232 replies to this topic

[Speedy_25]

wow....really??? this whole case is nothing but a bunch of crap started by Penders due to his whiney ass complaining about his artwork being in a popular comic book

[RedAuthar]

I thought it was about the whole Sonic Chronicles being very similar to the Comics thing

[furrykef]

Like everyone says, even if he wins (And thats a big if since it seems to be evenly matched) he loses. No company will ever hire this guy. He basically ended his professional career.

I have to wonder if he basically never had any intention of working with another company like Archie again anyway and so he figured he might as well go for broke.

I thought it was about the whole Sonic Chronicles being very similar to the Comics thing

Two different lawsuits.

[RedAuthar]

Different Lawsuits but pretty much the same issue.

[acstrife]

All being head up by a man, with a delusional dream

[RedAuthar]

Well here is one issue I've thought about:

Even if Penders Somehow wins, that doesn't mean SEGA will give him the right to use Knuckles, the Master Emerald, and the Floating Island. Without these elements, his weird Echidna story doesn't make all that much sense.

[furrykef]

Just replace them with obvious but non-infringing stand-ins. That's really the least of his problems.

[RedAuthar]

Maybe....

[acstrife]

I dunno, you could be right Furrykef, maybe that's all he needs. Then again, Ken did create this idea with inspiration from Sega's original ideas (Kunckles, the master emerald etc.). I Really believe Ken made a serious mistake in putting this much faith in an idea that is not all his. And if he is forced to change it (assuming he wins), its going to be a completely different story. Hell the art work would have to look radically different as well. Maybe Ken thinks this is a great idea, but it will be one he will regret win or lose, he still loses in the end by ending his professional career effectively.

[RedAuthar]

Course if Archie is made to pay royalties it might not be too bad.

[acstrife]

I don't see Archie continuing the dark brotherhood idea if Ken does end up winning. If anything they may just reboot the comic, or just find a way to write Kens characters out of the comic. Ken probably wont get that much if anything. Not to mention civil litigation takes -years- to conclude. Even if you win, the company will still drag its feet in paying Ken. Ken is delusional if he thinks this is going to be easy if he wins.

Some cash in the now vs continuing his professional career. That's a no brainer, I would have kept my career.

[PuffinGrandeur]

To be fair, Penders hasn't had a real 'career' since Sonic anyway. All he's got are the same development hells of Lost Ones and the Republic. There's no bridges left for him to burn in the first place.

[Vampfox]

Two updates on the Ken Penders case.

Update #1

Penders, Defense Team Ordered to Pay $13K in Sanctions to Archie

One Misstep Last Year Proves Costly

A magistrate judge for the US District Court in the Southern District of New York has ordered Ken Penders and/or his legal team to pay $13,082.25 in attorney’s fees and expenses to Archie Comics, TSSZ has learned from public records.
The award stems not from any ultimate decision made in Penders’s ongoing case with Archie Comics regarding his copyrights, but rather a missed deadline that Archie counsel picked up on. Penders’s defense team failed to file a portion of the case’s joint pretrial order on time. That violated a court order, and Archie’s attorneys sprung on it, asking the court to award damages.
“The basis that award was the fact that defendant and his counsel remained in extended and unexcused breach of their obligation to provide the entirety of their portion of the joint pre-trial order,” judge Michael Dolinger wrote in his decision.
While a significant award–especially for Penders, who had seen his financial status questioned in said report–it’s only a portion of what Archie demanded. More than $25,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses were originally sought; that number was in effect cut in half. Archie also sought to classify certain documents from the filing as inadmissible due to their delayed filing; that was ultimately denied by the main judge overseeing the case.
Payment is expected by next Monday, August 20th.
TSSZ has also learned both sides have been ordered by the court to attempt settlement negotiations. A final pre-trial conference scheduled for September will now act as a status conference, with chances of holding the actual trial somewhat diminished again. That may not be great news for Penders despite escaping summary judgment last month; hopes his team can convince a jury he truly owns the rights to his creations are now pressed to the backburner for a bit. But such negotiations failed at first; we will see how successful they are this time around.

Update #2

UPDATE: Sega Secures Copyrights for Several Archie Sonic Comics

The Beginning of an Arms Race in the Penders Case?

In finding out about Scott Shaw’s copyright registrations yesterday, we found something else that’s mighty intriguing: Sega themselves have begun securing copyrights to several Archie works and compilations.
A search of the US Copyright Office’s database reveals Sega holds formal registration to two recent compilations, The Archie Collection #657B and Archie Collection #658B. Collection #657B covers Sonic #233, Sonic Super Special Magazine #2, and Sonic Universe #36. Collection #658B covers Sonic Universe #37, the main series’s #234, and Sonic Universe Graphic Novel #2. Both registrations were formalized this year.
In addition, Sega has secured copyrights to nearly the entire individual issues of the Knuckles comic series. Though the series was first published in 1997, rights to issues four through 32 were only secured last month, according to public records.
Three more Sega registrations to the comics formalized in 2011 cover main issues 228 through 230 and their cover variants, Sonic Universe #31-33, Sonic Universe Graphic Novel #1, Knuckles Archives #1, and two other Sonic comic specials published that year.
All registration descriptions note the rights to “print material” were transferred “by written agreement” from Archie Comics. Archie is listed as an employer for hire in many of these listing. For recent issues, entries claim authorship to both “Art & Text.” In the case of the Knuckles series, the authorship claim is to “contribution(s) to a collective work.”
Much of the material Sega and Archie protected–the Knuckles Archives and Sonic Super Special magazines in particular–includes stories written and drawn by Ken Penders, who is in the middle of a civil case with Archie Comics over who owns the rights to work he produced for the series and later copyrighted. You may also remember that Penders filed suit against both Sega and Electronic Arts with those copyrights in tow, over storylines used in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood eerily similar to Penders’s own work. That case is, at last check, in appeal.
The swath of registrations is the first time Sega has secured copyright protection for the Archie comics in over a decade.
Should Penders’s own case with Sega be elevated, or some judgment in the Archie is awarded in Penders’s favor, these copyrights could come in handy–if they don’t clash with Penders’s own registrations. The bottom line: If Penders prevails in the Archie case, in whole or in part, it likely does not mean his legal travels are over. (This story has been edited and updated to reflect the date of actual registration for the Knuckles comics as this year, and not in the 1990s as originally reported. TSSZ regrets the error.)

[Speedy_25]

Confucius Say, "You fucked, Penders....HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

[RedAuthar]

I think Penders just lost. There is no way he can keep affording to do this.

[furrykef]

Isn't he a defendant in one of the cases? He can't exactly give it up. (Settling would be a possibility, though, but only if both sides can come to an agreement. Probably will happen, though...)

[RedAuthar]

He can't afford to let it go on for ever....he'll have to settle.

[Vampfox]

Update

The Archie v. Penders Dispute Just Got Serious

TSSZ has learned Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest English language comic book distributor, has halted shipments of Archie Comics’s Knuckles Archives #3 to retailers on the basis of a copyright infringement notice sent to the company.
A source who requested anonymity through our News Tips system told TSSZ the hold was granted this week, and alleged more claims may be filed with Diamond shortly. Those claims, the source said, are based on copyrights currently in dispute between Archie Comics and former Sonic comics writer Ken Penders via a civil lawsuit the former filed. As we told you last month, a summary judgment request was denied in that case.
The issue, which assembles the original Sonic’s Friendly Nemesis Knuckles issues ten through fifteen, will still go on sale today at stores that have received their copies, but they will be the only copies circulating in certain stores right now. That potentially means the release could fall into short supply while the matter is mediated. For the moment, only distribution of Knuckles Archives #3 is affected, but one can imagine the array of re-issues that could be impacted, given the scope of Penders’s copyright claims that are, as of this article’s publication, still legally valid.
Diamond Comics claims Archie Comics as an “exclusive supplier” of material for distribution to stores, according to the company website. In layman’s terms, they are the middleman between Archie as content creator and many stores that sell their comics, in particular comic book specialty stores. Should the matter linger, all Sonic Archives and Knuckles Archives releases could see their distribution affected, as could the long awaited Sonic comic encyclopedia, which is due for release next month.
An e-mail sent Tuesday to Diamond Comics marketing VP Dan Manser requesting comment has not been returned as of the time of this article’s publication. TSSZ also sent an E-Mail to an Archie Comics publicity E-Mail this evening seeking comment. If we hear back from either side, we will update this story.
Related, the first mediation session between Archie and Penders in an attempt to settle the ongoing copyright case is scheduled for next Tuesday morning, according to public records. This will certainly make those talks interesting. We will continue to monitor developments.

[furrykef]

given the scope of Penders’s copyright claims that are, as of this article’s publication, still legally valid.

Worst misuse of "valid" ever. Either the copyright was always valid or it never was. Whether it is or not is what the court case is trying to determine.

[RedMenace]

Jeez. What a mess. I don't typically follow this sort of news very closely. But, come one. Way to think about the fans, Penders.