Blackmoor Trademark Now Registered to Estate of Dave Arneson LLC

 

As of March 4th, 2025, the Blackmoor Trademark is listed as Registered to the The Estate of David Arneson LLC. The estate first applied to register the Trademark of Blackmoor back in July 2021, but it seems there is a long and complicated process to move a Trademark from Pending Status to Live. 

It has been listed under the following categories for statement of use:

Toys and Sporting Goods Products Dice games; Role playing games; Tabletop hobby battle games in the nature of battle, war and skirmish games, and fantasy games, and playing equipment sold as a unit therewith.

Paper Goods and Printed Material Role playing game equipment in the nature of printed game book manuals

According to a press release from last year, the Estate of David Arneson LLC is Dave's Daughter Malia Arneson-Weinhagen, her husband Luke and their grandchildren. The same press release made it clear that Chris Graves, producer of the documentary "Secrets of Blackmoor", has been made 

"Authorized Representative and Bridge Troll for the Estate of David Arneson, LLC". 

Note that Mr Graves' associate Griff Morgan who runs the Secrets of Blackmoor account on X/Twitter and elsewhere has made it clear that he is not a spokesperson for the Estate".

At this point, no official statement has been made from the Estate about what this confirmation of the Trademark Registration would mean for the future of Blackmoor.

-Havard

Arneson Estate Responds to Ink Bat's Age of the Wolf

Over the past few months we have reported on this blog about Age of the Wolf after Ink Bat announced that they were bringing this project back for a GenCon release. 

Here is the official  response from the Arneson Estate:

 For Immediate Release (07/28/2024): 

Is The Age of the Wolf an actual work by Dave Arneson or even a Blackmoor setting? 

 

 The Arneson Estate believes it to be a fake. ​

The Estate of David Arneson comprises his much-cherished family, Malia, Luke, and Dave's grandchildren. Dave's family is very perplexed regarding the publication of Studio Ink Bat's "Age Of The Wolf" book. This manuscript is purported to be Dave Arneson's last major work which Studio Ink Bat plans to distribute during events at GenCon 2024. ​

 

One would think someone wanting to publish an original work by Dave Arneson, or even a work derived from Dave's ideas, would be excited to collaborate with the family of Dave Arneson for the published work to have authenticity.

 

This is far from what has transpired thus far. Studio Ink Bat's attitude and actions leave the Arneson family utterly baffled. Studio Ink Bat (aka Denise Robinson & C.A. Suleiman) show no respect to the family's legal right to control intellectual properties created by Dave Arneson and properties derived from his works. Additionally, Studio Ink Bat has wholly disregarded the family's feelings in matters which are very much a family decision. This leads the Arneson family to believe that Studio Ink Bat's publication, "The Age of the Wolf," is a counterfeit — which cannot be attributed in any way to Dave Arneson. Furthermore, the Estate emphasizes this publication violates their trademark and naming rights.

 

​ I want to emphasize here that we have not received any documentation proving the work is anything but a counterfeit. We are still very open to seeing anything that could disprove our current assessment, which could be forthcoming from Studio Ink Bat. ​

 

Studio Ink Bat's behavior is puzzling to us, as it was Studio Ink Bat who initially approached the Arneson Estate asking for the Estate's blessing on the "Age of the Wolf" book. At first, they claimed David Arneson had contributed to the manuscript before his untimely death in 2009. Since email exchanges with the Arneson Estate, they are now walking that back and saying he was leading a team producing this adventure. They also said they were publishing it to honor Arneson, the co-creator of D&D, and planned on giving 100 copies away for free at GenCon 2024 (the 50th anniversary of D&D). Sounds nice enough, and it could have been simple. We exchanged pleasantries back and forth and requested they provide the Estate with three things to move the process forward:

 

​ 1. We asked Studio Ink Bat multiple times to show us any documentation they have (e.g., notes, correspondence, or a contract) that shows Dave Arneson worked on this project or granted any rights to his intellectual property (his name or the Blackmoor name).

 

2. We asked Studio Ink Bat multiple times to send us the manuscript so the Arneson family could review it to determine if it is something the Blackmoor trademark could be attached to (e.g., would the family license the Blackmoor name to Studio Ink Bat based solely on the quality of the content). We received only a tiny sample which contained elements easily copied from previously published material.

 

3. We asked Studio Ink Bat to temporarily remove any public notices about the project until points 1 and 2 have been addressed. This would protect them from potential liability and was a first step for Studio Ink Bat to demonstrate an appreciation for Dave Arneson and his creations. Immediate action would also have shown respect to his family members.

 

These are things that any reasonable person would ask for to protect the legacy of a late and much-beloved father - none of the above requests were ever fully met. ​ Since Studio Ink Bat told us this event was a one-time small, free distribution, we thought any license fee could be as meager as a dollar. The Arneson Estate is in the business of licensing the Blackmoor trademark, and the distribution of an actual, unseen, unpublished Dave Arneson work could only be a good thing.

 

Not long after, it became obvious to us they did not understand how IP law works, when Studio Ink Bat replied "Well, since we're giving the book away for free we don't need your permission" to paraphrase. However, this is wrong on two points - they do not appear to be giving the book away for free, and IP rights infringement involves publication, and not money (see below).

 

Despite the situation clearly being a misunderstanding we continued to reach out, while at the same time making it known we were very open to coming to an agreement with Studio Ink Bat. ​

 

Yet, they have refused to show us any proof that Dave Arneson worked on it (instead, they told us they had no documentation and we should "look it up"). They have refused to show us the entire manuscript. And let’s not forget the phone conversation where they called the Estate “stupid”. We need time to examine the manuscript to determine if it contains anything of Arneson's work or style. Time is also needed to distribute copies to numerous scholars for expert assessments of the work and its validity.

 

Instead, they offered to send us money, possibly give us the rights to the book after GenCon, and other things — anything but fulfilling our simple requests. The issue is that without knowing the content or seeing any evidence that Arneson worked on it, we can't simply give them a license to make claims as to the attribution and or validity of this work. Hence, their offers of money and publishing rights are not pertinent. We informed them of this, and our requests to see the manuscript continued to be ignored. ​

 

Furthermore, from the small sample Studio Ink Bat sent, from other content on their website, and their apparent limited knowledge of IP law gathered from our correspondence, we believe the book could contain violations of other publishers' and authors' IP rights, which would make the book difficult or impossible to distribute — again, unless we can review the full content we can't make any determination as to who can make claims to this content. Additionally, the family doesn't want to attach Dave Arneson's name to a product without providing proper credit to any other creators of the content, as has often been done to work Dave produced. We'd still be more than happy to examine the manuscript. We are in a quandary, as once the book is distributed, it will likely be too late to resolve this issue in a friendly way. ​

 

Studio Ink Bat's seeming desire to force our hand in this manner leads to more confusion, as we would rather offer a handshake and be friends than do otherwise.

 

​ Even as a derived work bearing a Blackmoor trademark, which the Estate is in the business of licensing, we would still need to see the manuscript they have refused to provide. How can we issue a license to use the trademark without seeing it? We need to know what kind of content this book presents. Does the content meet the Arneson family's standards for a fun adventure book meant for general distribution, or is this book aimed at an adult audience? Would you license your father's legacy to something you knew little about, or worse, something which could lead to negative public opinion? We would've liked to get the whole picture, but they have yet to provide it.

 

And — we discovered they are not giving the "Age of the Wolf" away for free, but instead "shadow selling" their book at GenCon 2024. The admission fee for their 14 paid events at GenCon is $48 per person and comes with a "free Age of the Wolf book." Do you think an unknown company's first publication could sell out all 14 events at GenCon for $48 a head if they weren't using Dave Arneson's name and the Blackmoor trademark to promote it? We don't believe so. They are using the Arneson and Blackmoor names to sell a publication we can only believe is a fake.

 

Even if they were giving the copies away at a free admission event or simply handing them out gratis to people on the street, it still infringes on the Arneson family's rights. Infringement does not have to involve money changing hands — the law is about publication and distribution. One would think that in this situation, ethics demand transparency and cooperation at the very least.

 

The Estate of David Arneson's goal is to promote and protect the legacy of the co-creator of the game that has changed so many lives for the better — and help that legacy continue into the future for all gamers, David's children, and his grandchildren. Studio Ink Bat claims they are honoring Dave's legacy but are instead doing the same thing to Dave Arneson in death as many did to him in life by exploiting properties that are not theirs (Blackmoor and Arneson's name).

 

For those going to Gencon, who have paid up front to play in an actual Dave Arneson adventure, our advice is simple: Buyer Beware! It is up to you as individuals to decide if attending a NOT BLACKMOOR event has value to you.

 

Again, the Estate and the Arneson family are excited to discover a new Arneson Blackmoor setting - assuming it is real. Thus, we are more than happy to review the manuscript, but Studio Ink Bat has chosen to be unethical in our estimation.

 

Chris Graves Authorized Representative and Bridge Troll for the Estate of David Arneson, LLC © 2024 Estate of David Arneson, LLC.

Stay tuned for future updates.

-Havard 

Blackmoor Trademark and Greyhawk Speculation by Semora Verreault and Tenkar

The situation of the Blackmoor Trademark came up in a recent episode on the Vlog of Many Things Youtube Channel. The episode was hosted by Don Semora (Wizard Tower Games), Thomas Verreault and Erik Tenkar and was hosted on the channels of each of the participants. While the video includes discussion about a wide range of topics of less relevance to this blog, but the subject of Blackmoor comes up when  Tenkar brings up the removal of the name Blackmoor from the Greyhawk map of the upcoming Dungeon Master's Guide. The part of the video that is relevant here starts around the 52 minute mark.)

Back in June, I talked about how WotC are now using the name Arn for this part of Greyhawk.Tenkar says he suspects the change was made due to some concern for the Arneson Estate, but the video also brings up possible non-legal reasons for the change. Verrault, however says the recent history of the Blackmoor Trademark is more complicated than that, explaining that the reason the Blackmoor Trademark was not returned to WotC during the recent nuTSR lawsuit where WotC as the defending party apparently won back most of their Trademarks and Icons. He says the reason why the Blackmoor Trademark was not part of this deal is because prior to this lawsuit, nuTSR had somehow "gifted" the Trademark to the Arneson Estate. 

Verrault then goes on to tell a story in which he talked to one of the producers of the Secrets of Blackmoor documentary (presumably Griff Morgan) about the rights to Blackmoor products like Supplement II: Blackmoor in which the producer had given the mysterious answer "we'll see". This lead Verreault to suspect that the Estate (for which the Secrets of Blackmoor producers acts as spokepersons) were planning on awaiting the results of the nuTSR lawsuit and possibly suing WotC themselves (note: this is Verreault speculating). The youtubers then goes on to explain why suing WotC is a bad idea especially over IP that they are keeping in print and selling the items on DrivethruRPG (which includes multiple Blackmoor products). 

When towards the end of the video Griff Morgan actually shows up in the chat section and is asked about the Trademark situation, Morgan says the  and when the youtubers ask him about why WotC have changed the name on the Greyhawk Map, Morgan simply states that the Blackmoor Trademark is owned by the Arneson Estate (it is in fact still listed as pending). 

While some of the content in this video is speculation, but it is nonetheless interesting to follow the discussion.  Blackmoor continues to be a topic of interest to fans, that is for sure. 

-Havard

New Blackmoor T shirt from WotC on Amazon (Fake Story

This story has been debunked. The WotC store did not link to this clothes store on Amazon. Hopefully someone takes care of this.  

A friend sent me a link to this long sleeve t shirt sold on Amazon. The store says the clothes are officially lisenced from Wizards of the Coast.

Officially Licensed Dungeons & Dragons Apparel for Women - Men - Boys - Girls - Toddler; D&D 50th Anniversary T-Shirts; Hasbro T-Shirts; Wizards of the Coast; RPG; Role Playing Game; Fantasy; Adventure; Monsters; Magic; 20 Sided Dice; Blackmoor; Vintage;

This is interesting given the discussion of ownership of the Blackmoor name and logo. 

I have to say I love the text on the shirt saying "It started with Blackmoor". 

For some reason, I am unable to  to click buy on this product. Does it mean the shirt is not available yet?

-Havard

Age of the Wolf not Sanctioned by Estate Morgan Says

Edit: I just talked to a source within Ink Bat Studios. They have clarified that the Age of the Wolf Sourcebook was not written by Dave Arneson: "like all but one of the Blackmoor supplements during the 3e and 4e eras, Dave did not write any of the book. He simply oversaw and approved it. We're just trying to honor Dave's own wishes and make sure he's not forgotten." They also says that from their perspective, Ink Bat's contact with Fellowship of the Thing (Griffith Morgan and Chris Graves) was just established and that they were still trying to make a deal. They were surprised that Fellowship contacted myself and other bloggers before negtotiations were finalized. Lets hope this is all just a misunderstanding and that things can be cleared up!

Yesterday we were excited to report that the legendary sourcebook Blackmoor Age of the Wolf will be released by Ink Bat Studio this August. The Age of the Wolf sourcebook was a project started during the 3E and 4E eras when Dave Arneson's company Zeitgeist Games and later their partners Code Monkey Press wanted to develop a new subsetting for Blackmoor. The manuscript along with a lot of illustrations were completed when Dave passed away and WotC announced that the Blackmoor lisence had been rewoked. This marked the end of Zeitgeist Games venturing into RPG publishing. 

What happened to the Age of the Wolf manuscript since then is not yet known, but I have confirmation that some of those working on Age of the Wolf are currently involved with Ink Bat Studios. Some of the designers involved have a long list of credits working in the industry and the final Blackmoor sourcebook, dubbed Blackmoor: The First Campaign was highly acclaimed by fans of newer and older editions. It is possible that they have spent all these years seeking to find a way to get the manuscript published. 

According to Griffith Morgan from the company Fellowship of the Thing (Secrets of Blackmoor Documentary, Tonisborg Sourcebook), Ink Bat Studios will not be allowed to publish Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf. "It is not sanctioned by the Estate", Morgan says. "If this is Arneson material it belongs to [Arneson's daughter]. They cannot use the Blackmoor Trade [Mark]. Wthout the family's permission, they cannot put Dave Arneson's name on it." I have not yet been able to get confirmation from the family, but Morgan says his company are operating under a lisence from the Estate.

Griffith Morgan as he appeared on Wandering DM's Youtube Channel three years ago. 

Morgan says Ink Bat Studios have been in contact with both the Estate and Fellowship of the Thing. Morgan says his company would love to publish the manuscript, but according to Morgan, no agreement was reached. 

Legalities about Blackmoor have always been complicated. Although I am no expert on these matters It is important to realize that Trade Marks and IP are two separate issues. An entity called the Arneson Estate LLC has made claim to the Blackmoor Trademark, but the Trademark registry status is still listed as pending, although an extension was granted on Feb 1. 2024. WotC also claim to own the Blackmoor Trademark through continued publication of PDF and Print material. 

When it comes to Blackmoor IP, things are even more complicated as multiple parties have supported Blackmoor across the years. 

For the sake of fans, many of us have been waiting for this source book since we first heard about the concept in the early 2000s, let us hope that some solution can be found so that we can finally see what this book was about. Before we know more, it is dangerous to speculate too much.

-Havard

Blackmoor Trademark Claimed by Arneson Estate Documentary Makers Say

The company known as The Fellowship of the Thing, creators of the documentary Secrets of Blackmoor  are looking to expand their business into the RPG industry. Recently, they published a new version of the RPG sourcebook "Greg Svenson's Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg", which first appeared in published form as part of the Secrets of Blackmoor Kickstarter.

A few days ago, a more widely available Softcover version of the Tonisborg book was released. On their website, it now says that Tonisborg is an official Blackmoor Setting and that the company is operating under a license owned by the Estate of David Arneson.  

 Published by The Fellowship of the Thing, Ltd. Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. Printed in the U.S.A. ​ BLACKMOOR™ is a trademark of the Estate of David Arneson, LLC. Used under license

Now, ownership of Blackmoor has always been complicated.

Blackmoor was first mentioned in published form in the foreword of the 1974 Dungeons & Dragons ruleset and 1975's D&D Supplement II - Blackmoor. Wizards of the Coast continues to sell these books as well as the old DA series of Blackmoor modules through Drivethru RPG in PDF and Print Format. Meanwhile Zeitgeist Games continues to sell PDFs of the D20 Blackmoor books on the same website. Judges Guild has also had some claim over Blackmoor as publishers of The First Fantasy Campaign, though it is possible that this was settled with Dave Arneson before his passing. 

I have recently learned that the Trademark for Blackmoor was published for opposition on June 13th. That is more than 30 days ago, meaning any party that would be interested in contesting this ownership should have done so by now. Recently WotC has shown an increased willingness to protect its interests through legal measures, though it should also be noted that WotC has expressed a desire to stay on friendly terms with the Gygax and Arneson families. It is also worth mentioning that Fellowship of the Thing have proven themselves not to be troublemakers and have stayed far away from tresspassing on material that could be copyrighted to other companies.

Copyright and Trademark are often confused (sometimes apparently intentionally), but from that I understand as a non-lawyer is that copyright refers to the contents of the material rather than specific brand names etc. The Estate of David Arneson nay likely claim ownership of material created by Dave Arneson that was never published by other companies. It will be interesting to see if more material originating from Dave or his gaming group will appear from Fellowship of the Thing in the future.

As always, the author of this blog remains supportive of the Arneson family and those seeking to promote the legacy of Dave Arneson and his gaming group who did so much for our hobby.

More discussion of this article here

-Havard

Blackmoor to be Revived by Vampire: The Masquerade Creator

Totally manipulated photo. :D

It has been fairly quiet on the Blackmoor front for a while, and then last night, May 11 2015, the following was announced via the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Facebook Page:

" BREAKING NEWS: Gaming icon Mark Rein-Hagen (creator of the World of Darkness, Ars Magica) is returning to roleplaying games, and has expressed interest in putting out the first new Blackmoor material in years! "

Mark Rein-Hagen should be a well known name to anyone who is interested in the gaming industry. He started out co-designing the classic RPG Ars Magica and later went on to create Vampire the Masquerade at the World of Darkness Setting. His influence reached way beyond the  world or RPG design, with the World of Darkness influencing Tru Blood, the Underworld movies and beyond.

Ever since Dave Arneson passed away 2008, there has been alot of speculation on the possibilities of seeing Blackmoor back in print. Many have suggested that it would be legally difficult to make this happen. However, Rein-Hagen is certainly serious about his intent to get Blackmoor back into published form as he made this comment for the Blackmoor Blog:

"I am a huge fan [of Blackmoor] and always have been. Was fortunate enough to meet him when I was a kid. We are going to do everything we can to bring his world back into publication."

Also involved in the project is CA Suleiman and the rest of the team at Mark Rein-Hagen's company Make-Believe Games. In addition to being a well-known game designer for White Wolf's World of Darkness games and the Scarred Lands (Sword & Sorcery Imprint), Suleiman was also heavily involved in the design of the previous iteration of Blackmoor, including the never released Age of the Wolf subsetting.



More details here.



-Havard