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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:52 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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--- description ---
The man who generated spoilers for years is now under a lawsuit.
--- end description ---
Daron Rutter, otherwise known as Rancored_elf from MTG Salvation (the site where spoilers of new sets are posted) is now getting sued by Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast.
Here’s the story:
For years, Rancored_Elf has been legally obtaining information about upcoming sets and posting the information for all to see on MTGSalvation.com.
One day, he turns up the official site and sees that Wizards is trying to sue him. That’s right- they are suing him and letting him know by posting it on the internet and not even letting him know.
Ok, an information leak isn’t exactly going to be ignored, but here’s the main issues with the situation.
1) Wizards, Hasbro, and everything else is a huge corporation. I’m sure they could spare one guy for one minute to call him and tell him to stop leaking the info. THEY NEVER WARNED HIM
2) All of the information that Daron emitted was obtained legally
3) Wizards is demanding $90,000- $7500 per set he leaked about. I know that I’ve been known to check about every day when the spoiler is generating because I want to be in the know and find the new cards and combos. For my tastes, I’ve never seen anybody say "Oh, I know the cards, and now I’ll stop playing magic because I’ve seen a spoiler." Really, it’s never happened.
On the bright side, Daron has found a lawyer who plays MTG to defend him pro bono.
I’d hope you guys don’t vote at all on this article. Really, I just posted it so you would all see and know how despicable these actions are against the guy that made me and so many others rush home from school every day for a month before the prerelease.
If you have any questions or updates, feel free to post them here. |
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| Cobra |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:47 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 1202
Location: Austin, TX, USA
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(Also check out Wizards’ press release: "Wizards of the Coast Takes Legal Action")
Ridiculous. Does Wizards/Hasbro really believe that spoiler leaks hurt their sales that much? Do they really expect to pull any significant amount of compensation out of this guy? They’re practically bragging about it -- don’t they realize the negative PR they’re creating?
Big thumbs down, Wizards.
P.S. -- More companies need to adopt "Don’t be evil" as their unofficial motto.  |
| http://cobracards.com -- Web's best deals on Trading Card Games. |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:57 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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| Yeah... it’s my personal theory that seeing the new cards actually increases sales. I know I get hyped about them more than random ones. |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:02 am |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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| Hey conor, could we just leave this in the article area? I know it’s not one, and you can ignore it for gift certs, but honestly people don’t visit anywhere as often as the article forum.. |
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| inresponse |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 3:39 am |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 162
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| actually, he was warned, repeatedly. Every time he leaked a set he was told to stop. Wizard’s has every right to prosecute him, as he was illegally sharing intellectual property. Their decision is most likely based on something, so his releasing the info is probably hurting their sales, or attendance at prereleases. I don’t think he should be prosecuted because I support the early release of spoilers so the format is healthier, but Wizards does have the law on its side. |
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| Cobra |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:48 am |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 1202
Location: Austin, TX, USA
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| Sorry La_Sin_Grail, gotta keep the article section reserved for strategy articles! You’re welcome to post another copy of this to the Member’s Lounge for a bit more exposure though. |
| http://cobracards.com -- Web's best deals on Trading Card Games. |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 11:04 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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inresponse wrote: actually, he was warned, repeatedly. Every time he leaked a set he was told to stop. Wizard’s has every right to prosecute him, as he was illegally sharing intellectual property. Their decision is most likely based on something, so his releasing the info is probably hurting their sales, or attendance at prereleases. I don’t think he should be prosecuted because I support the early release of spoilers so the format is healthier, but Wizards does have the law on its side.
Wizards never gave him any sort of official warning, and if they did, I would be interested in seeing it. I hadn’t found anything claiming that...
As for their decision, of course they have a motive. If somebody asked you if you wanted 90,000, wouldn’t you want it?
All of the information Daron gave out was legally obtained, and he was never officially warned. I’m sure Wizards will win because they little guy never wins in real life, but I’m not sure they should. I’ve not seen convincing evidence, personally. |
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| inresponse |
![]() Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:12 pm |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 162
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they need more a of a motive than 90,000 because this hurts their image. That costs way more than 90 grand. Plus they’ll settle, which means less than 90.
They did warn him, it’s never been said that they didn’t. Just go look around the mtgsalvation boards, they accept it as fact (and they are the ones who would have been warned). |
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| La_Sin_Grail |
![]() Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:09 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Location: Maryland
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| Erm... okay. Will this make you stop buying magic cards? Will this really make anybody? I mean it won’t make them happy, but this isn’t going to prevent 90 grand of purchases. |
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| The First |
![]() Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 1:23 pm |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 195
Location: Anderlecht, Belgium
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I think it is more a question of control and to set an example. They want to control the image they give to the new set. By spoiling cards on a strategical base, they could raise interest more efficient than to just spoil all cards. They probably don’t want to give the MTG Salvation all the attention for work made by people from Wizards. It is actually similar to stealing.
The $90.000 might be impressive, but it is not for a multinational like Wizards. It is probably peanuts. They will probably settle for a symbolic amount.
PS; this might be bad for their image but not that many people will stop playing Magic because of it (unless they were already thinking about it). They also get a lot of attention because of it. Remember that even bad advertisment is better than no advertisement. |
Great minds bleed alike.
Do not copy media. Support creativity. |
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