Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Sapkowski's lawyer(s) claims the original Witcher video game contract "concerned only the first in a series of games, and therefore distribution of all other games, including their expansions, add-ons etc., is, simply speaking, unlawful". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikachu Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Any merit to this demand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 On 10/2/2018 at 9:36 AM, Pikachu said: Any merit to this demand? Based on my deep understanding and significant expertise with Polish intellectual property law, I will resolutely state ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's worth a shot anyway - the worst that could happen is he gets nothing while there's the real possibility that CDPR will just quietly settle out of court to make him go away once and for all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 We are fully aware of the fact that the Author's claim expressed herein is not a typical request, and that demanding payment of dozens of millions Polish Zlotys is not an everyday occurrence. I see that Sapkowski went with the very best that the Polish legal community has to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Response: “Fuck you” I still think a settlement is likely but no where near the $16M number being requested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris- Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 How come fantasy authors turn into righteous dicks the second someone else takes their property and makes it popular? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxEvil AshxX Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 It's no secret that the guy low-balled himself. He's been bitter about that for years. CDPR were nobodies at the time and while The Witcher was popular in Poland, no one else had ever heard of it. So it was really a huge gamble on CDPR's part, while the guy didn't really have to do anything but collect a check. So much for just being happy that CDPR put him on the map. He also has CDPR to thank for the Netflix show. No Witcher video games, no Netflix show. Guess greedy pricks gonna be greedy pricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 They should just "Stan Lee" him, give him a small cut of any profits and make this go away. They don't want the internet mob turning on them as they try to expand the property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The def star Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Chris- said: How come fantasy authors turn into righteous dicks the second someone else takes their property and makes it popular? I feel that they are some what envious that someone else turned their IP into something a million times bigger that they ever could. Or maybe he's just pissed that he made a shitty deal 2 hours ago, XxEvil AshxX said: So much for just being happy that CDPR put him on the map. If it wasn't for the Witcher games I would have no interest in his novels. I bought all of them. So he should be thankful for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 4 hours ago, The def star said: I feel that they are some what envious that someone else turned their IP into something a million times bigger that they ever could. Or maybe he's just pissed that he made a shitty deal If it wasn't for the Witcher games I would have no interest in his novels. I bought all of them. So he should be thankful for that. Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 AKA: I did a crappy deal because I didn't think my creation was all that good, now I'm mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxEvil AshxX Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 1 minute ago, Spork3245 said: AKA: I did a crappy deal because I didn't think my creation was all that good, now I'm mad. AKA I didn't think those chumps would succeed so i decided to screw them out of a lump sum and now I'm butthurt cuz theyre smarter at business than i am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 If the English translation of the demand letter is even remotely accurate, then it reads like an incredibly cliche extortion letter: Even so, as is true in every case, and particularly true in this instance, considering the specific relationship between you and Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski, the Author’s nature and character, and also your own standing and business interests, we are prepared to settle the matter in an amicable – and more importantly – expeditious and quiet manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 You would think that anyone who created a fictional property that someone else is looking to license would know to build some type of participation into any derivative works for future projects. That's like merchandising 101. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxEvil AshxX Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Given CDPR's previous legal battles with Witcher 2 I'd assume they'd be like "Come at me bro." They're no strangers to litigation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legend Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Quote "They offered me a percentage of their profits. I said, 'No, there will be no profit at all - give me all my money right now! The whole amount. It was stupid. I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn't believe in their success. But who could foresee their success? I couldn't." WTF! Then cry my a fucking river for your poor insight. You don't get to make deals retroactively. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toronado97 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 I'll just leave this here: https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/the-witcher-games-andrzej-sapkowski-profits So refreshing to see this guy get lambasted by a peer. At least this guy realizes he owes a lot of his fame to the game and he embraces it, whereas Andrzej can choke on a bag of hairy dongs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Nah, he shouldn't get shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 On 10/2/2018 at 10:03 AM, Chris- said: How come fantasy authors turn into righteous dicks the second someone else takes their property and makes it popular? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 29, 2018 Author Share Posted October 29, 2018 Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky calls Andrzej Sapkowski an “old fool” and an "ungrateful schmuck" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal-El814 Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 There’s something just so... “Witcher” about the author favoring short term profit over long term potential and getting hosed out the best possible outcome of a long quest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 If anybody ever gives you the option for a percentage of the profits you should probably just take it. It's like real life winning the lotto. I don't know how analogous it would be to other mediums but plenty of actors have done that ended up with shit tons of money when some random movie because a huge success out of nowhere. I think Keanu Reeves did that with The Matrix right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remarkableriots Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Dodger said: If anybody ever gives you the option for a percentage of the profits you should probably just take it. It's like real life winning the lotto. I don't know how analogous it would be to other mediums but plenty of actors have done that ended up with shit tons of money when some random movie because a huge success out of nowhere. I think Keanu Reeves did that with The Matrix right? https://priceonomics.com/why-do-all-hollywood-movies-lose-money/ Quote Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Forrest Gump. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What do these three films have in common? Each was a blockbuster, among the first or second highest grossing films of the year. All three were also unprofitable. These films are not a cautionary tale about how wasteful spending can turn a commercial success into a net failure. They had perfectly average production budgets and expenses for movies of their scale. Their lack of profitability, in fact, is typical. Over 80% of Hollywood movies fail to turn a profit. Reading this statistic, we agreed with Darth Vader that this seems implausible. Where is his pot of gold that lures businessmen and investors to Hollywood? Buried in paperwork. Hollywood’s lack of profits exists only on paper, the result of creative accounting practices so institutionalized and infamous that a Wikipedia page on “Hollywood Accounting” includes the inside joke that Hollywood’s most creative minds are the accountants. Instead of cooking the books to hide losses and inflate profits, Hollywood accountants inflate costs to ensure that even smash hits stay in the red. So taking a percentage of profits isn't always a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury33 Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, Remarkableriots said: https://priceonomics.com/why-do-all-hollywood-movies-lose-money/ So taking a percentage of profits isn't always a good idea. I believe most “% of profits” deals are for a % of the gross not the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 27 minutes ago, Remarkableriots said: https://priceonomics.com/why-do-all-hollywood-movies-lose-money/ So taking a percentage of profits isn't always a good idea. "Hollywood accounting" is its own special kind of beast. Most actors are now so very well aware of Hollywood accounting trickery that they design their %-based contracts to errrr...account for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 CD Projekt Red Agrees to Pay Creator Andrezej Sapowski Quote Last year, Andrzej Sapkowski was pretty upset about The Witcher video games. As the writer of The Witcher books, Sapkowksi ended up signing away a lot of his rights to CDPR for a flat fee after turning down a profit percentage deal assuming that the game wouldn't actually make any profit. Several Witcher games and millions of dollars later, Sapkowksi regrets this decision and made that clear when he demanded $16.1 million in royalties, which CDPR rejected. Now, it's CDPR changing their mind and offering Sapkowski compensation. According to Polish news outlet Puls Biznesu, CDPR has agreed to pay out some money to Sapkowski in recognition for his role in creating The Witcher series. The number, which was not disclosed, is quite a bit less than the $16 million he demanded earlier, but CDPR argues it is quite a bit more than they are obligated to give. In a statement given by the developer, they explain that they are mainly trying to maintain good relations with Sapkowski through this payment. Both parties have agreed to the settlement and have, according to their lawyers, resolved the situation amicably. Glad they hashed this out... but I don't know who the Author's Reps were that they didn't at least TRY to get him some type of ancillary participation in the games is insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxEvil AshxX Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Sapkowski gets more than he deserved; CDPR gets him to go the fuck away already. It's a win-win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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