• Welcome to the new COTI server. We've moved the Citizens to a new server. Please let us know in the COTI Website issue forum if you find any problems.

General I read the news today, oh boy...

I have seen this so many times, parent builds something up and the kids are not really interested in continuing it. Not saying that is a bad thing, just a real thing. :)
 
but I am not sure if this is a good idea.
But what's the alternative?

I mean, if you read the mongoose thread, he initially didn't want anyone to know it was sold until after he passed. Who knows what he was going through at the time, but putting that kind of clause in it makes one think that he felt that it would be "sooner, not later". In contrast to the new language of "not until 2027".

One thing I have learned after clearing out the homes and estates of passing relatives, if you care about something you have, notably collections, it behooves you to make arrangements for them before you pass. Because if you don't, your heirs get to "deal with it". And, 99% of the time, it's a problem that needs to solved, needs to be solved "right now", and its something they don't care much about.

Your lifetime collection of collectible shot glasses is going to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or a landfill. Including, especially, the rare ones that sell for $1000 on eBay. Just plain truth.

Pertinent to this community, your wide array of RPG games that you have gorging your shelves? Most likely heading to a landfill.

The lingering IP issues, had he not done this, would have been an absolute mess. Even Mongoose would likely not have been able to continue on properly.

This is why older Classic Rock musicians are working to get their catalogs sold to someone else. How do you divide up Styx Greatest Hits among the 4 children? Nope, better to find someone to take it all, wholesale, clean, sold and managed by someone passionate about the work. The kids can divvy up the net cash result.

So, the sale of Traveller is a good thing. Marc's effort to consolidate it all under one roof is a good thing. Selling it to someone like Matt, who seems to be a reasonable, proven steward, is a good thing.
 
I am not sure that I would trust Mongoose. They are operating under British law, not the US. How many of the forum understand British law. That is as much as I will say.
 
How many of the forum understand British law.
I was a bobby for five years so I guess fairly well in so far as it relates to most ‘street’ offences.

In regards to copyright law which is what would be the issue with anything Traveller the only differences between US and UK copyright law as far as I understand it (though I’d definitely recommend consulting a lawyer rather than a random on the internet if you’re truly interested) are:

A) Parliament and the Crown have the right to grant perpetual copyright - unlikely to happen with Traveller.

B) British copyright recognises droit morale (aka the moral right for an author to always have his name on the work.

C) If copyright is extended by act of parliament previously public domain works become subject to copyright.

That said the copyright jurisdiction that applies to you is the one in the country you reside in as far as criminal liabilities (in the majority of cases) are concerned (this is why I recently asked Matt on the Mongoose forums if I could copy parts of MgT2 books for player handouts - Korean criminal law (and more importantly the HR department at the government office I work at (and use the printer at)) requires it.

For civil liability it gets confusing so consult a lawyer.
 
But what's the alternative?

I mean, if you read the mongoose thread, he initially didn't want anyone to know it was sold until after he passed. Who knows what he was going through at the time, but putting that kind of clause in it makes one think that he felt that it would be "sooner, not later". In contrast to the new language of "not until 2027".

One thing I have learned after clearing out the homes and estates of passing relatives, if you care about something you have, notably collections, it behooves you to make arrangements for them before you pass. Because if you don't, your heirs get to "deal with it". And, 99% of the time, it's a problem that needs to solved, needs to be solved "right now", and its something they don't care much about.

Your lifetime collection of collectible shot glasses is going to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or a landfill. Including, especially, the rare ones that sell for $1000 on eBay. Just plain truth.

Pertinent to this community, your wide array of RPG games that you have gorging your shelves? Most likely heading to a landfill.

The lingering IP issues, had he not done this, would have been an absolute mess. Even Mongoose would likely not have been able to continue on properly.

This is why older Classic Rock musicians are working to get their catalogs sold to someone else. How do you divide up Styx Greatest Hits among the 4 children? Nope, better to find someone to take it all, wholesale, clean, sold and managed by someone passionate about the work. The kids can divvy up the net cash result.

So, the sale of Traveller is a good thing. Marc's effort to consolidate it all under one roof is a good thing. Selling it to someone like Matt, who seems to be a reasonable, proven steward, is a good thing.
At least it didn’t end up in the dust bin. And we have a younger person at the helm who appears to care about the game, although his system. The Imperium lives on. I did go in and get the GDW pdf’s I was missing at drive through just in case.
 
C) If copyright is extended by act of parliament previously public domain works become subject to copyright.
About the only thing civil wise (and criminal) that doesn't apply in the USA on that list is C. Once public domain it can't become protected again.
 
My take is Congratulations Marc! Creating something like Traveller, with a 50 years history and so many fans around the world is amazing, and I am sure exhausting. He has never made all his customers and fans happy a day in his life, and it's a thankless job.
People who love it want more, people who don't want things changed. Guess who is louder?
Marc has worked 50 years at this and weathered some amazing storms.
He is going to spend more time with his family and enjoy his life.
BRAVO MAESTRO!
Bravo!
 
All I know from Star Wars is, the Imperials speak with British accents and the Rebels with American ones. Hence Carrie Fisher changing her accent after being captured by Vader and realizing the jig was up!

(Actually, she just couldn't maintain it through shooting, as she didn't like having to reshoot scenes to get the accent right.)
 
Back
Top