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Trion Worlds v. Palladium lawsuit draws to a close
The long-running legal skirmish between MMORPG maker Trion Worlds and pen-and-paper RPG publisher Palladium Books is apparently drawing to a close. Trask over at LivingDice.com brings us word that the two parties have submitted a "Joint Stipulation of Dismissal," which in a nutshell, closes all claims and counterclaims and stipulates that both parties will cover their own legal costs. Trask goes on to speculate that the final settlement may never be known, as the joint filing effectively ends the lawsuit behind closed doors and casts doubt on whether either party would gain much by making the details public. The lawsuit was originally filed last May and centered on trademark infringement regarding the Rifts name as used by Trion in their forthcoming Rift: Planes of Telara MMORPG.
Breaking: Palladium Books sues Trion Worlds over "Rifts" title
Back at the end of April, we heard a fair amount of news from Trion Worlds, including the name change of Heroes of Telara. The name change came about during testing and development as the game's portals or "rifts" emerged as a central feature of the game, inspiring the new name Rift: Planes of Telara. Evidently MMO fans weren't the only ones that heard this news. Palladium Books has filed a lawsuit citing trademark infringement of the name of Palladium's popular long-standing RPG, similarly titled "Rifts." If you're unfamiliar with the title, Palladium's version of Rifts is a PnP game centered around rifts that open on earth, exposing the players to monsters and elements from many other lands -- a very familiar concept. Rifts is Palladium's primary and most familiar IP, so they are understandably anxious to protect it. Not much is known about the lawsuit at this point other than "it was filed." Basic details such as the parties involved and Palladium's sources are available, and we'll keep our eye out for more information over the next few weeks.
