Eridani Light Horse lawsuit
Sarna News
In what colloquially became known as the Eridani Light Horse lawsuit among the BattleTech fan base, plaintiff Scott "Calbeck" Malcomson unsuccessfully sued Topps, Inc. for joint ownership of the BattleTech intellectual property.
The dispute was rooted in a piece of fiction, authored by Malcomson, pertaining to the history of the Eridani Light Horse (ELH) mercenary unit that had been published online on what was then the official BattleTech website for a time; many circumstantial details remained disputed.
Contents
Background
Scenario Pack draft
In the early 1990s, BattleTech fan Scott Malcomson contacted FASA with the proposal to write a novel centering on the Eridani Light Horse. This was a high-profile mercenary unit within the BattleTech universe that frequently appeared on the sidelines but had never been in the focus of a piece of fiction at that point. FASA declined the proposal, but suggested Malcomson should write a scenario pack centering on the unit 'on spec' instead, which meant FASA retained the option to reject the work even after Malcomson submitted his completed manuscript. Malcomson subsequently submitted a first manuscript in 1993. The work on this submission continued into 1996, with several letters concerning its content exchanged between Malcomson and FASA; FASA ultimately determined not to publish the submission in September 1996.[1]
FASA ceased active operations in January of 2001, and the BattleTech IP was transferred to WizKids LLC, who in turn licensed the rights to what was now branded as Classic BattleTech to FanPro. WizKids, and the BattleTech IP with it, was then bought by Topps, Inc., in 2003.
Roy Calbeck character
In BattleTech canon, one Sergeant Roy Calbeck had been named as a Galleon tank commander with the 71st Light Horse Regiment of the ELH in the original 1987 Mercenary's Handbook but had virtually no other information published about him beyond the name drop in a unit roster.
In the ELH history as written by Malcomson, Roy Calbeck became a central character as the 71st was effectively annihilated in a disastrous battle on Orkney against Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Steel Viper, with Roy Calbeck the only survivor after the Clan forces returned to massacre the wounded.
Malcomson adopted the Roy Calbeck character, using "Calbeck" as his online handle and also as his alter ego and Fursona.
Website
As of 2001, BattleTech fan Warner Doles maintained a private website named classicbattletech.com that was well known and much used by the fan base. In 2001 WizKids/FanPro adopted classicbattletech.com as the official Classic BattleTech website.
No later than October 2001 this website, already listing WizKids LLC as its primary owner and operator at the time, featured a History section for the ELH, among others. The text in this section had been written by Malcomson (implicitly, it had been part of the aforementioned scenario pack submission), but he was not initially credited or mentioned on the website. It remains unclear if the ELH history write-up was uploaded to the website before or after it became the official Classic BattleTech website. While the court documents do not dwell on the origin of the text, according to Malcomson a web admin testified that it had been "copypasta'ed" from Malcomson's own private website,[citation needed] indicating that Malcomson had first published it himself on his own website.
Notably, although a portion of classicbattletech.com at the time was set aside for fan fiction and art, the material in question was incorporated into the site's official online database for articles pertinent to various in-game factions.[2] The history sections for other factions were apparently all taken verbatim from canonical BattleTech publications.
On discovery of this, Malcomson lodged a complaint with the site's webmaster and threatened legal action,[1] allegedly receiving an apology in response followed by a request for permission to continue using the work. Malcomson then submitted a revised version of the original text which was subsequently used instead of the initial uncredited ELH history text;[1] the exact circumstances remained disputed.[1] This time, Malcomson was credited for the ELH writeup on the article's page and in the website's formal "Credits" section.[3]
Following this, there was a disagreement and eventually a falling-out between the parties. The ELH history text was removed from the website in August 2005.[1]
Lawsuit
Malcomson apparently believed that the publication of his work in the canonical section of the official homepage, under WizKids' aegis and with WizKids's and FanPro's copyright notes, meant that his work had deliberately been adopted into BattleTech canon. The dispute escalated to the point where Malcomson, who engaged in "Furry" fandom, further insisted, possibly jokingly, that an expanded version of the story should be considered canon where the Roy Calbeck character from BattleTech had a near-death experience and literally became an anthropomorphic unicorn (which went beyond the original text at the center of the argument).
In 2008, he sued Topps, Inc. seeking a declaration of co-ownership of the entire BattleTech property with Topps. This claim was based on having contributed to the work of BattleTech as a whole in the sense of co-authorship; to this end he claimed that a piece he had written had been deliberately adopted and published as official BattleTech canon, which the defendant denied.
Malcomson, appearing pro se, lost the lawsuit on a technicality because he failed to comply with procedural rules, but the court still made it clear that they considered the claim meritless ("Nevertheless, even if the Court takes Malcomson's unsupported factual arguments as true, Malcomson's claim for joint ownership of the BattleTech property is without merit. [...] Even if the Court were to credit the unsupported facts that Malcomson alleges in his briefing, however, Malcomson's claim for joint ownership fails on the merits.").[1] Essentially, the ELH history piece in question was considered too insignificant compared to the rest of BattleTech to be grounds for claims of co-authorship or joint ownership. Many factual claims remain disputed, as they were not technically proven or disproven over the course of the lawsuit.
The appeal was denied and the Supreme Court refused to hear the matter.
The BattleTech Line Developer clarified that the ELH history as written by Malcomson and (partially) published via classicbattletech.com for a time is not considered canon.[citation needed]
External Links
- ELH History in question (classicbattletech.com, archived)
- Court order granting summary judgement in favor of Topps
- Denial of appeal
- Denial of Supreme Court hearing
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 According to the "Background" as established in court documents pertaining to the case, specifically the court order dated 1/28/10[1]
- ↑ An archived version of the page dated 15 January 2002 gives the history section in question, with WizKids, LLC and FanPro, LLC copyright disclaimers at the bottom of the page
- ↑ Archived version of the credits page dated 4 December 2001, explicitly crediting Scott "Calbeck" Malcomson for the Eridani Light Horse write-up