A lot of people here dont rly understand business. Oh its not right he is asking for more. Contracted was signed etc (btw has anyone seen the actual contract?). Oh it was Red who made the franchise so popular....
If i were him, i wont care f all but a single question, "with this action how much benefit will i get and if it cover legal fee then why not?". Its unlikely he will get paid full $16m but he will get something say for instance $1m. Why wouldnt i want this money? Theres not much to lose (and a lot to be gained) given his situation.
Andrzej Sapkowski is stated as being a very unbalanced, hard to get along with, type of person in multiple articles. All of these were WAY before any of this was even started so you have to take that into account. If CD Projekt pays him I would make sure I drew up an agreement preventing him from doing this again in the near future.
While I'm all for not backstabbing, not sure this is backstabbing. He consciously took the cash because he thought their idea was shit and his best bet was to make a quick buck. CDPR did nothing shady there; they couldn't have known at the time just how popular their franchise would become, even if they hoped as much.
If he got stabbed, I'd say the author fell on the knife.
And I really have to wonder why now? Why not last year or the year before when The Witcher 3 was already HUGE and the money was pouring in?
As someone asked above I also wonder who is getting how much from Netflix for the upcoming TV series. That might be the why now part.
One of the big questions this raises is 'who licensed the Netflix' series? The base language in an IP license agreement allows for use of the IP by the licensee, and doesn't usually mention resale rights. The original IP owner is assumed to retain those rights by default, unless these are expressly mentioned in the original agreement. So, there may be actions by Netflix or CDPR that may warrant a revisiting of the original agreement.
More Polish law, I'm afraid. IP legalities in English are bad enough.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Not sure why anyone expects a different ending.
He sold the entire IP for a set amount of money. He now regrets it and instead of doing it a different way tries to force through more money... he doesnt have a single leg to stand on. The end.
Never pay this man. Cd project red is a team with great originality and .ingenuity. Andrzej Sapkowski is a plagiarist who stole all his work from Michael Moorcock. Before he wrote the witcher series he was an editor and translator for science and fantasy who worked primarily on Michael Moorcock's elric of melnibone series. Now i want you google that character name as well as geralt of rivia and tell me the differences. There is not a single strand of originality in Andrzej's body the fact he is despicable person.
I'm not sure why people find your comment insightful. It's unsubstantiated hearsay, but then again that's as good as facts on the internet, just ask Reddit. Your post is everything wrong with the current group-think echo chamber we've created on the internet.
What is most disgusting about your post is suggesting justice be delivered based on your subjective moral judgement of that person and their social popularity.
Was CDPR original when they used his work because they couldn't create an original IP and story of their own, or when they continued to capitalize on a property they didn't create in a game format already established?
The fact is both parties benefited from the relationship, CDPR much more so financially. They have made tons of money and should renegotiate the contract to be in line with industry standards. It would be stupid for both parties to waste money in court over greed.
CDPR is making 97% of gross revenue from that IP. It doesn't seem ridiculous that it be 94%. Why wouldn't they renegotiate? It's the kind of thing you'd expect from EA or Activision. This is what happens when big publishers aren't held accountable and gamers give them a pass because they think they're buddies. It's called celebrity attachment; which is perceiving a personal connection with a person who doesn't know you exist. You and CDPR aren't buddies.
"justice be delivered" because not buying a product is a crime amiright? look up the moorcock interviews. and if you truly believe this is unsubstantiated you didn't even do a google search. You're being either being lazy or intellectually dishonest. So don't condescend like you know something about it when you are to lazy to even google it. Don't call people disgusting if you are just going to be condescending scum.
Also in regards to cdpr and Andrzej relationship, he was openly antagonistic towards them. Never supported them and even berated their work. Only now that it proved profitable does he want to renegotiated. He sold the rights. They are a business and considering they are moving on to their own ip they have no obligation to continue working or helping this man.
Then you assume my fanboyism for a company because i complimented them (i dont even own any of their games aside from gwent which is free.) When you are an obvious fanboy of the books. (This post has been edited to remove personal attacks and conform the rules of the forums.)
Pssst... hey guys, want to buy the rights to this awesome novel series?
Uhm, your books aren't even popular in your own country, let alone worldwide. How much you asking?
I'll sell the rights to everything for "this amount"
Ehhh, what the hell. Sure, we'll take the deal.
18 years later...
Looks like I underestimated the popularity of the gaming industry. I want $16 million more in royalties as my novel is clearly why this IP is so successful.
Good luck Johhny Chimpo.
That's not true. His novel series was known/popular in Poland way before the game was released . There was even a TV series made of it around 2001. So it's not like it couldn't help the game sell, at least in Poland.
Never pay this man. Cd project red is a team with great originality and .ingenuity. Andrzej Sapkowski is a plagiarist who stole all his work from Michael Moorcock. Before he wrote the witcher series he was an editor and translator for science and fantasy who worked primarily on Michael Moorcock's elric of melnibone series. Now i want you google that character name as well as geralt of rivia and tell me the differences. There is not a single strand of originality in Andrzej's body the fact he is despicable person.
I'm not sure why people find your comment insightful. It's unsubstantiated hearsay, but then again that's as good as facts on the internet, just ask Reddit. Your post is everything wrong with the current group-think echo chamber we've created on the internet.
What is most disgusting about your post is suggesting justice be delivered based on your subjective moral judgement of that person and their social popularity.
Was CDPR original when they used his work because they couldn't create an original IP and story of their own, or when they continued to capitalize on a property they didn't create in a game format already established?
The fact is both parties benefited from the relationship, CDPR much more so financially. They have made tons of money and should renegotiate the contract to be in line with industry standards. It would be stupid for both parties to waste money in court over greed.
CDPR is making 97% of gross revenue from that IP. It doesn't seem ridiculous that it be 94%. Why wouldn't they renegotiate? It's the kind of thing you'd expect from EA or Activision. This is what happens when big publishers aren't held accountable and gamers give them a pass because they think they're buddies. It's called celebrity attachment; which is perceiving a personal connection with a person who doesn't know you exist. You and CDPR aren't buddies.
I felt his post was insightful from the context of an ostensibly similar IP. The rest...eh -- that's one person's opinion. The legal case will be fascinating to watch, though I think CDPR would come out looking like the "good guys" if they said something like, "Well, we don't owe you anything else, but we'll meet your 6% anyway." After all, they have a new game coming out soon and they don't want to smear the corporate name by being petty or by getting bogged down in a long legal struggle.
Either way, I wonder if Sapkowski will file a lawsuit now that the initial overture has been declined by CDPR.
Good points.
Offering the 6% would have been the high ground. I'm not sure why they didn't take that because they are known for promoting a fair deal. They have tailored GoG to be the DRM Free fair deal gamer experience. They promote indie developers. They offer a "fair" deal on their DLC approach (see the Witcher 3). Is it really their corporate culture or just marketing bullshit?
Even good guys don't give out undeserved money. If the writer was offered share of the revenue, but told them he wanted an up-front payment instead, then a good guy would follow that contract and nothing more.
Never pay this man. Cd project red is a team with great originality and .ingenuity. Andrzej Sapkowski is a plagiarist who stole all his work from Michael Moorcock. Before he wrote the witcher series he was an editor and translator for science and fantasy who worked primarily on Michael Moorcock's elric of melnibone series. Now i want you google that character name as well as geralt of rivia and tell me the differences. There is not a single strand of originality in Andrzej's body the fact he is despicable person.
I'm not sure why people find your comment insightful. It's unsubstantiated hearsay, but then again that's as good as facts on the internet, just ask Reddit. Your post is everything wrong with the current group-think echo chamber we've created on the internet.
What is most disgusting about your post is suggesting justice be delivered based on your subjective moral judgement of that person and their social popularity.
Was CDPR original when they used his work because they couldn't create an original IP and story of their own, or when they continued to capitalize on a property they didn't create in a game format already established?
The fact is both parties benefited from the relationship, CDPR much more so financially. They have made tons of money and should renegotiate the contract to be in line with industry standards. It would be stupid for both parties to waste money in court over greed.
CDPR is making 97% of gross revenue from that IP. It doesn't seem ridiculous that it be 94%. Why wouldn't they renegotiate? It's the kind of thing you'd expect from EA or Activision. This is what happens when big publishers aren't held accountable and gamers give them a pass because they think they're buddies. It's called celebrity attachment; which is perceiving a personal connection with a person who doesn't know you exist. You and CDPR aren't buddies.
"justice be delivered" because not buying a product is a crime amiright? look up the moorcock interviews. and if you truly believe this is unsubstantiated you didn't even do a google search. You're being either being lazy or intellectually dishonest. So don't condescend like you know something about it when you are to lazy to even google it. Don't call people disgusting if you are just going to be condescending scum.
Also in regards to cdpr and Andrzej relationship, he was openly antagonistic towards them. Never supported them and even berated their work. Only now that it proved profitable does he want to renegotiated. He sold the rights. They are a business and considering they are moving on to their own ip they have no obligation to continue working or helping this man.
Then you assume my fanboyism for a company because i complimented them (i dont even own any of their games aside from gwent which is free.) When you are an obvious fanboy of the books. But im done arguing with a hippo critical halfwit who makes assumptions and doesn't research or think before he post/talks and has probably never owned a business. Now i don't know anything about your personal life so all of this could be wrong. But you made assumptions about me without knowing my life so im just returning the favor.
Let's step this convo back just a little, it's getting a little overheated here. And coming from me, that's significant.
Don't wanna see moderation here, this has been an intriguing convo so far (if passionate).
Let's step this convo back just a little, it's getting a little overheated here. And coming from me, that's significant.
Don't wanna see moderation here, this has been an intriguing convo so far (if passionate).
*dons perky moderator beret*
Nah, jus' kiddin', but your point is valid. Personal attacks will just get people warned or banned. This discussion has been a good one with good points on both sides. No reason to get too testy about it.
A contract is a contract so there is sometimes tears.
I just recently bought the first Witcher book because I'll finally have time this winter to play the games! So, I can't be the only person who is adding to his revenue stream due to book sales. Unless he signed a bad deal there lol.
On the paperback I am reading I noticed the first Witcher book is in it's 25th printing. That's no peanuts. There's a boat load of Forgotten Realms books that have never had a 2nd printing.
I would think he has still profited significantly from the games success.
Let's step this convo back just a little, it's getting a little overheated here. And coming from me, that's significant.
Don't wanna see moderation here, this has been an intriguing convo so far (if passionate).
*dons perky moderator beret*
Nah, jus' kiddin', but your point is valid. Personal attacks will just get people warned or banned. This discussion has been a good one with good points on both sides. No reason to get too testy about it.
Hopefully that edit is satisfactory. Sorry for the antagonism.
A contract is a contract so there is sometimes tears.
I just recently bought the first Witcher book because I'll finally have time this winter to play the games! So, I can't be the only person who is adding to his revenue stream due to book sales. Unless he signed a bad deal there lol.
On the paperback I am reading I noticed the first Witcher book is in it's 25th printing. That's no peanuts. There's a boat load of Forgotten Realms books that have never had a 2nd printing.
I would think he has still profited significantly from the games success.
Unless, as I also speculated above, he's a habitual "give me big money now and screw the royalties" kind of guy.
If he actually signed a standard publishing deal, yeah the Witcher games must have made him a tidy sum by getting a lot of people to buy his books that would have never even heard of them without the games.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
If I'm understanding things correctly, under Polish copyright law he very well may be entitled to further compensation. The only way to know with any degree of certainty would be to see the original contract signed by CDProjekt and Sapkowski.
That being said, from a moral standpoint I think CDProjekt has every right to tell him to go screw himself. He took a lump sum payment instead of royalties, and therefore shouldered none of the risk involved in making a game based upon his series, one which was hardly known about outside of Poland. CDProjekt took all of the risk, and should therefore receive all of the reward. Furthermore you can't tell me he hasn't profited from increased book sales, or the sale / licensing of The Witcher IP for use in other forms of media.
He had no faith in his series' success, no faith in CDProjekt's abilities, no faith in video games as a medium for storytelling, and has up until recently (now that money is involved) shown nothing but derision for games and gamers as a whole. He deserves nothing more than what he's already been paid. Period.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
The judge is most likely going to award an addendum to the contract that would allow for a share in profits going forward. But at this point the company has already invested that money into Cyberpunk and other projects. I highly doubt the judge will award the immediate demand for money after the author waited so long to file the lawsuit.
That's like me selling a patent for an invention so a company can make a product from it. Taking a bunch of money. Then a decade later demanding a profit share of all money made. When the company doesn't currently make the product and is only clearing existing inventory with huge sales (Witcher 3 was 80% off two weeks ago). Sure, a judge might agree that I wasn't paid fairly and that I deserve more if they make more products with my patent. But the judge isn't likely to retroactively award me money for my lack of foresight. When doing so will hurt the company and all it's employees to make my selfish and stupid ass happy. Not to mention that's like shooting myself in the foot.
If I'm understanding things correctly, under Polish copyright law he very well may be entitled to further compensation. The only way to know with any degree of certainty would be to see the original contract signed by CDProjekt and Sapkowski.
That being said, from a moral standpoint I think CDProjekt has every right to tell him to go screw himself. He took a lump sum payment instead of royalties, and therefore shouldered none of the risk involved in making a game based upon his series, one which was hardly known about outside of Poland. CDProjekt took all of the risk, and should therefore receive all of the reward. Furthermore you can't tell me he hasn't profited from increased book sales, or the sale / licensing of The Witcher IP for use in other forms of media.
He had no faith in his series' success, no faith in CDProjekt's abilities, no faith in video games as a medium for storytelling, and has up until recently (now that money is involved) shown nothing but derision for games and gamers as a whole. He deserves nothing more than what he's already been paid. Period.
I'd like to see CDPR raise this point to see how a judge interprets it.
If they had access to data that showed sales bumps for the books directly after releases of the games, they could very well make a convincing case that their involvement made the IP more popular than it reasonably would have been without it, resulting in more book sales for the author.
The judge is most likely going to award an addendum to the contract that would allow for a share in profits going forward. But at this point the company has already invested that money into Cyberpunk and other projects. I highly doubt the judge will award the immediate demand for money after the author waited so long to file the lawsuit.
That's like me selling a patent for an invention so a company can make a product from it. Taking a bunch of money. Then a decade later demanding a profit share of all money made. When the company doesn't currently make the product and is only clearing existing inventory with huge sales (Witcher 3 was 80% off two weeks ago). Sure, a judge might agree that I wasn't paid fairly and that I deserve more if they make more products with my patent. But the judge isn't likely to retroactively award me money for my lack of foresight. When doing so will hurt the company and all it's employees to make my selfish and stupid ass happy. Not to mention that's like shooting myself in the foot.
Interesting line of thought. I could see that the original agreement *could* be in question, as the fair market value of the Witcher IP may not have been known at the time. Then, the court *might* choose to evaluate the percentage of *future* profits.
I do agree with you that a judge isn't likely to award any money retroactively.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
While I'm all for not backstabbing, not sure this is backstabbing. He consciously took the cash because he thought their idea was shit and his best bet was to make a quick buck. CDPR did nothing shady there; they couldn't have known at the time just how popular their franchise would become, even if they hoped as much.
If he got stabbed, I'd say the author fell on the knife.
And I really have to wonder why now? Why not last year or the year before when The Witcher 3 was already HUGE and the money was pouring in?
Likely some legal firm recently contacted him and said they could make a good case of it
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Is there the actual original contract online to read?
Because if he sold off the Intellectual Property doesn't it belong to someone else now unless the contract stated otherwise like licensed or leased or something?
Comments
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
If i were him, i wont care f all but a single question, "with this action how much benefit will i get and if it cover legal fee then why not?". Its unlikely he will get paid full $16m but he will get something say for instance $1m. Why wouldnt i want this money? Theres not much to lose (and a lot to be gained) given his situation.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
He sold the entire IP for a set amount of money. He now regrets it and instead of doing it a different way tries to force through more money... he doesnt have a single leg to stand on. The end.
https://ashesofcreation.com/r/Y4U3PQCASUPJ5SED
Also in regards to cdpr and Andrzej relationship, he was openly antagonistic towards them. Never supported them and even berated their work. Only now that it proved profitable does he want to renegotiated. He sold the rights. They are a business and considering they are moving on to their own ip they have no obligation to continue working or helping this man.
Then you assume my fanboyism for a company because i complimented them (i dont even own any of their games aside from gwent which is free.) When you are an obvious fanboy of the books. (This post has been edited to remove personal attacks and conform the rules of the forums.)
That's not true. His novel series was known/popular in Poland way before the game was released . There was even a TV series made of it around 2001. So it's not like it couldn't help the game sell, at least in Poland.
Don't wanna see moderation here, this has been an intriguing convo so far (if passionate).
Nah, jus' kiddin', but your point is valid. Personal attacks will just get people warned or banned. This discussion has been a good one with good points on both sides. No reason to get too testy about it.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I just recently bought the first Witcher book because I'll finally have time this winter to play the games! So, I can't be the only person who is adding to his revenue stream due to book sales. Unless he signed a bad deal there lol.
On the paperback I am reading I noticed the first Witcher book is in it's 25th printing. That's no peanuts. There's a boat load of Forgotten Realms books that have never had a 2nd printing.
I would think he has still profited significantly from the games success.
If he actually signed a standard publishing deal, yeah the Witcher games must have made him a tidy sum by getting a lot of people to buy his books that would have never even heard of them without the games.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
That being said, from a moral standpoint I think CDProjekt has every right to tell him to go screw himself. He took a lump sum payment instead of royalties, and therefore shouldered none of the risk involved in making a game based upon his series, one which was hardly known about outside of Poland. CDProjekt took all of the risk, and should therefore receive all of the reward. Furthermore you can't tell me he hasn't profited from increased book sales, or the sale / licensing of The Witcher IP for use in other forms of media.
He had no faith in his series' success, no faith in CDProjekt's abilities, no faith in video games as a medium for storytelling, and has up until recently (now that money is involved) shown nothing but derision for games and gamers as a whole. He deserves nothing more than what he's already been paid. Period.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
#IStandWithVic
Gut Out!
What, me worry?
Wonder what sort of monetary gains he has already seen due to the games success?
That's like me selling a patent for an invention so a company can make a product from it. Taking a bunch of money. Then a decade later demanding a profit share of all money made. When the company doesn't currently make the product and is only clearing existing inventory with huge sales (Witcher 3 was 80% off two weeks ago). Sure, a judge might agree that I wasn't paid fairly and that I deserve more if they make more products with my patent. But the judge isn't likely to retroactively award me money for my lack of foresight. When doing so will hurt the company and all it's employees to make my selfish and stupid ass happy. Not to mention that's like shooting myself in the foot.
This is open and shut. He blew it. No buyers remorse allowed. Tough noogies.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If they had access to data that showed sales bumps for the books directly after releases of the games, they could very well make a convincing case that their involvement made the IP more popular than it reasonably would have been without it, resulting in more book sales for the author.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Because if he sold off the Intellectual Property doesn't it belong to someone else now unless the contract stated otherwise like licensed or leased or something?