Deckmaster license is public in 2014?

In another thread, site member RoddimusPrime wrote

RoddimusPrime wrote:

See my new post in the forum. Long story short deckmaster mechanic expires in 2014. Wait until then to pursue crowd funding to strictly continue the game. Otherwise, pursue a new and fresh goal that isn't confined like it is currently.

I would really like to know more about this.

He says that the Deckmaster mechanic "expires" in 2014. I would love for him or anyone else to volunteer answers to my questions:

1. What is the source of this information?

2. What is the legal category of the Deckmaster "mechanic"? Copyright, trademark, license, what?

3. Does this mean that in 2014 the Deckmaster mechanics that WotC currently has the right to license go into the public domain?

4. What date in 2014?

This seems very significant. If true, it means that sometime in 2014, you would only need to buy rights from CCP in order to publish VTES. Why is only RoddimusPrime talking about this?

AaronC wrote:

In another thread, site member RoddimusPrime wrote

RoddimusPrime wrote:

See my new post in the forum. Long story short deckmaster mechanic expires in 2014. Wait until then to pursue crowd funding to strictly continue the game. Otherwise, pursue a new and fresh goal that isn't confined like it is currently.

I would really like to know more about this.

He says that the Deckmaster mechanic "expires" in 2014. I would love for him or anyone else to volunteer answers to my questions:

1. What is the source of this information?

2. What is the legal category of the Deckmaster "mechanic"? Copyright, trademark, license, what?

3. Does this mean that in 2014 the Deckmaster mechanics that WotC currently has the right to license go into the public domain?

4. What date in 2014?

This seems very significant. If true, it means that sometime in 2014, you would only need to buy rights from CCP in order to publish VTES. Why is only RoddimusPrime talking about this?

A quick search (via the search tool in the upper right) in our forum will bring you to this topic posted previously.

www.vekn.net/index.php/forum/5-generic-vtes-discussion/16843-deckmaster-and-hasbro-question

More specifically here is the link they reference.

patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO1996004968&recNum=1&maxRec=1&office=&prevFilter=&sortOption=&queryString=FP%253Awizards+of+the+coast&tab=PCTDescription

Additional information I found.

In regards to patents:

"Trading Card Game and Method of Play" - International Filing Date: 16.08.1995

This application is related to applicant's previous application entitled "Trading Card Game Components and Method of Play" filed on June 22, 1994, Serial No. 08/263,447.

In regards to the Deckmaster/Deck Master trademark:

Status Date: 1995-04-24

trademarks.justia.com/744/69/deckmaster-74469310.html

Second link stating same stuff: www.trademarkia.com/deckmaster-74469310.html

I am sure there is more information, but this should suffice.

IANAL — but wikipedia says it's twenty years from the filing date:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_of_patent

The filing data was the 16th of August 1995 according to the document.

Ke

According to Wikipedia, patents are only granted by sovereign states. Filing an international patent doesn't secure a patent in any nation, but rather facilitates the process of obtaining a patent in other nations who are signatories of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. I don't know in which other nations the patent might be in force. In those nations (if any), the patent would expire on 16 August 2015.

However, the U.S. patent expires on 22 June 2014 - two short years.

There is the question of the Deckmaster trademark, which would also have to be available in order to continue printing cards with the same back. The link you've provided says that the trademark is owned by Hasbro, but that it has been abandoned. That would seem to mean that they no longer have exclusive rights to it, but an attorney would have to be consulted.

If it's true that Hasbro wanted a lot of money to license Deckmaster but that CCP/WW is willing to license WoD for a reasonable sum, then look to 2014 for possible new publishers of VTES.

If the trademark "Deckmaster" couldn't be used, then the card backs would have to change.

Leave the backs the same, except write "Darkmaster" instead. It'll be good enough. Sure, people could cheat using that if they're super keen, but whatever. There's other stuff they can do if they're cheaters anyway, it's not worth worrying about.

vekn.net/index.php/forum/5-generic-vtes-discussion/32787-kickstarter-for-vtes

Look into the second page of this topic concerning potential costs. You will see that even without having to pay Hasbro it is a hard sales pitch to CCP. As Adonai pointed out there has to be some solid evidence that CCP could make a decent turn of profit to reconsider doing this themselves. Plus, the publishers they felt worthy of publishing the game all turned it down.

Don't count on any miracles. If I were anyone with such hopes that VTES were to get picked back up and continued I would put that out of my mind at this juncture. Instead, anything potentially that could happen would result in a different game or something akin to what happened with Netrunner via FFG. Even then who knows?