NCSoft, Marvel Pretend to Be Friends, Settle

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Marvel Entertainment and NCsoft settled their litigation today, according to the press release we received here at Escapist HQ. According to the statement, the two companies are "pleased to announce today that they have amicably settled all claims brought by Marvel and all claims brought by NCsoft and Cryptic Studios, Inc... no changes to City of Heroes or City of Villains' character creation engine are part of the settlement... all parties agree that this case was never about monetary issues and that the fans of their respective products and characters are the winners in this settlement."

I probably won't be too controversial if I say that calling this an amicable settlement is putting a happy face on a stinging defeat for Marvel. One lawyer familiar with the case emailed us to remark that "NCSoft was so thoroughly kicking Marvel's ass that they were begging for mercy just to get out of the thing." And if a lawyer says it, it must be true.

 

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Original Comment by: Randall Fitzgerald
http://www.ikimashou.net
Yeah, it was sort of a snobby lawsuit to begin with. I understand why the case made it to court, but you can't say that giving a character claws and the option to be yellow and blue (or brown, whichever Wolvie you like) is commiting any sort of infringement. If it does, do all open ended character creation systems hold the same responsibility? If my Sim looks sort of like my next door neighbor and I make him get drunk and vomit in the game, do I have a defamation lawsuit?

I've played CoH and honestly, most of the characters have nothing to do with Marvel properties... or DC properties for that matter. I personally came up with my own character and so did hundreds or thousands of other people. Besides, if anything, those sorts of characters are made by die-hard fans of the comics. I seem to remember that those people pay the bills. I'm one of them. It's stuff like that which drove lots of people I know away from buying CDs. Could they go to jail? Maybe. Would they rather risk it than give the RIAA blood money for their lawyers? You bet your ass.