Sapkowski demands CDPR pay him more

[The Great ThunThun*]

I hope this results in Sapkowsky being sued for multiple copyright infringements and plagiarisms.

 

[Commissar Draco]

I am reluctant for Courts to change contracts made fairly and in good will; Sapkowski is hardly a starving artist, he was not forced at gun point to sell his copy rights by Evil Big multinational corp; he was a buc like we call him in Potatoland who took what was not a spare change back then (You could buy an apartment or two good western cars for such money in 1994) and refused to work on making game neither shared a risk of releasing it so he thought he got zion bux for nothing and now when games suceeded without his input demands more... which reminds Commissar of some Kwan whores and their Juice lawyers who pester Comrade Trump. T-Witcher would be good game and sell well without using his setting on violence and boos alone and Can't wait for Courts to amen ''unfair to wombyn'' marriage financial contracts and make all men rapists cause back then they did not made Notary Certified Consent Contract before sleeping with women. He will get some millions just less than he fought he will get since he did not wrote nothing for second and third part but hope he will get sued in turn for plagiarism. Also Soviet Union had no Khazar shit like copy right artists were payed for their work like everybody else and Art was free for the people.

 

[attackfighter]

An entertainer making millions of dollars without even working isn't communism, it's the opposite.

 

[Gerrard]

It's indeed not soviet in origin but EU SocJus, article in question is from 2015

Wrong, the article is from 1994.
http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19940240083/O/D19940083.pdf

Also the EU directive is not even in effect yet (it's the same one with the link tax and other stupid shit, just a small part of it).

T-Witcher would be good game and sell well without using his setting on violence and boos alone

Cool story bro. Most of the sales of the first game were Russia, Poland and other eastern countries where the books were already popular, and they barely broke even after a year. The game would've been a flop no one heard about otherwise and there would be no CDPR.

 

[passerby]

What kind of man sells lifetime long license to his magnum opus for a single annual minimal wage anyway.
Probably he doesn't think too highly about his pulpfiction.

 

[passerby]

T-Witcher would be good game and sell well without using his setting on violence and boos alone

Cool story bro. Most of the sales of the first game were Russia, Poland and other eastern countries where the books were already popular, and they barely broke even after a year. The game would've been a flop no one heard about otherwise and there would be no CDPR.

Also the main characters and their interactions, love triangle with Yennefer and Triss, adopted doughter relationship with Ciri and playfull grimdark fairytale take on fantasy tropes mixed with real word historical/social commentary inspirations, were the main appeal of the Witcher 3.
These were the most praised aspects in both mainstream media and user reviews, that set W3 apart and above competition.

You will see what kind of story and characters they can cook on their own with Cyberpunk ( bsb based on the trailer ).
W3 gave them Bethesda level of mainstream recognition and Cyberpunk will sell now, even if it won't be up to W3 standard.

 

[Serus]

Except if the law says otherwise.
Guys, you really don't know what exactly went between him and CDPR, you haven't seen the actual contracts between the two parties involved and you don't know shit about polish law on those thing. All you know is PR, speculation, unsupported claims made by one or the other side involved. And a lot of nonsense. And when saying "you" - I include myself as well.
We really know jack shit. All this is ignorant speculation.

Well, he either wanted to receive royalties, or he wanted only for money up front when selling the rights - and he willingly admits to the later.

If polish law may step in to retroactively change an agreement willingly concluded between two parties because muh fairness and opression, then these closet commies clearly should have spent a few generations more in soviet gulags. A lesson to everyone not to sign any contracts on polish soil, forever and ever.

It's all fine and dandy and edgy and shit... except I bet that similar laws exist in several European countries, especially in EU. They tend to copy laws from each other in many areas.
Whether you think such legal clauses are something that shouldn't take place in capitalism is another matter. It's well known that Europe is half-socialist and isn't USA in that regard. The laws tend to be over-protective here and often very strictly limit the freedom of what you can legally agree to, "in your own interest" of curse. I wouldn't be too surprised if in Russia you might have similar stuff, if not in this particular area of law then in others. It's not America in here - even if You (or I) wished it were. Reality is harsh, I know. Deal with it.
And yes, I see the appeal of burning it all to the ground myself.

 

[RNGsus]

I don't care what the laws are, can't CDPR just give him the keys to the beer closet? Give the old fart what he actually wants.

 

[Squid]

I hope this results in Sapkowsky being sued for multiple copyright infringements and plagiarisms.

I remember him being accused of ripping off this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_of_Melniboné

 

[Athos]

Moorcock's works were available in soviet Poland when Sapkowski wrote the first short story in 1986?

 

[Preben]

The only way he gets anything from this is if the contract was written differently than we thought it was. If CD Projekt is only allowed to make one game, then they're in trouble. Otherwise Sapkowski is likely not gonna get anything. Old people and their lack of faith in things they're not familiar with.

Obviously I do not know what Sapkowski and CDPR agreed to. But my educated guess is that the original contract was for the first game plus all possible future sequels and expansions. This is quite standard wording of IP contracts over here. I bet Sapkowski didn't care because he thought the first game will flop.

 

[Preben]

Moorcock's works were available in soviet Poland when Sapkowski wrote the first short story in 1986?

Sapkowski wasn't stuck in Poland during commie era. He worked in a government agency that dealt with foreign trade, which put him in a position that enabled traveling abroad.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

The only way he gets anything from this is if the contract was written differently than we thought it was. If CD Projekt is only allowed to make one game, then they're in trouble. Otherwise Sapkowski is likely not gonna get anything. Old people and their lack of faith in things they're not familiar with.

Obviously I do not know what Sapkowski and CDPR agreed to. But my educated guess is that the original contract was for the first game plus all possible future sequels and expansions. This is quite standard wording of IP contracts over here. I bet Sapkowski didn't care because he thought the first game will flop.

If that's so, I'd imagine an expected value claim could be feasible no? Who coulda thunk?

Spoiler

i like to imagine this is how laws work

 

[Tytus]

Moorcock's works were available in soviet Poland when Sapkowski wrote the first short story in 1986?

Sapkowski wasn't stuck in Poland during commie era. He worked in a government agency that dealt with foreign trade, which put him in a position that enabled traveling abroad.

He also claimed himself that he bought, a lot of foreign books on every trip he took.

 

[RNGsus]

All these penniless heroes with primitive moral codes are the same skit we've seen since Conan, but none of them really approach Herbert. His prose is immediate; there's a current of action through all his stories that never relents. These were stories for penniless men who had seen industrial slaughter, now roving here and there for money after the war debts and famine crises came to a head in the late 20s.

 

[Andhaira]

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

How much net profit did they have? $16m sounds a bit harsh.

 

[Squid]

How much net profit did they have? $16m sounds a bit harsh.

Here, I think these reports may help bring that into perspective.
https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/investors/
I'm seeing net profit for 2017 being 200,270,000 PLN (numbers say they were shown in PLN thousands so it's listed as 200,270) which is 53,611,197.54 USD according to Google's conversion from PLN to USD.
I'm no expert on reading these things though, so don't take what I say or provide as fact.

 

[yellowcake]

The best outcome is if they gave him a few mil to STF and made him write for the next Witcher Ciri game for some big bux. And lol for morons who consider him a hack. Fantasy is a pop culture genre meant as enjoyment for teenagers. What he managed to achieve working within the genre and trying to subvert it is deserving a high praise. I haven't read much fantasy at all and none since I was no longer a teen but Sapkowski's work was one of the best.

 

[Shadenuat]

 

[sullynathan]

Isn't it funny seeing supposed fans of a series turn against its creator?

 

[unfairlight]

Who cares? 17 million is nothing, they could just pay him the money and move on like nothing happened.

 

[vonAchdorf]

They are a publicly traded company, they need a reason, like a settlement, to throw around their shareholders' money.

 

[Paul_cz]

Isn't it funny seeing supposed fans of a series turn against its creator?

I am against his fuckery and stupidity, and for his fun writing and deadpan humor in interviews and public events.

 

[Gerrard]

The best outcome is if they gave him a few mil to STF and made him write for the next Witcher Ciri game for some big bux. And lol for morons who consider him a hack. Fantasy is a pop culture genre meant as enjoyment for teenagers. What he managed to achieve working within the genre and trying to subvert it is deserving a high praise. I haven't read much fantasy at all and none since I was no longer a teen but Sapkowski's work was one of the best.

The best outcome is they go to court, don't settle (because they dindunuffin as per their response), lose the case, have to pay AND void the contract and lose the IP rights as a result.
Massive incline.

Then Bethesda approaches him.

Isn't it funny seeing supposed fans of a series turn against its creator?

Most of the people against him are TW3 babies, the butthurt on r/witcher is gargantuan.