Quote from: Doc Sammy;871058That VTM 4th Edition bombs so badly they scrap it and go back to a V20 or otherwise pre-Revised model for the setting.

The acquisition of White Wolf by Paradox Entertainment has put Onyx Path's plans for VtM 4thEd on the backburner, insofar that it's being subsumed into nWW's own plans for the future. There are plans afoot to get WoD games back into the retail market, as well as (presumably) online gaming.

The various 20th Anniversary lines will continue uninterrupted in the meantime.

Quote from: TristramEvans;870972The OSR is officially declared over and is replaced with the MSR.

MSR?

That Justin Achilli gets permanently blacklisted from the RPG industry.

Also, once again, let me reiterate that BESM needs to make a comeback!

The one thing I REALLY want will never happen.

That people start saying "This is what I like," rather than "WHAT YOU LIKE IS WRONG AND BAD AND OBJECTIVELY INFERIOR AND YOU ARE STUPID FOR LIKING IT."

Quote from: Nexus;871546MSR?

Mini Sausage Residue.

Quote from: Nexus;871546MSR?

Mostly Sloppy Rimjobs

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;871582Mostly Sloppy Rimjobs

Aren't you some kind of religious leader or am I misremembering something?

Quote from: TristramEvans;870972Chaosium reprints Prince Valiant.

   According to Greg Stafford's RPGNet IRC chat a couple of months ago, this is happening--although it will be Nocturnal, not Chaosium.

Quote from: The Butcher;871023That Rifts for Savage Worlds comes out and rocks.

Let's hope.

Quote from: Luca;871026For the "probably never going to happen" list, a Sine Nomine variant of Jovian Chronicles (i.e. Gundam-like mecha setting).

Shoot Kevin Crawford an email about this. I'm serious. He may be cool with a Battletech / Gundam supplement for SWN.

Quote from: jeff37923;871063I hope that Mongoose Publishing does not get sued by Disney for some IP transgressions in MgT 2e.

That sounds ominous!!

What do you mean?

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;871068It'll be the first kickstarter I ever back. I'll admit, having seen the oodles of kickstarter failures and ripoffs I'm a little nervous.

I suggest only investing money you are okay with losing. That's been my mantra and I've been very happy with my KS experiences.

AKA, if you went to Vegas and played some slots, how much are you cool with just tossing for fun? Everyone has their own number and their own relationship with risk.

KS is not a pre-order. It's generally a well planned risk by good people whose only failing is usually late delivery - sometimes very, very late delivery. But some KS do implode and some people are dicks.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;871584Aren't you some kind of religious leader or am I misremembering something?

Going by the "Mostly Sloppy Rimjobs" and his copious pee hole posts, I'm voting Catholic Priest.

Quote from: Spinachcat;871760That sounds ominous!!

What do you mean?
 

Well, "droid" is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm, Ltd (and, I suppose, owned by Disney now). The term is all over the robot section of the new Central Supply Catalog.

And then there are these two entries.....

Quote from: Central Supply Catalog, Robots SectionAstro-Mech Droid
When astro-mech droids first appear, they are expensive and very advanced but as a technological society grows, they often fade into the background and become ubiquitous. An astro-mech droid is designed to be a small spacecraft's best friend, primarily being used to plot jumps and perform maintenance. However, these droids are extremely adaptable and they learn fast, tending to be limited only by their distinctly non-humanoid construction. They come equipped with a variety of tools and equipment stored within their cylindrical frames.

Protocol Droid
Within an interstellar society, the clash of cultures can only be compounded when those of different planets and even species meet. The protocol droid is designed to smooth over misunderstandings and allow direct communication between parties. This goes beyond mere language, of which the protocol droid can store up to six million and derive far more, but also customs, etiquette and, of course, protocol.

I seem to remember that Traveller has used "droids" for a good long time now. Which doesn't mean it isn't trademark infringement, but may mean that it's too small potatoes for Disney/Lucasfilm to get fussed about.

Also, it isn't trademark infringement to simply use a trademarked term in passing. Trademark infringement comes when you use the trademark in a manner which is likely to cause confusion about the source of the goods and services you are offering. Nobody assumes Coke is behind every single movie or TV show which happens to incidentally show someone drinking a Coke in a non-product placement context; nobody is going to imagine Mongoose Traveller is a Disney product.

That said, for copyright infringement that astro-mech droid and protocol droid are skirting the line a little, since they are basically lifting the idea from Star Wars wholesale, and whilst cargo cult folk lawyerin' claims you can't copyright ideas actual case law is sometimes fuzzier on these points. (Especially in cases like this, where they are not only borrowing the idea, but also taking the specific terms used to denote those ideas.)

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;871575The one thing I REALLY want will never happen.

That people start saying "This is what I like," rather than "WHAT YOU LIKE IS WRONG AND BAD AND OBJECTIVELY INFERIOR AND YOU ARE STUPID FOR LIKING IT."

Also: "WHAT YOU LIKE IS MORALLY WRONG AND YOU ARE SOCIALLY RETARDED FOR LIKING IT."

I'm getting awfully tired of the shame game. "You play RPGs with a DM instead of sharing a collaborative circle jerk? You monsters!"

Quote from: jeff37923;871762Well, "droid" is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm, Ltd (and, I suppose, owned by Disney now). The term is all over the robot section of the new Central Supply Catalog.

And then there are these two entries.....

Droid is of course a generic term (from andoid), despite Lucasfilm registering it in the USA. Furthermore TM is different from copyright, and using the word in the interior of the book is neither a trademark usage nor one capable of affecting the mark's trademark function. So it ought to be ok, especially under UK TM law (which I teach), & Mongoose is a UK company.

OTOH don't publish a book with "Droid" on the cover if you don't want trouble. Presumably 'android', the original generic, would be ok.

Here's a search result on UK trade marks register for Droid:
https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmtext/Results

The Italians have a 'Droide' mark for 'Laser machines for the manufacture of natural and synthetic textiles and hides', while Lucasfilm has a large number - so many I wonder if some might be liable to revocation for non-use.

Quote from: Warthur;871764That said, for copyright infringement that astro-mech droid and protocol droid are skirting the line a little, since they are basically lifting the idea from Star Wars wholesale, and whilst cargo cult folk lawyerin' claims you can't copyright ideas actual case law is sometimes fuzzier on these points. (Especially in cases like this, where they are not only borrowing the idea, but also taking the specific terms used to denote those ideas.)

Well, in UK copyright law it's the literary/musical/artistic work that is copyright protected, not ideas or characters per se. But you can potentially infringe the work by taking ideas from it. I definitely don't think the idea of a protocol droid is copyrightable, though, that's much too general. Just having an idea & expressing it in a work does not give ownership of it, though taking a detailed idea can sometimes be infringement, per Temple Island vs New English Teas - http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWPCC/2012/1.html - photo of red bus in b&w photo crossing London Bridge, House of Parliament in background. Bad decision IMO.

Note BTW that in Lucasfilm vs Ainsworth (2011) the actual design of stormtrooper helmets was held not to be copyright protected.

Quote from: Warthur;871764I seem to remember that Traveller has used "droids" for a good long time now. Which doesn't mean it isn't trademark infringement, but may mean that it's too small potatoes for Disney/Lucasfilm to get fussed about.

Lucasfilm looks to have started registering Droid in 1984. Traveller's use may well predate that, which is evidence it's a generic term for sf robot. A failed court case could result in Lucasfilm/Disney losing the mark, so they may want to be careful.