It’s literally what I got when I googled her name and Stardock, first link.
EDIT: Re-editting this to be more gentle: It was last updated in 2017, which would absolutely put her as part of the lawsuit’s scope. … I actually dunno why they updated it in 2017 and left both her and Mieseta’s name in 2017 if neither of them, especially Mieseta, worked there. According to the dude she last worked there at 2015 which, was when everything began, though I’d have to really look to get a good view of what kind of PR she was pushing out. I’m guessing they subpeona’d everyone who had worked at Stardock’s PR since things began, which would include her.
EDIT2: Wait hold on. 2015? Wasn’t that the time that Stardock’s blogs and stuff was using Star Control 2 artwork and assets as part of their marketing for Galactic Civilization III? For example, https://forums.galciv3.com/464382/galactic-civilizations-iii-fun-in-5-turns This page? I wonder if this is why she’s being subpeona’d then.
That’s fair. I mean, I was wondering about her specifically though, if she stopped working in 2015. Buttt, her working for them when they were blatantly copyright infringing is probably a good enough reason.
To echo a sentiment Peter touched on above when talking about the costs of DMCAing everyone, the relative costs of doing these things isn’t much.
I’ve also mentioned before that Stardock called the game and the game they called was hardball. So in light of the rules of the game that was chosen subpoenas like this Tinsley one from P&F, or the Dubbin one from Stardock, are hardly out of the ordinary. Even in a less hardball lawsuit anyone who might be involved can be likely get a subpoena.
Another perspective on this suit to consider, and one that I will first admit is an assumption I am making, goes back to the Frungy Defense Fund. You can look at that as P&F being desperate and trying to raise cash to fight the suit, or as a PR move, or in any number of lights. But at this point I look back at that not as a plea for help, but as a declaration that they are willing to spend what it takes and if people want to help, well, so much the better. Their actions in the suit haven’t been of someone running on empty and hoping to settle before they have to give in due to lack of funds. I think they’ve consigned themselves to the expense, set aside the funds, and are fully prepared for nine innings of hardball.
Not only that, from the DLC pages I can actually add the base SCO game to my cart, and it shows up on checkout. I didn’t try to complete checkout though.
But on the DLC page, there is a button that will directly add the base SCO game to the cart (presumably since I don’t own it), and it seems to work as expected.
It makes sense. Regardless of whatever the reality might be, Brad is obviously 100% convinced he is in the right. You don’t pour this kind of money into lawyers or take things all the way to court if you’re not. If he is 100% in the right, then P&F are practically terrorists trying to shut down or at the very least throw a wrench in his game and are dragging anyone and everyone involved into their evil scheme from his POV.
You know, I’m not sure he’s 100% convinced he is in the right. I just think it’s a combination of desperation and his whole mentality of ‘must prevail absolutely in anything no matter what’ combining into moves that comes off as otherwise absolutely baffling. I think it originated from the fact that he didn’t know that a trademark was not the same thing as a copyright when he bought the Star Control trademark. And then when someone clued him in, he realized he had spent a lot of money on a whole lotta nuttin and ran to P&F to beg for the copyright too, and then started everything in a desperate attempt to salvage the situation and just expected he would be able to bully them and the UQM Project into giving him everything in order to avoid a costly lawsuit. I don’t think Wardell actually expected them to fight back at all. I don’t think he’s ever had anyone challenge him before.
He does come across as always getting what he wants, so P&F fighting back is no doubt mightily frustrating. I’m also reminded of the saying that it takes a great man to admit he’s wrong.
I think it originated from the fact that he didn’t know that a trademark was not the same thing as a copyright when he bought the Star Control trademark.
The way it was explained to me was that it IS possible for the trademark alone to entitle the owner to additional rights if the underlying IP is essentially abandoned. If that’s true, I think it’s possible for Brad to go into this eyes wide open w/ some assumptions made based on his previous interactions with P&F in the past.
This would mean that the sudden announcement of “Ghosts of the Precursors” could be viewed as a way for P&F to ‘reactivate the IP’ primarily to challenge assert the non-abandonment for the sake of interfering with SC:O even if they have no real intention to make the game itself.
IMO, he spent good money on a license that had a color of title for decades, probably as a genuine fan, but was shocked when the very personalities that created such a convoluted situation to begin with refused to go along with his enthusiastic “resurrection” of a dead game.
It’s a bit like looking at mud covered house, going “this is fine!”, buying it, only to discover all the reasons the stupid house is covered in mud to this day, and being shocked when the next door neighbors creating the mud have no intent to change anything to help you keep it clean.
He then got into imperious “engineer has done the math and i’m right!” mode and decided to be a Man of Industry and bring a gun to a knife fight, which means everyone grabs a gun. Now there is no going back on whatever illusions he had going in.
Brad was nice enough to provide several keys to Tom to pass out to some of his subscribers; I received one, but haven’t even played it yet, so I can’t tell you if it’s good or bad.
The Star Control license is a pit of snakes tied together in a Gordian knot. The only way it gets resolved is if Brad manages to convince the relevant authorities that his Trademark supersedes the Copyright which (perhaps he can argue) expired; or if P&F manages to finally put to bed the extents and limits of the Trademark in court. A result that leaves things as-is means the writhing monstrosity gets shoved back into the tomb and sealed up to await a future day when a new generation of foolhardy adventures desire to test their mettle and resources. But some game IP are perhaps best left buried.
Copyright can’t “expire” before the term. It has to be explicitly abandoned by the owner (to make the work public domain). It does need to be explicit, and P&F were clear they were not rejecting it with the open code project.
I’m not arguing the would/should/could of what actually happened. The “solution” for Brad is for a court of law to declare the Copyright abandoned (you’re right I should have said abandoned rather than expired), whatever the justice of the claim. And while there is no reason to believe a court would do this on the face of the matter, there is still a non-0% chance of that outcome, all the sideline cheerleading notwithstanding.
