Get Medieval ([info]get_medieval) wrote,
@ 2007-04-01 07:49:00
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Guys, I have a very sad announcement to make.

Last night, I recieved a Cease And Desist order from Monolith Productions, the company that makes the computer game 'Get Medieval'. They claim I am infringing on their copyright, and I've been ordered to stop producing comics and merchandise under the name 'Get Medieval' within twenty-four hours of recieving the letter. Being as I'm a starving student who can't afford a lawyer, while they're a software company making millions of dollars, I don't have much choice.

Farewell, folks. It's been fun.

- [info]ironychan

PS: I would like to note that it has not yet been twenty-four hours since I opened the thing, so here's one last comic, which happens to be the eight hundred and ninty-ninth. Damn... ending on nine hundred would have been more poetic somehow.


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[info]deesarrachi
2007-04-01 01:55 pm UTC (link)
LOLZ, poor Asher. (Coming out of lurking for the homg, last comic!!111oneone!) I've been reading since a friend showed me this comic, and it's been fun.

Too bad about the cease and desist.

Oh, and happy April Fool's Day. :p

(Reply to this)


[info]banshea
2007-04-01 01:56 pm UTC (link)
Gah... New name? Please? Don't make me go all Emo!Vader, it wasn't pretty in Ep 3 and it won't be any prettier here.

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[info]nedyfay
2007-04-01 01:57 pm UTC (link)
Userpic: Girly?

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[info]banshea
2007-04-01 02:01 pm UTC (link)
Indeed!

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[info]mamaslyth
2007-04-01 01:59 pm UTC (link)
Well, as someone else reminded me, it possibly is an April Fools joke, but if it isn't, it's the best way to skirt the legal issues.

(Of course, I work at night, so it's still March 31st to me until I get some sleep...)

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[info]banshea
2007-04-01 02:02 pm UTC (link)
...Right. April 1st, I forgot. Oh god, I hope nobody decides that it's going to be funny to play games at my work. -_-

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[info]the_otherplace
2007-04-01 10:30 pm UTC (link)
April Fools *points out*

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[info]nedyfay
2007-04-01 01:56 pm UTC (link)
1st of April, please?

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[info]almeranenovera
2007-04-01 02:01 pm UTC (link)
...this is the second cominc I read that's posted something like this today... I'm totally hoping April 1 such...

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Asher needs Kitten - Badly!
[info]mouser
2007-04-01 02:07 pm UTC (link)
Before the REST of you panic, you MAY want to look the game up...

http://www.lith.com/games.asp?id=14

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[info]rosa_draconum
2007-04-01 02:08 pm UTC (link)
I already got pulled in by a similar joke earlier today, so I refuse to believe that until there's no comic tomorrow.

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[info]tempestas_caput
2007-04-01 02:38 pm UTC (link)
... all of a sudden, Irony starts posting comics in the evening instead of the morning, leaving her audience to get *really* worked up ...

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[info]the_otherplace
2007-04-01 10:31 pm UTC (link)
Heyyy, it's Arche!

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[info]curtis
2007-04-01 02:10 pm UTC (link)
I thought I had escaped the April Fools jokes for the most part (the only place I went to today was church) until I ran into this.

[I have to be careful online until my mid-April 2nd. %^#&$%^&*%#$@ TIME ZONES!]

If this isn't one - do you have a paypal account I can contribute to to help pay for the required name change?

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[info]tozetre
2007-04-01 02:26 pm UTC (link)
Monolith? Man, that's a disappointment. I've played and liked some of their games.

Well, until now.

Why not just change the name? "Got Medieval?" perhaps?

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[info]the_otherplace
2007-04-01 10:32 pm UTC (link)
Because it's April Fools.

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[info]tozetre
2007-04-01 10:34 pm UTC (link)
ey wot?

Oh, so it is. Crap, I thought that was tomorrow. :P

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[info]mithfalas
2007-04-01 02:34 pm UTC (link)
Why am I so gullible!

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[info]doctoraicha
2007-04-01 02:43 pm UTC (link)
Ha hah hah.

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[info]pineappleaudrey
2007-04-01 02:44 pm UTC (link)
You totally got me! :P

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Honestly
[info]minivet
2007-04-01 02:53 pm UTC (link)
You totally would have got me with it if the question "Why not change the name..." hadn't nagged so heavily.

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[info]dalen_talas
2007-04-01 02:56 pm UTC (link)
Aprils Fools, please?

Either that, or I'm going to boycott Monolith from now on.

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[info]hroar
2007-04-01 03:06 pm UTC (link)
I am HOPING beyound hope this IS an Apri Fools,,,and you got us goood,,I suppose it is my fault for letting myself get so addicted and enjoying it s much..my heart truly SANK whn I first read that.
Not nice to play with a potter who makes medieval pots!

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[info]sol_nascens
2007-04-01 03:07 pm UTC (link)
'there's not much that's more dependable than human stupidity'

Too true, too true. :o)

Happy April Fool's!

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[info]iavasechui
2007-04-01 03:28 pm UTC (link)
If this is an April Fools joke you got me good... if not please just change the name.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]opusfluke
2007-04-01 03:29 pm UTC (link)
I think the clue to the gag is from Asher himself. "Human stupidity" indeed! Besides the phrase "Get Medieval" is all over the joint. Mind you it's better than the annual "The E.U. want to convert us all to digital time" gag that gets trotted out every year.

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[info]serenadesha
2007-04-01 03:31 pm UTC (link)
Awwww. Poor Asher. Once again, I want to give him a hug. But sometimes I really wish he could just be like Neithe.

And, um, happy April fools? :D

(Reply to this)

Fooled?
[info]pendorbound
2007-04-01 04:34 pm UTC (link)
I'm looking at the date and wondering if this post is perhaps in vain, but...

If indeed they're claiming infringement of "copyright" on the name "Get Medieval," there is no doubt in my mind you'd prevail, probably even appearing in court pro se. You can't copyright two words. Plain and simple.

If your comic shares large elements in common with the game itself, then there's a possibility that it infringes copyright in that way, but the name alone isn't enough.

If they're claiming that you infringe on any trademark they might have, then there's a bit of wiggle room legally speaking. I'd be surprised if you didn't prevail in that case. There's little risk of a not-for-profit webcomic and a video game being confused under trademark law. For that one though, you'd be better consulting an attorney.

Of course, I am not a lawyer...

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Fooled?
[info]shadowjunkie
2007-04-01 05:37 pm UTC (link)
I checked the website - they registered "Get Medieval" as a trademark in 1998. So they have every right to claim ownership of the name. However, I rather doubt that they would go after a comic, especially one that has been running for going on three years.

THAT SAID.

Irony, please, if this is legit, just change the name.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Fooled?
[info]the_otherplace
2007-04-01 10:33 pm UTC (link)
I'm betting brass buttons to hundred dollar bills.

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Re: Fooled?
[info]axiem
2007-04-02 07:13 am UTC (link)
It'd be a trademark thing, not a copyright thing. Because of that, I don't believe the claim.

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[info]purpura
2007-04-01 04:55 pm UTC (link)
Happy April Fool's Day!

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[info]failev
2007-04-01 04:58 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, good thing to go out on though...April fools day makes me paranoid. I'm glad I'm at home with people still stuck in the rubber spider days of the holiday. As for the infringment thing, things arn't adding up >.>

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[info]mistresshuette
2007-04-01 06:36 pm UTC (link)
If I remember correctly, literary titles cannot be copyrighted. I could write a book called "Gone with the Wind" and as long as it isn't about a woman named Scarlet and based during the American Civil War, no one could sue me and win.

What leads me to suspect that Ironychan is fooling us is that Monolith would have said that she had infringed their trademark, not their copyright. And unless the letter was sent registered, how would they know when she got the letter or even if she got the letter.

I doubt very much if Ironychan would give up her strip so easily. Changing the name would be the best solution. Besides, she has already stated that the strip will come to its conclusion in about a year anyway. Lawsuits, especially ones that are international, would take years to see court.

Thanks for the April Fool's Joke, Irony.

(Reply to this)


[info]3po_demonbunny
2007-04-01 06:53 pm UTC (link)
Besides everything above, if this was the end I think it is even more poetic. One away from 900 and talk about human stupidity. Perfect way to be forcibly stopped.

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[info]techiemikey
2007-04-01 07:07 pm UTC (link)
isn't it not at 899 either? i thought we were further back in the numbers?

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[info]paradisacorbasi
2007-04-01 07:09 pm UTC (link)
If this isn't an April Fool's Joke...

Why stop?

There are dozens of names based on the situation, the characters, whatever, that could be the new name of the comic.

If this is an April Fool's joke, well...

*shrug*

(Reply to this)


[info]lady1raven
2007-04-01 07:50 pm UTC (link)
LOL, I believed it for about half a second.

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[info]ralphmerridew
2007-04-01 08:04 pm UTC (link)
Last year's fake review was a better AFJ.

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[info]sylvantales
2007-04-02 05:25 am UTC (link)
Oh, pish. Kudos to her, rather, for keeping it spiced up with something entirely different.

I know I nearly had a heart attack until remembering the date.

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[info]ralphmerridew
2007-04-02 12:32 pm UTC (link)
I've seen quite a few "I'm going to have to take my comic down due to some legal threat" AFJs (IIRC, User Friendly may have been the first); I don't recall anybody else doing a fake review of his/her webcomic for AFD.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]lady_songsmith
2007-04-01 10:36 pm UTC (link)
I've played that game. Great to de-stress with, since the only thing you do is kill things with no pretense at a plot whatsoever.

Happy April Fool's!

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[info]packbat
2007-04-02 01:58 am UTC (link)
Be this an April Fools joke or not, I would like to point out two things. Now, I can't speak with authority, not being a lawyer, but...

(a) ...these guys are, and I bet they'd help you defend your rights, and

(b) from my understanding of trademark law ('confirmed' by Wikipedia's article on trademark infringement), there is no conflict unless the goods in question are identical or similar – e.g. Microsoft could sue a software company marketing its copyrighted "Micro-Soft" word processor, but not a bedding manufacturer marketing its patented "Micro-Soft" synthetic down pillows.

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[info]seattlesparks
2007-04-02 06:30 am UTC (link)
As someone who used to work at 'lith during the Get Medieval era, that's the most surreal April Fool's joke I've encountered today...

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[info]prettydragoon
2007-04-02 09:00 am UTC (link)
I freaked out. Totally. I had to lie down on the fainting couch for a spell.

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Infringing on WHAT?
[info]sircrosser
2007-04-02 01:44 pm UTC (link)
Nice April Fools. You had me going there.

I bought that game new... in 1998. It doesn't even work on Windows XP or Vista. =)

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[info]nights_dreamer
2007-04-03 06:15 am UTC (link)
First of all, I want to say that what they're doing is horrible and they're just jealous that your comic is better than their video game will ever be.

But I digress.

It's a bit ironic that this happened on April Fool's day, and I was hoping maybe the whole thing was just a joke, but since there's no punchline at the end, I guess it was just hoping.

I believe I've seen it suggested by others as well, but you can always just change the name of the comic. Even if you have to close down this account before you could alert anyone, I'm sure your readers would be able to find it just by doing a search on the characters' names or something. I mean, if you change the name, the software company can't sue you anymore. It's not like they have a monopoly on the idea of medieval times. It was a part of history after all.

Still, if this does end up being it, well... it was a really great comic. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make it. I know you made me care about the characters, and I imagine many others feel the same.

Good luck.

(Reply to this)


[info]sephrenia0110
2007-04-05 12:06 am UTC (link)
D:> Dwah? and I was just getting into this comic...

Please, just chose a different name!

And people comment on "April 1st", but that was three days ago... <-<...

I will see blood if this does not continue... I will make blood if this is only a joke... (Not a threat)

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