NeonZephyr

Oh, yeah, I knew it too. I just meant that this was cold hard evidence provided to us by the legal system itself, and not just our common sense and basic logic (though, both of those let me to think he was absolutely bonkers, back in...when did this start again?) Having a judge say it (and apparently more than once) is kinda hard to brush off, even for Penders (Fates know he'll try, though), as they're most certainly well-versed in law.

I would actually feel bad for how completely trashed his career and potentially his life in general is likely going to be after this, but his attitude and behavior has made it impossible for me to feel even a drop of sympathy. And the fact that he'll likely be completely incapable of even taking responsibility for the case blowing up in his face (even just partially/mostly) makes it even more impossible to feel bad for him.

Hey guys,

Penders’s Lawsuit Against Sega, EA Dismissed…for Now

Oust Not Necessarily Due to Facts of the Copyright Case

TSSZ has learned the side lawsuit Ken Penders filed last year against both Sega and Electronic Arts has been dismissed without prejudice in the US District Court for the Central District of California. We first told you about the filing in June.
Public records obtained by TSSZ show the dismissal stemmed far from the strength of Penders’s case or both Sega and EA’s rebuttal, but rather a procedural technicality. Attorneys representing both corporate defendants cited the first-to-file rule, which in a nutshell means Penders shouldn’t file a parallel legal action concerning the copyrights he currently holds to several characters and stories from the Archie Sonic comics while the main suit–that being Archie’s challenge of those copyrights–remains unresolved. US Distrtict Judge Otis Wright agreed; and according to his order, this is actually the second time this particular matter has been dismissed:

Rather than waiting for a resolution in the New York Action or otherwise challenging this Court’s September 26, 2011 Order in the California Action, however, Plaintiff opted on September 30, 2011—four days after the Court’s Order dismissing the California Action—to re-file in this district an action identical to the California Action. (Dkt. No. 1.) Moreover, in filing the present action, Plaintiff neglected to file a Notice of Related Case. Such procedural maneuvering is not well taken, nor will it be tolerated.

However, because the dismissal was given without prejudice, it means Penders can re-file this lawsuit once Archie v. Penders is resolved, regardless of that outcome.
Of note in the Motion to Dismiss is this passage, which indicates attorneys for the defense did meet with Penders and his counsel once served:

Shortly after they were served in mid-December 2011, Defendants met and conferred with Plaintiff regarding the substance of this motion as required by L.R. 7-3, but were unable to reach any stipulations to avoid its filing.

The bottom line: The viability of this case now rests on the resolution of Archie v. Penders. Should Archie prevail, it doesn’t necessarily prevent Penders from filing a claim, but it could be significantly weakened, especially if Archie successfully wins a court order voiding Penders’s copyrights. But if Penders wins, seeing how little attention was paid to the copyrights themselves in the motion to dismiss, both Sega and EA may be facing a mountain of trouble.

Such procedural maneuvering is not well taken, nor will it be tolerated.

Somehow, I think this is proof that Penders doesn't understand the law as well as he thinks he does.

Or, maybe it's just me.

Speaking of which, am I the only one who thinks that the judge sounds a bit... irritated in that sentence?

I don't know what's funnier, how horribly bad that design is (least bad of the four, I guess, but still really bad), or that Penders thinks he's gonna sell Knuckles reprints.


EDIT: I admit, I am mildly relieved that it isn't Remington. Small blessings.

DODGE AND BURN.

Mr. Penders is expected to testify about, among other things, allegations and issues raised by Plaintiff in the Complaint; allegations and issued raised by Defendant in the Amended Answer, Affirmative Defenses, and Counterclaims, and purported copyright registrations and alleged infringement thereof; Defendant’s work for ACP; his bankruptcy; his execution of the ACP-Penders Agreements; his work for ACP; his request for royalties in 1997 which was refused by ACP; his silence while working for ACP and never placing ACP on notice of his claim to any rights in the work commissioned by ACP; ACP’s payment for all work provided to it by Penders; the purported registrations at issue; his communications with the Copyright Office; his statements under oath that he had a written transfer agreement from co-authors named in applications, when in fact he did not; his work as compared to the published product; and his silence about his claim to own rights in the works he provided to ACP for more than 15 years, and his admission to receipt of documents from ACP and signing a work made for hire agreement in an email from December 2008

his statements under oath that he had a written transfer agreement from co-authors named in applications, when in fact he did not

under oath

I'm sorry, but since this was posted, this has bugged me to death. And, after talking about it to people who have more legal knowledge than I do (granted, that doesn't take much, but they were still quite helpful), I've learned that this is a felony, ladies and gentlemen. If this is true (and it really wouldn't surprise me in the least), this would mean that Archie or whoever could pursue the case of perjury and land Penders in jail for up to five years. As much as I would kinda find that to be poetic justice, I do admit it was a little harsher of an outcome than I wanted from this case. Though, considering he's apparently bankrupt....

Legalities are confusing.

Penders, I don't know who your FOUR LAWYERS are, but I'd fire them all. Because any lawyer that would advise you to commit perjury is even more insane than I already thought they'd be.

Yeah, I'll admit that there could be some worry there. Though there's nothing saying exactly WHEN that happened. That, combined with the fact that SEGA meddles with what is and isn't approved for the comic nowadays, leads me to believe (well, to hope) that it's more of a past issue. I mean, we've seen evidence that he wasn't exactly easy to work with when he was a writer.

Though the next sentence does start with "In 2011"...

But, as I've said elsewhere, the book is too profitable for both Archie and SEGA. I mean, they've started doing 2-year subscriptions. I've never seen that before, not for Sonic. They've got a secondary series (Universe) that has already surpassed Knuckles in lasting power and is rapidly approaching the length that X had. They may have a strained relationship, but they're still companies. They like profit. And the advertising the comic gives the games on a monthly basis (well, twice a month, now).

I don't really know how to feel about it, honestly. I don't feel too worried about the comic itself, but I may be deluding myself. I've done it before.