2 settle lawsuits over Dungeons & Dragons handbook
SEATTLE — Two of eight people accused in lawsuits of illegally distributing Dungeons & Dragons handbooks over the Internet have settled, and the maker of the pioneering role-playing game is seeking a default judgment against a third.
In one of three lawsuits brought by Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly on Friday accepted a settlement in which Thomas Patrick Nolan of Milton, Fla., agreed to a judgment against him of $125,000.
In a settlement accepted by Zilly in July in a second Wizards lawsuit, Arthur Le of San Jose, Calif., agreed to pay $100,000 to the Hasbro Inc. subsidiary.
Wizards has asked the judge to order that Le’s co-defendant, Mike Becker of Bartlesville, Okla., pay $30,000 in damages and $14,616.75 in legal fees and costs. Becker has not responded to the lawsuit and was found in default in July, court filings show.
Still pending are actions against Nolan’s co-defendant, Stefan Osmena of the Philippines, and, in the third case, Krysztof Radzikowski of Poland and three people whose identities remain unknown. A Wizards spokeswoman, Tolena Thorburn, has declined to give home towns or other personal or contact information for Osmena or Radzikowski.
All three copyright infringement lawsuits were filed on April 6 and concern “Player’s Handbook 2,” the newest handbook for Dungeons & Dragons, released on March 17 with a suggested retail price of $39.95 a copy. The handbook, which includes 242 pages of rules, and manuals sold online bear electronic watermarks that restrict use of copyright material to a specific buyer or user.
According to court filings, more than 2,600 copies of the handbook were downloaded from Scribd.com, and more than 4,200 copies were viewed online before the material was pulled from the document-sharing site at Wizards’ request.
Dungeons & Dragons, created in 1974 and described in the lawsuit as “the first role-playing game,” involves the use of pen, paper and dice to create imaginary characters of varying attributes and randomly determined levels of skill as players search for treasure and battle monsters in magical lands.
According to the lawsuits, about 20 million people worldwide are believed to have played the game, including 6 million at present.
Related News
Colo. private prison operators reach $1.3M settlement in sex discrimination lawsuitOctober 14th, 2009 Private prison reaches $1.3M settlement with EEOCDENVER — The operators of a Colorado private prison have agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that male officers forced female workers to perform sex acts to keep their jobs. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement with the Dominion Correctional Services LLC and Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America on Tuesday.
Wal-Mart to pay $11M to settle allegations that it forced Iowa employees to work off the clockOctober 13th, 2009 Wal-Mart to pay $11M to settle Iowa workers' caseCLINTON, Iowa — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $11 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of 97,000 current and former workers in Iowa over allegations that they were forced to skip breaks or work off the clock.
Sprint Nextel settling shareholder lawsuits challenging its acquisition of Virgin MobileOctober 7th, 2009 Sprint, Virgin Mobile agree to settle lawsuitsKANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sprint Nextel Corp.
Man accused of taping Erin Andrews suspended from job at Ill. insurance company, employer saysOctober 5th, 2009 Man accused of filming Andrews suspended from jobCHICAGO — The Illinois insurance company that employs the man accused of secretly making nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews says the man has been suspended from his job. Amy Burrell-Tichy is a spokeswoman for Glenview, Ill.-based Combined Insurance Co.
Kuwait to deport illegal immigrants from India, PakistanSeptember 30th, 2009 KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait will deport 17,000 foreigners, including Indians and Pakistanis, illegally staying in the country, the Online news agency reported Wednesday. Over 1,000 Pakistanis, 3,500 Indians and 4,000 Bangladeshis are staying illegally in the country, according to the interior ministry.
No outstation cheque bounce cases to be heard in Delhi: High CourtSeptember 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With a staggering 500,000 cases of dishonoured cheques pending in the lower courts here, the Delhi High Court has said cases involving outstation cheques will not be tried any more as they do not fall under the capital's jurisdiction. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan, while hearing a public interest petition earlier this week, said: "We direct return of complaints of cheque bounce cases without jurisdiction."
"Courts are flooded with complaints that cannot be entertained and thus unnecessarily clogging the dockets of the subordinate courts.
Int'l Trade Commission to stop illegal Internet imports of counterfeit Marlboro cigarettesSeptember 24th, 2009 Int'l Trade Comm. stops import of fake cigarettesRICHMOND, Va.
NY man fights court ruling backing IBM firing for visiting adult chat room at workSeptember 21st, 2009 NY man fights IBM firing over chat room visitWHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A former IBM employee who was fired for visiting an adult chat room while at work is appealing a court decision against him.
US Justice Department expected to weigh in on Google's digital book settlementSeptember 18th, 2009 Key DOJ opinion due in Google's digital book dealNEW YORK — The U.S. Justice Department is expected to file court documents that may help determine the fate of a class-action settlement that would give Google the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books.
Anil Ambani group seeks to join NTPC-Reliance Industries rowSeptember 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Anil Ambani group Monday moved the Supreme Court, seeking to intervene in the dispute between state-run power utility NTPC and the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries over natural gas supplies from the Krishna-Godavari basin. The petition said both Reliance Natural Resources of the Anil Ambani group and NTPC have common issues in their disputes with Reliance Industries over supplies of natural gas from the said fields at $2.34 per unit for a period of 17 years.
Allstate agrees to $4.5 million settlement with about 90 former employees in age bias caseSeptember 11th, 2009 Allstate settles age bias case with EEOCST. LOUIS — Allstate Insurance Co.
Cuba blocks international phone calls via InternetSeptember 9th, 2009 HAVANA - The Cuban government has suspended foreign telephone calls via the Internet, officials said. An official requesting anonymity said Wednesday that the suspension of the service "will not be temporary.
Orissa sends back 16 BangladeshisSeptember 8th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Tuesday sent back 16 Bangladeshi nationals, who were accused of illegally crossing into Indian territorial waters last year, nearly two months after a court in the state acquitted them, officials said. As many as 17 Bangladeshi nationals - all fishermen - were arrested in October last year by the state police for illegally fishing in the Bay of Bengal, some 35 nautical miles off the Paradip Port in the Jagatsinghpur district, some 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.
Hong Kong rapist whose attack was broadcast on internet jailedSeptember 7th, 2009 HONG KONG - A Hong Kong fast-food worker whose rape of a 16-year-old colleague was filmed and uploaded onto the internet was Monday jailed for four years. Police arrested Ho Ka-kit after a video of the rape in the office of the Yoshinoya restaurant in Hong Kong's Shatin district was filmed by colleagues and widely viewed on the internet.
Prosecution: UK teen accused of Columbine-inspired plot wanted to buy chemicals for explosivesSeptember 3rd, 2009 Trial told UK teen sought explosives for massacreLONDON — A teenager accused of plotting a Columbine-inspired school massacre tried to obtain an ingredient for a homemade bomb, a witness told the teen's trial Thursday. Phillipa Knowles told jurors at Manchester Crown Court that Matthew Swift, 18, had asked her to buy him hydrogen peroxide, a common household chemical.
