A blog is judged by its content, not its comments. I have nothing to do with the game 23rd Letter but I know how the RPG industry works. Having seen one film take concepts from my own intellectual property and having seen what Sony did to Nancy Collins, you need to act fast before you’re taken for a ride.

If you don’t defend your IP with a vengeance, you will lose it. Simple as that. Slap them and slap them hard. If it turns out to be one big misunderstanding when the dust settles, apologies and move on. They’d understand; they’d do the same.

So, yes. C*nt them in the F*ck, as the humour site B3ta puts it.

I did educate myself about the company: I read up on their past productions, scoured web forums, asked friends of mine in the industry (handy that my other company is a supplier to half a dozen film and TV companies). I did my homework. It’s somewhat daft that Starway didn’t think to check the ‘name’ out via Google. It’s not as if it’s hidden – the only item that scores higher on Google is the Wikipedia entry for ‘psi’.

It’s not rampant paranoia, this is the way you are meant to respond to trademark infringement – because that’s what it is, plain and simple. I’ve had a book published (currently available in the US, on Amazon UK and in the British Library) for 12 years now.

The effects of trademark infringement are plain, which is why companies spend millions every year defending their trademarks. This is why I’d be in trouble if I produced a book based on a time-travelling robots from the future and called it Terminator. Or if I wrote an RPG based on a school where they taught kids about magic and called it “Hogwarts”. The issue here is of trademark and copyright: I have a trademark in the book name used in the context of conspiracies and psychic powers. This is a film about a cop with psychic powers investigating a conspiracy: pretty much identical to one of the DOZENS of plot suggestions in the book.

I don’t want to be in the situation of Starway accusing me of infringement when I release my next book for The 23rd Letter. I have informed them about the infringement, offered them the options of either changing the name or agreeing to both of us being able to use the name (similar to how Marvel and DC both own ‘superhero’ as a trademark.

If you think this is paranoia, then you’re incredibly naive.

As for Vulgar and Offensive posting, you’re right there on the ad hominem attacks.

Current Status is that I have offered two options
a) they can change their name. No foul.
b) we can agree to share the trademark. No foul.

I think that’s exceedingly fair.

As for “rampant paranoia”, I think Matt stated the case quite well: he was gobsmacked to find out that there was a movie with a similar name and themes to the game that he had published. How is that paranoid, or borderline libelous (which I presume is what you meant when you said slanderous?). I don’t think either of us at any time thought the movie was based on material from the game.

I don’t think there’s any plagiarism and I’m going to update the blog entry.

So, I just want to caution people here to calm down and not jump to any conclusions without actual, bona fide proof that this company “stole” anything, and before people go off and say things that may not be true about these people.

Who could have guessed?

When your stuff influences movies, it’s good. When it is stolen, it’s bad. You’ve got an excellent case and I fail to see how there could be any doubt.