Cease and Desist

I guess it was just a matter of time. I finally received a cease and desist letter from Wizards of the Coast legal counsel. They said I violated their copyright. I didn't know Wizards copyrighted all of their card names, but maybe they do. I presume they don't copyright the rules but I'm not clear on that point. Just wanted to tell everyone.
--Forge

Hello,

My name is Jacob Moorman; I am the Director of Operations for
SourceForge.net. You are receiving this mail because you are the
project administrator of the 'mtgforge' project, hosted by you on
SourceForge.net. We have recently received the following (forwarded)
DMCA request from the complainant (CC'd).

When cases like this arise, we always expeditiously forward the mail to
the project admin. Please review this message carefully and follow-up
as needed.

Following the DMCA requirements we have disabled public access to the
SourceForge.net-hosted space provided to your project.


You can read the specifics about our DMCA compliance in our Terms and
Conditions of Use page:
https://sourceforge.net/tos/tos.php#allegations_of_copyright_infringement_or_trademark_infringement



You can read our DMCA policy, including instructions for
counter-notification at:
https://sourceforge.net/docs/H10/


Thank you for your prompt attention to this serious matter.

Sincerely,

Jacob Moorman

CC: SourceForge legal
CC: Savvis (SourceForge.net datacenter provider)



Begin forwarded message:

> *From: *"Copyright@savvis.net "
> >
> *Date: *November 16, 2007 11:47:17 AM GMT-05:00
> *To: *>, > >, > >, >
> *Cc: *"Copyright@savvis.net "
> >
> *Subject: **Sourceforge - Savvis Case 1152152 - DMCA Notice -
> 66.35.250.203 - http://sourceforge.net/projects/mtgforge*
>
> Dear Administrator:
> SAVVIS has received notice that an IP address (see below) under your
> administrative control is distributing copyrighted works in violation

> of United States law, specifically, 17USC512 et seq., also known as
> the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA").
> Please note that this activity is both illegal and in violation of
the
> SAVVIS Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"), a copy of which may be reviewed

> at http://www.savvis.net/Customer/aup.html.
> Be advised that the DMCA places very stringent requirements on
SAVVIS,
> as the upstream provider, and that failure to resolve this issue in a

> timely manner could result in the termination of services to
offending
> IP's or sites. SAVVIS follows the DMCA time requirements very
> strictly: this issue must be resolved within 7 days of this notice to

> avoid active intervention under DMCA.
> If you require any assistance in resolving this, or any other SAVVIS
> security issue, please do not hesitate to contact me at any of the
> below points of contact.
> Sincerely,
> Jason R. Bradley GSEC
> Security/Abuse Engineer
> SAVVIS Security Services (S3)
> SAVVIS Communications
> 1 Savvis Parkway
> St. Louis, MO 63017
> 314-628-7821 - Desk
> 314.628.7050 - Fax
> **This message contains information which may be confidential and/or
> privileged. Unless you are the intended recipient (or authorized to
> receive for the intended recipient), you may not read, use, copy or
> disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the
> message. If you have received the message in error, please advise the

> sender by reply e-mail at copyright@savvis.net
> and delete the message and any
> attachment(s) thereto without retaining any copies.**
>
> ************ORIGINAL COMPLAINT(S) BELOW*************
>
>
> *From:* Reynolds, Carin [mailto:cgreynolds@pbwt.com]
> *Sent:* Friday, November 16, 2007 10:01 AM
> *To:* Copyright@savvis.net
> *Subject:* DMCA Notice - http://sourceforge.net/projects/mtgforge
>
>
> November 16, 2007
>
> *_By Email_*
> copyright@savvis.net
>
> DMCA Designated Agent
> SAVVIS Communications Corporation
> One SAVVIS Parkway
> Town & Country, Missouri 63017
>
> *Re: DMCA Notice – **http://sourceforge.net/projects/mtgforge*
>
> *_Infringement of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Copyrights and
Trademarks_*
>
> Dear Copyright Agent:
>
> We are counsel for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (“Wizards”), the
owner
> of the copyrights and trademarks to the MAGIC: THE GATHERING®
trading
> card game. We recently became aware that you are the service
provider
> for www.sourceforge.net , which has
posted
> an online version of Wizards’ MAGIC: THE GATHERING® trading card
game
> at http://sourceforge.net/projects/mtgforgecalled “MTG Forge”
(“MTG”
> is a commonly used acronym for MAGIC: THE GATHERING®). The “MTG
> Forge” game is described as “a robust Java implementation of card
game
> Magic The Gathering that enforces the rules.” We have attempted
> repeatedly to contact the owner of this site, but have received no
> response and the infringing game has not yet been removed.
>
> This unauthorized copying of Wizards’ MAGIC: THE GATHERING®
trading
> card game constitutes copyright infringement in violation of 17
U.S.C.
> § 501. The unauthorized use of the MAGIC: THE GATHERING® name
> violates the federal trademark laws, including 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114(1)

> and 1125(a), by creating a likelihood of confusion with respect to
> Wizards’ authorization or sponsorship of or association with the
“MTG
> Forge” trading card game and the sourceforge.net website. This
> unauthorized use of the MAGIC: THE GATHERING® trademark is also
likely
> to dilute its distinctive quality in violation of 15 U.S.C. §
1125(c)
> and the anti-dilution laws of numerous states.
>
> Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), we
have a
> good faith belief that the “MTG Forge” game identified above
infringes
> Wizard’s copyrights and other intellectual property rights, and is
not
> authorized by Wizards or its agents. We are authorized to act on
> Wizards’ behalf regarding these matters. The information provided
in
> this communication is accurate to the best of my knowledge and is
> provided under penalty of perjury.
>
> On behalf of Wizards, we therefore request that you act promptly to
> remove or disable access to the infringing “MTG Forge” game from
the
> sourceforge.net website*.*
>
> This letter does not purport to be a complete statement of the facts
> or the law and is without prejudice to Wizards’ legal and equitable

> rights.
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
> Carin G. Reynolds, Esq.
> *Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP*
> 1133 Avenue of the Americas
> New York, NY 10036-6710
>
> /tel/: 212.336.2104
> /fax/: 212.336.2277
> cgreynolds@pbwt.com
>
>
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--
Jacob Moorman
Director of Operations, SourceForge.net
jmoorman@corp.sourceforge.com
moorman@sourceforge.net

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