Blizzard legal censures Shakes and Fidget
by Mike Schramm 
May 11th 2009 at 7:00PM
First the legal crackdown on fan-made iPhone apps, and now this: German-based webcomic Shakes and Fidget, a longtime sight in our Sunday Morning Funnies column, has apparently been smacked with a cease-and-desist by Blizzard. Our German isn't that great (and we've reached out to the comic's creators for further comment), but a translation of this forum page tells us that Activision-Blizzard's legal department suggested to them that there was enough similarity between the official game and the unofficial comic to cause a problem, and while they believe that they're covered under parody laws, they decided to take the "offending" comics offline anyway, and are apparently currently working on editing them so that they can be put back up without any issues.Obviously, since the comics are offline, we have no idea what material Blizzard objected to -- you could argue that depictions of certain gear created by Blizzard artists in the game or specific names are under trademark and thus could be protected under copyright law. But even then, Shakes and Fidget is one of many, many fan-made webcomics to obviously depict World of Warcraft and Blizzard-designed items specific to the game, and we haven't yet heard of any other webcomics that have been approached in this way.
Still, as they might say in Germany, wir riechen eine ratte. Without knowing the exact nature of the comics that Blizzard had an issue with, this seems like a complete overreach on their part, especially considering that it's some of their biggest fans who are making these comics, and that many artists have portrayed many videogames in webcomics without anyone confusing the issue of whether they were official or not. We'll keep an eye out for more information (and we've also contacted Blizzard for comment) -- if you know of any other webcomics or fan artists who've been approached by Blizzard in this way, definitely let us know.
Thanks, Henry!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Comics, Fan art
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
SaintStryfe May 11th 2009 7:05PM
Now I'm starting to feel heavily inclined that this is interference by Activision. They're the kind of organization that would shoot themselves in the foot by tamping down on fan-produced content.
elvendude May 11th 2009 7:20PM
I have to say, SaintStryfe, that I normally respectfully disagree with your comments (albeit non-vocally)...
But this time I think you're spot on.
This is a sad day and very sad news to me. They are now actively and officially stifling some of the best creative output related to their game out there.
SaintStryfe May 11th 2009 7:23PM
Glad to know I'm so well loved.
Yeng May 11th 2009 8:57PM
This is crazy. At least Shakes & Fidget is hand-drawn. Do you know how many comics use WoW models and backgrounds altogether? What about machinima? Are they going to focus on that next.
I understand the Iphone apps and such, but why go after fan art/fiction?
Julie May 12th 2009 1:11AM
At some point the creators of these things have to put their foot down. It's obvious Activision is simply going after anyone that has anything activision could make a buck off. Stop the madness!
I'm no lawyer, but I know for certain webcomics are covered under parody. As far as iphone apps, what is going on exactly? WoW has always had a strong mod community. Now all of the sudden it's not acceptable for mods to be made?
I hate to say it, but this is the beginning of the end. First wow subscribers reach a plateau. Wrath fails to release in china; only to be imitated. And activision is going after mod makers, comics, and who knows what next. (columnists, wikis)
SgtBaker May 12th 2009 7:27AM
Nah, don't think this has anything to do with Activition - Blizzard has always been very hard against whatever it deems "infringing".
See the whole bnetd debacle from way back.
http://www.eff.org/cases/blizzard-v-bnetd
Just because there's a lot of people drinking WoW-kool-aid doesn't suddenly make Blizzard "nice" company.
Daelusa May 12th 2009 10:56AM
I really hope they hit Machinima next... that shit sucks.
Rylka May 12th 2009 11:06AM
I strongly recommend reading nobbie 's response to Disgraph around comment number 60. It had a lot of information about this specific situation that I was unaware of. Especially information about the company that bought the rights to this comic pushing merchandise related to it (and thus related directly to WOW).
Look for the response that starts with:
"G'morning,
well, as you know, copyright law in particular has a lot of grey zones where the exact subject-matter is debatable. Whenever this is case, the unwritten 'sleeping dog' rule applies. Talk too loud (read: be too greedy), and the dog wakes up. I think that in the case of S&F, the current employer Computec Media AG is the one to blame here, and not the artist(s)."
kabshiel May 12th 2009 11:54AM
@Julie:
I'm also not a lawyer, but I'm sure that copyright laws vary from country to country. Maybe German copyright law doesn't have as strong a protection for works of parody?
VaMinion May 11th 2009 7:12PM
I'm curious to see if Looking For Group gets hit. the guys behind that not only make the comic, they make money off merchandise for the comic, and it's pretty clearly a WoW knockoff.
Karilyn May 11th 2009 7:31PM
I'm pretty sure the makers of LFG would strongly disagree with you on that.
The comic borrows primarily DnD, and to a lesser extent many other sources.
Heck, it borrows from LotR more than it does from WoW.
Arcaria May 11th 2009 7:49PM
The only people who think that comics like LFG and shows like The Guild are based totally on WoW are the ones without much gaming experience.
Activision is more than likely behind all of this and I sadly admit that I'm becoming more and more jaded with the Blizzard games lately.
Anyone who thinks they're above the fans (customers) usually finds out the hard way that they are not. Go ask Lars Ulrich or anyone from the RIAA.
VaMinion May 11th 2009 8:27PM
@Karilyn:
I'm aware there's other influences there, but the fact remains when even someone who's played D&D and other fantasy games for years looks at LFGit reeks of WoW knockoff. I played D&D and other online fantasy games for far longer than I've played WoW (4 years for WoW, nearly 15 for non-WoW) and it's still the first thing that popped into my head. But given the intro is an undead warlock talking to a pale skinned elf about how the pale-skinned elf's race is evil as a general rule, the parallels are kinda clear.
Hell, I thought Sohmer (the writer) posted a blog entry that said something to the effect of "Yes this is influenced by WoW, but it has its own world, its own history, etc". I could be wrong on that one, though.
eskarel May 11th 2009 10:17PM
@VaMinion
There are certainly references to WoW in LFG, and WoW may even be it's most prevalent influence. However, none of the places are from WoW, none of the characters are from WoW, none of the items are from WoW, even the story is only loosely related to WoW.
Warlocks, the undead, pale skinned elves whose race is relatively evil, none of that can be copyrighted since there's a few thousand years of prior art. The closest thing to a copyright violation in the entire thing is probably the name itself, and I doubt Blizzard/Activision could sue based on that description.
If LFG can be sued by Blizzard, then a whole bunch of people can sue them.
Karilyn May 13th 2009 5:47PM
"even the story is only loosely related to WoW."
Hell, I'd say the story is closer to a mixture of the class King Arthur story, and the Sword of Truth novels.
skychilde012389 May 11th 2009 7:12PM
It's ridiculous! Next they're gonna try and tell us to stop talking about ingame stuff with our friends irl. It's getting out of hand.
Reuben May 11th 2009 7:34PM
Your icon? Yeah, I have him sitting on dresser in my room.
Dave May 11th 2009 7:12PM
I hope they fairly apply their standards to everyone that has a comic everywhere.
Including the guy who runs PVP for his Crispygamer/Ding! comics.
I assume the internet will deliver a significant legal backing in an inevitable lawsuit and force Blizzard to stop being copyright trolls and let people do their thing. I know there's some archaic nonsense from Xerox and if you don't defend your trademarks you "lose" them, but Blizzard doesn't sell webcomics, they sell a video game.
Blizzard may be top dog of the gaming world, but will they be able to stand up TO the gaming world if they manage to piss a lot of them off? I know the Penny Arcade guys are tight with Scott/PVP, I'm pretty sure the million or so readers of PA would be able to do a little bit of something if Blizzard forces the issue.
And fair's fair. Blizzard can't just go picking on the little guys that they assume will go away without a fight. Eventually they'll pick on someone who can and will fight back.
Sean Riley May 11th 2009 7:20PM
This is BS. Either apply it to all WoW-comics, all none of them. It's hard to see why Shakes and Fidget has been singled out.
elvendude May 11th 2009 7:24PM
Why? Because they want to make an example. It's high-quality and high profile, and will definitely make people sit up and pay attention.