Ghamak: Rechtsstreit mit Games Workshop

Games Workshop haben vor einem italienischen Gericht Klage gegen Ghamak eingereicht.

Francesco Pizzo, der Macher hinter Ghamak hat in einem Videostatement seine Sicht der Dinge dargelegt:

Hinzu kommt der folgende Text:

Games Workshop Is Suing Me

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The time has come to break the silence about this.

In early  2023, Games  Workshop reached out to many creators, including me. While GW asked most creators to change some models with details that were almost identical to their designs, I received a different letter. GW demanded that I delete almost all the models in the Ghamak catalogue, claiming that my models were breaching their copyright. However, GW did not provide the list of specific models to be removed and did not explain how the models were infringing their Intellectual Property. Additionally, GW asked to hand over sensitive business data and demanded me to sign a contract that, in practice, would prevent me to make new models in the future.

Despite my willingness to find an amicable solution, offering to remove or heavily modify over 30% of the catalogue, GW ignored all my letters. GW took almost 12 months to reply to my first letter, refused to provide a list of infringing models, refused to provide any guidelines for me to assess which models were supposedly infringing their IP, and attempted to have Ghamak’s models removed from Patreon and MyMiniFactory.

After MyMiniFactory refused to remove Ghamak’s models due to the lack of information provided by GW, this controversy escalated to a full lawsuit in January 2025.

Interestingly, the lawsuit (which listed over 1000 models), did not include any copyright infringement claim, but was framed as “unfair competition”, claiming in substance that creating models compatible with GW’s games is illegal per se. This last statement is a real threat to hundreds of companies that create miniatures for the wargaming market.

This isn’t just about me.

If a billion dollar corporation can declare generic skeletons, alien bugs, futuristic tanks, dwarves and orcs, or landsknecht inspired soldiers “counterfeit,” every independent sculptor, as well as your freedom to buy or print the models you want, hangs in the balance.

We want the regulators to clarify where their IP rights end and whether GW is legally allowed to prevent the sale of models compatible with their games. Once these limits are clear, everyone will be free to create models without the fear of receiving unilateral demands by GW.

For all these reasons, as well as my own battle to continue to work in this field and provide for my family, I am raising funds to fight back, set a precedent, and keep the creative doors of tabletop wargaming open.

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Please share and support us in this fight.

In einem weiteren Update wurden Teile der Klageschrift veröffentlicht:

Anmerkung der Redaktion:

Die Einschätzung, dass Games Workshop keine klassische Copyrightklage vorgelegt haben, sondern behaupten, dass der Verkauf von Modellen, die für GW-Spiele genutzt werden können, generell verboten sein sollte („claiming in substance that creating models compatible with GW’s games is illegal per se“), ist zumindest zweifelhaft. Bereits der erste Klagepunkt bezieht sich direkt auf Verstöße gegen GW-Trademarks und alle weiteren Punkte (auch der, der sich auf die „unfair competition“ bezieht), bauen darauf auf.

Sollte die Einschätzung von Ghamak zutreffen, wäre das definitiv ein gefährliches und sehr willkürlich definierbares Signal an unsere Branche, aber ob dies wirklich so ist, wagen wir auf Basis dieser Faktenlage nicht abzuschätzen.

Wir bleiben deshalb weiter am Ball und beobachten die Sache. Haltet uns gerne auch auf dem Laufenden, wenn Euch Dinge über den Weg laufen.

Quelle: Ghamak