Some key events leading up to the early part of the Villains and Vigilantes publishing & trademark dispute between Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) and Monkey House Games (MHG) ...
2009 Dec: James Satter contacts FGU about submitting something new for V&V. FGU says yes:
2010 Jan 11: FGU releases first two V&V freebie pdfs (Pawn Shop; Police Station):
2010 Jan 13: Jeff Dee would rather folks "move on" to Living Legends instead of hanging around with V&V on its "deathbed":
2010 Jan 20 or earlier: Scott Bizar (in an email to a potential freelancer) is interested in publishing new V&V adventures, as standalone pdfs as well as compiled into "V&V Giant" books:
2010 Feb 6: Jeff Dee asserts that FGU owns the V&V trademark, and implies that he has still "[given] up on V&V":
2010 Feb 12: FGU releases another freebie pdf (Truth Seeker Tabloid Office):
2010 Feb 13: Jeff Dee asserts that the V&V name is FGU's:
2010 Feb 13: Brent Rose offers to privately discuss (with anyone in particular) general matters of game rule copyright, ultimately leading to discussions directly with Jeff Dee (see later events):
2010 Feb 25: Dave Woodrum says FGU plans to release adventures, with a few partially completed; he also mentions the "release/re-release of older materials":
2010 Feb 27: Jeff Dee asserts that the V&V publishing & trademark rights lie with FGU, and he also thinks FGU crossed the line with recent references to Dee- & Herman-created characters in freebie products:
2010 Feb (specific day not given): James Satter submits manuscript for Enter the Gene Pool to FGU.
2010 Mar 10: Jeff Dee's last post for a while at VandV yahoo group; he would post there again on Jun 8.
2010 Mar 27: Dave Woodrum hints about upcoming Citizen Report release from FGU:
2010 Mar 28-29: FGU release the fourth & fifth freebie pdfs (Diamante's; Any Mart):
2010 Mar (specific day not given): James Satter receives the OK from FGU to write Escape from the Micro-Universe:
2010 Mar (specific day not given): Jeff Dee and Jack Herman "started talking with Brent Rose," whose investigations ultimately led Jeff and Jack to their conclusion that FGU / Scott Bizar had no rights to publish V&V:
2010 Apr 25: Jeff Dee mentions finishing Most Wanted Vol. 2 for Living Legends, but does not mention a V&V-targeted release:
2010 May 13: Jeff Dee and Jack Herman announce the start of Monkey House Games:
2010 May 22: Jeff Dee rebrands various former UNIgames Living Legends products as MHG products:
2010 Jun early ("a few weeks" before V&V 2.1 release): Jeff Dee and Scott Bizar discuss what it would cost to buy V&V rights from FGU:
2010 Jun 8: Jeff Dee hints that MHG is "not JUST about LL. You'll see :)":
2010 Jun 16: MHG files for V&V trademark with USPTO:
2010 Jun 17: MHG announces upcoming release of V&V 2.1:
2010 Jun 27: MHG releases V&V 2.1:
2010 Jul 4: MHG releases Intercrime: Hostile Takeover (originally released for the Living Legends game, and converted to V&V for this release):
2010 Jul 6: MHG releases Oil Pressure free pdf:
2010 Jul 7: FGU releases Citizen Report:
2010 Jul 19: FGU files for V&V trademark with USPTO:
2010 Jul 21: FGU releases Enter the Gene Pool:
2010 Aug 31: FGU releases Into the Sub-Realm:
2010 Sep 10: FGU releases Giant No. 1, a print compilation of Citizen Report, Enter the Gene Pool, and Into the Sub-Realm:
No comments:
Post a Comment