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Bethesda changes law firm, but not lawyers (Updated)
Bethesda Softworks has changed their law firm again. Here's what the latest court filings say:
This is the second time that Bethesda has changed law firms. A year ago, after the unsuccessful preliminary injunction, they decided to fire DLA Piper, one of the world's biggest law firms, and hired a different, and somewhat smaller firm - Steptoe & Johnson LLP. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson is of similar size to the latter. Meanwhile, Interplay continues to be represented by Jeffrey Gersh of the even smaller Gersh Law Firm since the beginning of the litigation.
Update: It turns out that Bethesda did not really change their lawyers this time like they did a year ago. While they have changed the law firm, it is because their lead counsel on the case, Howard H. Stahl, previously of Steptoe & Johnson, has moved to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. I apologize for the mistake.
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102 comments
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I hate how bigger companies like Bethesda always prey on smaller indie companies like Interplay, and I hope that Interplay wins the case. The only problem that I have is that I hate MMO's. I'm not trying to troll or anything, it's just that monthly fee that always gets to me. My parents can barely pay off our taxes, let alone pay a hefty monthly fee for each character I make. I know that it's not about me and plenty of other people can afford to pay it, but I hate hate idea of constantly paying for a game. Isn't buying it enough? Idk that's just my opinion.
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In what universe is Interplay "indie"? They're not huge, but they're far from a small, artistic studio.
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Interplay isn't an Indie and it sold the rights to Bethesda awhile ago.. But I completely agree about monthy mmo fee's. They blow and I'm already paying constantly for Xbox Live. PS. Hasn't anyone heard of Fallen Earth? It's pretty much a Fallout MMO but doesn't use the name so Bethesda couldn't do anything...
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lawsuit, lawsuit never changes lol
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Bethesda, Bethesda never changes.
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- sigh* ill just wait until they run both out of money, buy the rights myself for a dollar and publish an fan-based-open-source-non-profit-MMO in 640x480!
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Why is Bethesda fighting so hard?! Real Fallout fans really really want to form a party with a talking furry deathclaw, an athletic ghoul who dual-wield hammers, a non-BoS "paladin" armed with a stimpak gun to heal others and a super mutant called l33tnIgThKiN4000 so that they can wait outside Vault 202 for the cybernetic gecko monsters to respawn because they sometime drop Gold-plated T-69X power-armor mk.7 which is the best price for weight item since the merchant in the dilapidated shanty town next to neo-seattle is buying them for 99,999 bottle caps!!
Interplay should just die already
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I kinda agree but why not just work together that may be the greatest fallout game ever i mean all that stuff is cool but i like interplay and bethesda i mean come on people dont you agree
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what? ^^^^^ op of this lol just made my mid watch a little brighter
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Bethesda isn't fighting at all. Interplay are the ones who are fighting. Bethesda is just hoping that Interplay doesn't have the resources to continue as they continue to draw this out longer and longer. Despite what you think, Bethesda are being a bunch of punks.
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Bethesda is digging their own grave. Ineterplay, to me, has the rights to make a MMO. Bethesda might as well let them because they already started.
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they do have the rights but they failed to meet some objectives in the original contract like with the time they should have been in full scale production etc there is alot of things they did not meet up to and in my opinion theys should lose the rights to the mmo due to there inability to meet all the agreed upon objectives
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imo beth is most likely going to win they have the ability to throw all this money into the case eventualy interplay will just need to pull out due to the losses they are taking
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They have plenty of money to fight with, plus when they win they will recoup all court costs and damages :)
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IMO Bethesda made Fallout 3, Fallout became a lot more famous than it used to be, and now Interplay wants it back. Greedy bastards.
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And Interplay made Fallout period, retained the rights to Fallout Online and now Bethesda wants it back and is willing to do anything they can to deny Interplay its rights. Greedy bastards.
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True
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Same to bethesda they gave up the mmo rights then they saw how popular it was, they want it back tell me that isnt greed.
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If you've been reading anything about this, OP, you'd know that Interplay had certain rights all along. I'd venture to guess Bethesda has doubled-back on their agreement because of the success of Fallout 3. In this, Bethesda has displayed textbook greed. That's the irony of your post, OP.
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Dead Money
Announced for PC and PS3
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dead money
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i didn't know so many people want interplay to win, but why?
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Original Fallout creators.
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2 original Fallout creators.
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because interplay can make a better mmo fallout game then bethesda and we can get more fallout games as well
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I wouldn't trust Interplay with a full Fallout game. No-one's seen them make a proper console game in a long time. I don't care if they assisted Bethesda with a Fallout game or anything like that but developing one I wouldn't trust them, atleast not until we see how Fallout MMO turns out.
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EARTHWORM JIM
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To be honest, I want Interplay to have the rights to the MMORPG, everything else Bethesda shall own.
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I remember reading somewhere that Interplay had stated they would make the MMO with more references and humor, like the original games, than Bethesda, who said they wouldn't. That's why I want interplay to win; the original games had great balance between great, complex, and often grim story elements and themes with humor. I still remember the moment I came across the remains of a splattered sperm whale and potted plant in the wastes of one of the original games. Awesome. If I'm gonna be playing the same game for hundreds of hours, I want more of those moments.
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Auscar, that is a big difference to all of us. I thought you personally investigate this stuff. Were you not there to ask questions at the Bethesda building?
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Update: It turns out that Bethesda did not really change their lawyers this time like they did a year ago. While they changed the law firm, it was because their lead counsel on the case, Howard H. Stahl, previously of Steptoe & Johnson, has moved to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. I apologize for the mistake.
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I could do a whole Darth Vader "You have Failed me for the last time." number, but I don't think you deserve that. Your just too awesome and give us too much great news to fault you for something so minor as a little misinformation. :)
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I honestly want Interplay to lose for the sole fact they called New Vegas "Fallout 4" in their interview a few news posts go, and commented on how they'd make "Fallout 6" after Beth's next Fallout. I mean it still counts for the fallouts Beth makes, but it's not 4.
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It is considered Fallout 4 for the purposes of the Exclusive Licensing Agreement. And it's actually more like a real Fallout 3, with Beth's FO3 being more like a spin-off.
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That's true on both accounts, but they could have worded it better. Didn't like how they seemed to toss Canon aside to talk about the game they might be making. Could have said "Future Fallouts."
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I consider Fallout: New Vegas to be the real Fallout 3 because Fallout 3 was such a a half-assed game. Most of the newer features in F:NV were inspired if not entirely based on Fallout 3 PC mods that completed the game.
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What would you call New Vegas? and they said that if they win they would make a sixth one and if they lost it would stop at 5
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bethesda is the best, thats the only reason people fell in love with th fallout series again bethesda will and is going to win i hope
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That's a rather ignorant statement. They weren't the ONLY reason, they just opened the fallout fanbase to a wider variety of gamers.
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fallout was an utterly forgotten franchise that was having increasingly worse games being made for it. Not to mention far to many canceled project (canceled for a good reason)
Bethesda didnt make the brotherhood of steel games
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$50,000 USD that the original poster is a console gamer.
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interplay is the best, thats the reason people keep coming back I hope interplay kicks bethesdas greedy ass
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Ahh the Fallout series. Sadly, most people wont recognize the series unless you put a 3 or vegas behind it. I hate all you bethesda fanboys who think that interplay is dead i would like to see a Fallout MMO but i hate how some people don't . Theres nothing bad about it, both companies will make a profit out of it. I dont understand why bethesda is doing all in there power to see that the MMO gets canceled. Oh and the first two fallout games were amazing, dont diss them.
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aggreed completely
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I'm one of those people who fell in love with Fallout through FO3, but when awaiting New vegas I saw a "three for one" offer for PC games in a store. FO1, 2 and Tactics. I played them fully through and loved them, maybe not for the same reasons than FO3, but i loved them either way
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The reason I bought Fallout 3 was because I loved Oblivion. I was disappointed. Then my Xbox got RRoD. Shortly after I was reborn as a PC gamer, and played FO, FO2, and FOT:BoS. The only reason I still play FO3 is because of the mods. F:NV is relatively respectable because Obsidian (essentially a Black Isle zombie (Fallout 2)) developed it.
Fanboys in general suck ass.
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Agreed
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This thread rules.
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will one of them win already I dont know about the rest of you but I'd like to see something in the blog besides this
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- news*
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This competition will mean that absolutely no development, planning, funding, or basic designing of a future Fallout title will be possible so long as this petty dispute continues. Though I am a fan of the work Bethesda has done over the years (and no less in the case of Interplay), I do not believe that a Fallout MMORPG is a necessity for them to acquire. It would seem, based solely on the evidence provided, that Interplay retains full right to develop and produce the supposed MMORPG and not Bethesda. Furthermore, if Bethesda does not allow Interplay to develop the MMORPG they would break the previous agreement made between the respective companies, thus granting ALL rights to the Fallout franchise to Interplay (though only if Interplay wins). I believe Bethesda's continued swapping of lawyers serves only to further associate them as the guilty party, which they probably are. It is my hope that Bethesda cedes the rights to the MMORPG to Interplay, I fear that if they do not, it could wind up doing significant damage to their company if it does not outright bankrupt them. If Bethesda ignores the rather unique situation they're in any longer, it is not inconceivable to say that other projects currently in development (such as the latest installation to the Elders Scrolls series, "Skyrim") could be put in jeopardy, which would leave me very displeased with their business practices and as a life long fan completely disillusioned. It is my hope that they will realize their greed could destroy them, giving up the MMORPG would allow them to continue producing Fallout titles be they good or no. Staying as stubborn as they are now will only cause problems for them further down the road. Even if Bethesda wins, their business practices will no doubt be referred to as "shady," thus potential limiting future business deals.
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Though to be fair, it's not like they randomly tried to pull the rights from Interplay. Interplay had neglected to show they had made enough progress by the date both had agreed upon in the original deal, or some such. Lack of funding by said date was also an issue. Beth's lawyers have made shit-tastic moves after that, but the original reasoning was generally justifiable.
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i agree with aetropos they could not make it to the agreed objective in the time given infact i think they were in the hole a certain ammount as to how much i cant remember
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Every one in bizzsness lies today so WHAT and i like Bethesda alot no matter what they did.. Interplay may have made Faloout all together but fallout 3 was the best game i have every play since the old old old x-box - ps days so i hope they winn for that i can enjoy there games for years to come... Interplay will never do a game ever in there lifes as good as Bethesda so think the long turm hear!!!!
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If bethesda cant law out interplay they will buy interplay.
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a hostile takeover is not possible. Some french company owns a controling share. Now if they agreed to it , thats another story.
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I am so sick of all this idiotic infighting
Bethesda has to win, fallout deserves to be in the hands of someone who will do something with it.
well one good thing has come of this squabble, it has made interplay get its head back in the game.
I hope they ditch this effort and attempt an original series to try and rival the games bethesda makes
I want interplay to the be dreamworks of the video game industry, with bethesda as disney . . . and bioware as someone else (i dont know much about movies), able to not give a crap about any other video game company
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^this, More competition will create more ideas for more games. More games mean (hopefully) more worth while titles.
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If Interplay won, at least Beth still has the Elder Scrolls. Can you imagine Fallout 4 with the creation engine? My penis would burst.
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Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. This argument confuses me.
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+25 points for use of song title.
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lol
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I think someone at Bethesda FINALLY actually looked at the crazy aruments their lawyers had been making and killed them - and about time too.
Now they can go back to winning this case on the merits. Namely, Interplay is broke and didn't start full scale development on time.
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rgr that man
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Okay, seriously... I really, REALLY just want some DLC news for a change....
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I 100% agree with you.
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me too.
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exactly i want a release date for one of them
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Dead money is coming to the pc and ps3 on feb 22
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wait there was afallout before fallout 3????
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Ya, think?
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Yeah, it was called Fallout 2 1/2 you ignorant person.
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@Anon There was more than that too; tactics, BoS and the canceled van buren. look it up, maybe you'll get a little more, insight, on the fallout franchise.
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There was 1, 2, Vanburen, tacics, BOS
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were you hit in the head with a brick
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Wow...thats a rhetorical question right there
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it's funny because no-one seems to realize that the first anon was obviously: A. a troll, B: joking
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lol vanburen never came out it was canned man
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Next up to bat for Bethesda.... Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe
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No... Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster
