25, 2013 12:01 am  

    With regard to Paizo, I think that is all that ever came of it- an offer was made, and declined. Paizo never owned Greyhawk though- it was licensed Dungeon and Dragon magazines, and so could put many things in them that fall under WotC IP, at WotC's discretion. Erik and Lisa like and support Greyhawk, and so got a lot of it in the magazines. And those issues sold better than any others. I have no doubt that is in large part responsible for why we see Greyhawk in DDI to the extent that we do.

    When Steve Winter made his comment, he as talking of TSR. WotC, under Hasbro, is a very different kind of company than TSR was, and that is has mainly to do with Hasbro. Hasbro likes to acquire IP, and they never give it up once they have it. Even if they don't plan to do anything with it, at least nobody else can either. This is kind of a standard business practice- own everything worth anything, such that any possible competition has to start from the ground up on anything they might do. It simply cuts down on the competition, mainly in the way of increasing the risk and initial outlay for the competition (i.e. they have to develop everything, and they better have a hit or they are screwed). It is not the best situation for fans of Greyhawk, or anything else that people like, but it is understandable.

    By the way, a friend of mine recently gave me a small map and scenario by a Steve Winter, and I was wondering why the name sounded familiar. Lo and behold, it is the same person. Steve has a blog called Howling Tower, and a modified (and expanded) version of his "Brood Pit of the Frog God" will be getting added into the Saltmarsh section of my campaign, along with stats for his (he may go by the handle "Mythmere" on the Sword & Sorcery forums, where the froglum is also mentioned) variant flesh golem made of frog flesh called (what else) a "froglum". Laughing Cool
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    Last edited by Cebrion on Sun Aug 25, 2013 5:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: May 12, 2005
    Posts: 933
    From: Woonsocket, RI, USA

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    Sun Aug 25, 2013 5:10 am  

    Cebrion wrote:
    By the way, a friend of mine recently gave me a small map and scenario by a Steve Winter, and I was wondering why the name sounded familiar. Lo and behold, it is the same person. Steve has a blog called Howling Tower, and a modified (and expanded) version of his "Brood Pit of the Frog God" will be getting added into the Saltmarsh section of my campaign, along with stats for his (he may go by the handle "Mythmere" on the Sword & Sorcery forums, where the froglum is also mentioned) variant flesh golem made of frog flesh called (what else) a "froglum". Laughing Cool

    Ceb, "Mythmere" is Matt Finch, author of Swords & Wizardry and co-author of OSRIC. The froglum is his creation, not Steve Winter's.
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    From: So. Cal

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    Sun Aug 25, 2013 5:17 am  

    I was wondering about that, but I had no name to go with Mythmere. Thanks for the info. If I ever post the stats, I'll be sure to mention Matt (already have him mentioned in my write-up).
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