Bethesda and Interplay Continue Fallout MMO Fight

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Bethesda and Interplay Continue Fallout MMO Fight


Court documents reveal an interesting twist in the legal wrangling over the Fallout MMO [http://www.fallout-on-line.com/] as Bethesda claims that the deal allowing Interplay to make the game never actually included the right to use any elements of the Fallout universe or previous Fallout releases.

dropped its appeal [http://www.bethsoft.com] of that decision, leading to speculation that the two might have reached some sort of behind-the-scenes agreement.

Alas, no. Court documents newly received by the Fallout Wiki [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Ausir/More_VaultLeaks:_Bethesda_claims_IPLY_could_only_use_the_Fallout_name] reveal that Interplay claims Bethesda "has breached its agreements with Interplay by refusing to allow Interplay the right to use the Fallout related intellectual property assets." But Bethesda has come back with an interesting response, saying that Interplay never had the right to use those assets in the first place.

The Readers Digest version is that Interplay sold literally everything Fallout-related to Bethesda back in 2007 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/70622-Bethesda-Softworks-Purchases-Fallout-IP], including all trademarks, art, background source materials and whatever else you care to name, then licensed back the rights to make the Fallout Online. According to Bethesda, however, that agreement included only the right to use "one single asset - the Fallout trademark - in connection with a massively multiplayer online game."

"The breach of contract claims asserted by Interplay... fail because Bethesda is not obligated or under any legal duty to allow Interplay to utilize the panoply of Fallout assets in connection with an MMOG," it claims. "In the APA [Asset Purchase Agreement], Interplay further represented and warranted that any and all Fallout game assets that it owned were being transferred to Bethesda... The APA contained one single license-back agreement - the TLA [Trademark License Agreement]. The TLA plainly and unambiguously concerns one single mark - Fallout."

The idea that Interplay would license the rights to make a Fallout MMO without also securing the rights to existing assets seems kind of crazy to me but as Jas Purewal of the Gamer/Law blog [http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2010/12/interplays-gamble-fallout-lawsuit.html] explains, if the argument pans out for Bethesda it will make life very difficult for Interplay. Interplay, meanwhile, is taking a big gamble by forging ahead with development on the game while the matter is still in litigation, because if Bethesda wins "it would in principle have the ability either to shut Fallout Online down or to demand that it be transferred to Bethesda's ownership."

"I can see the commercial benefits of what Interplay is trying to do: get the game as far developed as possible, both as a bargaining chip with Bethesda in any negotiations and because, if Interplay wins, it already has a game ready to go," Purewal wrote. "On top of that, the Interplay Fallout MMO is now probably regarded by fans, gamers and the games industry as the Fallout MMO regardless of this lawsuit - so Interplay has won the PR contest there. So it seems like a smart move in those respects... if it wasn't for the legal risk that it could all be taken away from them."

"That said, it's worth remembering that ultimately all of this remains to be tested in the litigation, so the ownership and the future of the Fallout IP is still undecided," he added.

One other spot of bad news: Interplay's most recent 10-Q SEC filing [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1057232/000143774910004040/interplay_10q-093010.htm] revealed that the company suffered an operating loss of $205,000 for the quarter ended September 30 and that unless it comes up with some source of funding, there is "substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern." I stopped betting against Interplay years ago, but I can't imagine where it will go from here if this lawsuit doesn't work out.


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manythings

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Nov 7, 2009
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Wait, they were meant to make a Fallout game but didn't actually have any legal rights to use Fallout material? What kind of fucking business deal is that? Did they agree on this at a coke party or something?
 

Lucifer dern

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Jun 11, 2010
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so they have no real right to make a fallout mmo, other then an mmo called fallout...that does not work out...here you go interplay, make for us a game called fallout, but it cant be anything to do with er...fallout...
 

icyneesan

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Feb 28, 2010
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How does one hire someone else to make a MMO based on one of your series without actually using anything related to that series....

WHAT A TWIST!!
 

megs1120

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Jul 27, 2009
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manythings said:
Wait, they were meant to make a Fallout game but didn't actually have any legal rights to use Fallout material? What kind of fucking business deal is that? Did they agree on this at a coke party or something?
If the people at Interplay had any idea what they were doing, the company wouldn't be such a basket case. Honestly, I'm surprised they're still around.
 

Jamboxdotcom

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funny, we were just talking about this subject and wondering what the current status was. kinda eerie, even. but yeah, weird argument. Interplay has rights to Fallout... but nothing that actually makes Fallout Fallout...

Cuy said:
I hope to god that Interplay comes out on top, because I'd rather have them working on a Fallout MMO than Bethesda. Bethesda have butchered the Fallout franchise enough already as it is. It would only be cruel to keep at it.
on the other hand, no one currently at Interplay had anything to do with creating the previous Fallout games, so i don't think they're any better equipped for the job than Bethesda.
 

KuwaSanjuro

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Dec 22, 2010
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I don't think Fallout would be a good setting for an MMO. One of the greatest things about its universe is the vast openness and emptiness of its location which really hits home the grandeur of the nuclear apocalypse that has happened. I don't think that'll work with millions of players running round.
 

archvile93

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manythings said:
Wait, they were meant to make a Fallout game but didn't actually have any legal rights to use Fallout material? What kind of fucking business deal is that? Did they agree on this at a coke party or something?
It's possible, but then it's also possible that Bethesda just full of shit.
 

mjc0961

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Nov 30, 2009
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So if I'm understanding this right, Bethseda said they can make a Fallout MMO, but the only thing from Fallout they can use is the name Fallout? So basically it would have to be some completely different game, in which case why call it Fallout in the first place? Seems like a stupid deal to me if that is the case.
 

Sevre

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Apr 6, 2009
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I feel pretty bad for Interplay here. On the other hand I love litigation, making it suck to be the good guys!
 

Ausir

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Jamboxdotcom said:
on the other hand, no one currently at Interplay had anything to do with creating the previous Fallout games, so i don't think they're any better equipped for the job than Bethesda.
Actually, at least two of the people currently at Interplay were among the main creators of the original two Fallouts:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Chris_Taylor
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Mark_O'Green

Might not be a lot of them, but definitely not "no one" as you claim.
 

Tarlane

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May 5, 2009
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megs1120 said:
manythings said:
Wait, they were meant to make a Fallout game but didn't actually have any legal rights to use Fallout material? What kind of fucking business deal is that? Did they agree on this at a coke party or something?
If the people at Interplay had any idea what they were doing, the company wouldn't be such a basket case. Honestly, I'm surprised they're still around.
Sadly this is pretty true. They always used to run the slogan 'By gamers, for gamers.' which told a lot about them. They had a love of games that could be seen in the intricacies of what they designed but they could really have used someone high enough in the company who had a real focus on management.

An artist lost in their craft may create beautiful pictures but if they don't have someone around who knows how to sell them, they aren't going to be able to keep buying supplies for long.
 

BenzSmoke

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Nov 1, 2009
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Jamboxdotcom said:
funny, we were just talking about this subject and wondering what the current status was. kinda eerie, even. but yeah, weird argument. Interplay has rights to Fallout... but nothing that actually makes Fallout Fallout...

Cuy said:
I hope to god that Interplay comes out on top, because I'd rather have them working on a Fallout MMO than Bethesda. Bethesda have butchered the Fallout franchise enough already as it is. It would only be cruel to keep at it.
on the other hand, no one currently at Interplay had anything to do with creating the previous Fallout games, so i don't think they're any better equipped for the job than Bethesda.
Some of the people at Interplay worked on Fallout 1 & 2. They may not be one of the modern Fallout games but it is a Fallout game.
I'd trust the guys at Interplay to know more Fallout lore than someone at Bethesda, any day of the week.
 

Jamboxdotcom

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Nov 3, 2010
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BenzSmoke said:
Some of the people at Interplay worked on Fallout 1 & 2. They may not be one of the modern Fallout games but it is a Fallout game.
I'd trust the guys at Interplay to know more Fallout lore than someone at Bethesda, any day of the week.
actually, Fallout 1 and 2 were what i was referring to. i didn't realize Chris Taylor was still with Interplay. i was under the impression that pretty much anyone with any talent went to Obsidian and errr... what was the other one?... when Interplay went under several years back.
 

megs1120

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Jul 27, 2009
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Tarlane said:
megs1120 said:
manythings said:
Wait, they were meant to make a Fallout game but didn't actually have any legal rights to use Fallout material? What kind of fucking business deal is that? Did they agree on this at a coke party or something?
If the people at Interplay had any idea what they were doing, the company wouldn't be such a basket case. Honestly, I'm surprised they're still around.
Sadly this is pretty true. They always used to run the slogan 'By gamers, for gamers.' which told a lot about them. They had a love of games that could be seen in the intricacies of what they designed but they could really have used someone high enough in the company who had a real focus on management.

An artist lost in their craft may create beautiful pictures but if they don't have someone around who knows how to sell them, they aren't going to be able to keep buying supplies for long.
Very well put.
 

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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This is kind of ridiculous overall, and seems like a legal loophole in the wording being discovered recently, which is why this avenue of attack hasn't been tried before.

I think both companies need to take step back and deep breath, their fight is getting ridiculous to be honest, and in the end the big losers here are going to be the gamers. I mean, does Bethesda think it can get an MMO out there faster than Interplay can with the work already done?

What's more, I admit I've wanted to see a Bethesda developed MMORPG for a while, but "Fallout" wouldn't be my first choice for the IP for them to work on.

I think they should basically cut a new deal for Interplay to develop the game, and Bethesda to add additional financing given the circumstances in exchange for a percentage of future profits.

Of course I'd also encourage them both to look at "Fallen Earth". While a post apocolyptic MMORPG is an appealing concept, it's a hard thing to make work properly, and I think that MMO and it's problems demonstrate a lot of the issues.