Al wants “infringing” Kickstarter campaign taken down

[Collector]

Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe and his company Replay Games say they plan to sue Wisecrack Games today to shut down its $500,000 Kickstarter crowdfunding project because it infringes on their copyright and misrepresents Lowe’s participation in the project.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/30/leisu ... exclusive/

[misslilo]

And Steve Ince just tweeted this:
http://www.facebook.com/Steve.Ince.01/p ... 0753013378

[Tawmis]

Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe and his company Replay Games say they plan to sue Wisecrack Games today to shut down its $500,000 Kickstarter crowdfunding project because it infringes on their copyright and misrepresents Lowe’s participation in the project.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/30/leisu ... exclusive/

Now the thing is - I haven't seen Al Lowe make a statement about him wanting this stopped. I did read that Paul Trowe did (on his Facebook he posted, "They're going down!" and linked the above article). I know Paul has also had issues with the Two Guys from Andromeda and their choice not to use Replay Games, which he apparently was snarky about (but later apologized on the SQ forums).

I haven't backed Sam Suede - but not because of the above. I would, actually, like to see Sam Suede made (by someone! Anyone! Preferably, naturally with Al Lowe through the ENTIRE process - because we have seen what happens when he's not). But I was so looking forward to Sam Suede when they first announced it - SEVEN years ago - because of Al Lowe. If they remained true to Al's vision - which I know - I KNOW! - is asking a lot from the gods above - it COULD be a fun game. I noticed that Paul Trowe does not do well with sharing - on his official Leisure Suit Larry FB page - he even posted about "All the other LSL FB pages are fakes." Which, really, isn't exactly the best for mustering up the fans who made these pages in the lapse of any LSL games for many years.

So in short, I have only seen Paul Trowe comment on this. As I have seen Paul comment on several things. I don't KNOW Paul at all. I just see his comments. And sometimes question how he phrases things. But hey, we're all different people... Just wish everyone could get along.

In this case, I am siding with what Misslilo posted - doesn't seem to be infringing on anything. If anything, if they want to him to take down Al Lowe's picture - I can see that. Al doesn't want his picture associated, I think that'd be fair. But saying that Al Lowe didn't work on the game design, or that Al didn't work on LSL - I do not see how it's illegal to say that. I think it could be made more clear that Al is not WORKING on Sam Suede currently - but it's based off his initial designs.

[audiodane]

Well they say, "This is not a revival or a remake. It’s a New original game based on the comedic game design by Al Lowe & Ken Wegrzyn." They do use the wording "based on" but throughout the entire kickstarter page they show pictures of Al (real and cartooned) and continue referencing his name and LSL. Later on the page they say, "..injected with 21st century humor from Al Lowe, Ken Wegrzyn, and Steve Ince." which also IMPLIES Al's *current* involvement. Still later they say, "Awhile ago, Al Lowe and Ken Wegrzyn set out to create an action-comedy game for all Al Lowe/Sierra On-Line adventure game fans as well as new generations of gaming enthusiasts…and Sam Suede™ in Undercover Exposure was born." Which again implies fairly strongly that Al is still actively involved.

There is no clear explanation anywhere on the kickstarter page (that I saw) to specifically say, "While Al Lowe (and others) was involved in the original concept of Sam Suede, he is not involved in the development of this version of Sam Suede in any way." or something to that effect.

The big questions I have are

1) What *exactly* are the disputes that a supposed lawsuit will be filing?

2) Lawsuits are typically filed AFTER diplomatic negotiations have failed, which include Cease and Desist orders. Have either of those (diplomatic negotiations or a C&D letter) actually occurred, or are they somewhat jumping the gun here?

3) Who *does* own the rights to LSL? I've often wondered this as Al is bringing LSL back himself through the kickstarter campaign. When he left Sierra did he buy the naming rights? Did he later track them down and purchase them? However all of that went down would be very interesting to attempt to do for the SpaceQuest or KingsQuest naming titles as well..

..dane

[Tawmis]

Well, I know the rights to LSL belong to someone else. Not Al. Not Paul. Not Replay Games. In one of the videos Paul Trowe does with Al - they make mention that they're merely LEASING the rights to make the game (from CODEMASTERS).

As I said though the Sam Suede KS could be made more clear - but I don't see any direct violations (not that I am a lawyer). They're being clever in riding the hype of Leisure Suit Larry, but that's hardly illegal, I think.

(Although, in reflection, the original Legends of Kyrandia box for the first one - made mention of "If you like King's Quest, you will like this!" or something - and had a legal issue that forced them to remove it... but then it's not like they were tied to KQ, so I can see how that would be an issue ... in this case, they're using Al Lowe's work, that he left behind with whomever - and didn't take the rights with him - so saying that Al Lowe was a part of the creation, I'd say - is well within their rights). Again, making it a little more clear would probably be the right move for the Sam Suede KS campaign - because it CAN sound misleading - but not illegal. (Again, speaking as a non-lawyer-type).

[Rudy]

Anybody noticed that the $10,000 reward tier is a dinner and show with Al Lowe? I agree with Tawmis. I want to hear what Al himself has to say about this.

[Rudy]

Meanwhile a little birdy informed me that it will (most likely) not go to court, but that a C&D will be issued. Al Lowe has no intention of commenting on the issue. Although Al received a request to go for a dinner with a fan, and did not object, he was not informed that it was related to the Kickstarter project, according to the birdy .

[Tawmis]

I agree with the guy who commented...

[Tawmis]

http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/repla ... ckstarter/

[Tawmis]

The rapid dogs...

[Raiden]

Every time I see something written by Paul Trowe my dislike for him intensifies. I can't believe someone so unprofessional as to publicly write a statement like "This guy is going down ... he ripped our shit off" can be running a company. The mind boggles.

I'm glad this is all steadily being cleared up. I get the impression that a lot of it was just a simple misunderstanding, blown massively out of proportion by that one little man, and his cries to the media for attention.

[Tawmis]

Every time I see something written by Paul Trowe my dislike for him intensifies. I can't believe someone so unprofessional as to publicly write a statement like "This guy is going down ... he ripped our shit off" can be running a company. The mind boggles.

I, like you, am quite often baffled by what Paul may write... He comes across very crass, at times.

However, all that said - in his one defense - at least these are written on his personal FB page. Not the Replay Games page or something. (Well, he may be doing it on the Replay Games page - but he seems to be speaking for Al Lowe, because I haven't seen Al Lowe say anything - however, Al Lowe may be playing it more wisely - he's older, like me, and wiser, (unlike me who am not any wiser!) - and knows this is boiling up to be a PR mess - and if he keeps his nose out of it, it stays clean). I would think Al, from what I know of him (plenty of email communications with him) - that he wouldn't do this publicly. He'd contact the person in question behind the scenes and try to resolve the issue.

[Maxor127]

Whether it's illegal or not, I think it's in poor taste to refernce someone who isn't involved in a project and doesn't want to be associated with it, especially if it creates conflict and confusion with their own product. Maybe they were just trying to pay respect to their inspiration, but it seems more like trying to ride on Al Lowe's coattails and try to get some Kickstarter money from it since Al Lowe got a lot of love from his own campaign and in my eyes is the one who showed people that it could be a legitimate source of funding and not just a Tim Shaffer fluke. That was a long sentence.

I don't find Trowe's comments as crass or anything. What I didn't like was how he spoke for Al Lowe instead of hearing it directly from Al. That was kind of weird. Anyways, Sam Suede just needs to remove references of Al Lowe, and everything will probably be settled.

[Tawmis]

http://www.gametrailers.com/side-missio ... -blessing/

They removed the LSL reference and added "based on Al Lowe's work"

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/178 ... r-exposure

Based upon an original game design by Al Lowe and Ken Wegrzyn
Developed to completion by Steve Ince, Ken Wegrzyn, and Wizarbox
A Comic Adventure for the 21st Century!
Coming in 2013

[Rudy]

I'm smelling an actual lawsuit this time... The Sam Suede Kickstarter obviously was heavily affected by the lawsuit threat by Replay Games. Now I read a comment to Paul Trowe that he needs a lawyer... Doesn't seem like something somebody would post as a joke... especially since that person works for ACTIVISION!