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Intercon B
January 2002, Volume 2, Issue 1

Camarilla Vs. White Wolf

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing?
 by Scott A. Mohnkern, B.A. , J.D
President, Live Action Role Players Association

Update on White Wolf Vs. Camarilla - Feb 5, 2002
The following information has been confirmed through documents available from the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division in papers filed on Feb 5 by the Deputy Clerk.

1. Judge relocated trial to Georgia - Because of the upcoming Olympics, and, the fact that a fair number of the witnesses in this trial were from Georgia, the judge had relocated the trial to the federal district court in Atlanta.

2. The Judge, after further reconsideration, had released the TRO against White Wolf, restraining them from using the name Camarilla.

In addition to transferring the case to Georgia, the Federal Judge in Utah removed the Temporary Restraining Order against White Wolf for the following reasons:

a) After further examination, and discovery that the Camarilla was considering changing its name anyway, the court concluded that any Restraining Order preventing the use of the name, was likely to cause harm to the other party, on an "equal basis."

b) Because of a clause in the original licensing agreement, which, the Camarilla might be held to, Georgia law, instead of Utah law, should be applied, and, the Restraining Order was not based on Georgia Law. In addition, the Utah court didn't feel competent to apply Georgia Restraining Order law in this case.

3. So what does this leave us with?

a) Currently, the case is now in Atlanta. This gives a huge edge to White Wolf, in terms of costs. It's not clear whether the Camarilla can, or is willing, to fight a court battle most of the way across the country.

b) As of now, both the Camarilla, and White Wolf can use the name Camarilla.

Scott Mohnkern
President
LARPA

ORIGINAL INFORMATION:

As we're about to go to press, Mike Young, of Interactivities Ink, notified Larpa-Gen@yahoogroups.com (The LARPA email list) that he had read a statement on another web site indicating that the Camarilla, an organization of White Wolf Players, had "wrestled control" of the name Camarilla from White Wolf, the publishers of Vampire the Masquerade.

Being a lawyer in a previous life, I read intently and then read what the court actually had to say. Gamers who think you can push around publishers, don't get all excited…. yet.

For those of you who have a legal background, you're likely to see a lot of 1) Over simplification of matters, and 2) Explanation that you may not deem necessary. Bear with me for those in our organization that don't live in courtrooms.

A quick summary of the facts:

The Camarilla is an organization in Utah, that is a group of White Wolf "fans" (aka players) of Vampire the Masquerade. They had licensed the right to use the name "Camarilla" from White Wolf. This license expired in 1997, however both White Wolf and The Camarilla have been operating as though the license is still valid.

Recently, White Wolf and The Camarilla concluded that they could not come to an agreement regarding the continuation of the right to use the name "The Camarilla." White Wolf issued a "cease and desist" order. Essentially, White Wolf was notifying The Camarilla that White Wolf "owned" the name Camarilla, and The Camarilla had to stop using it. In addition, White Wolf wanted a bunch of other things, like membership lists, right to control the organization, etc.

On the other side, The Camarilla has in fact filed a Trademark to the name "The Camarilla." However, it occurred after White Wolf coined the term in their publications.

Now, here's where it really gets technical.

The Camarilla requested a court order, called a Temporary Restraining Order, allowing them to continue "business as normal" (meaning to continue to use the name "The Camarilla" until the courts can come to a final conclusion, which could take months, or years).

In order to get a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO in brief), the person who wants it enforced has to establish four things:

  1. They are likely to win the case,
  2. That if the TRO isn't enforced they will suffer "irreparable injury"
  3. Proof that the potential injury caused by not creating the order is greater than that by creating order. (i.e. a choice of least damage)
  4. A showing that issuing the order is not adverse to the public interest. (Don't ask what public interest is; just know that lawyers argue about it all the time).>

The Camarilla was able to show that #'s 2-4 were all true, but they couldn't establish that #1 was true. However the court ruled that if you could establish #'s 2-4, you didn't need to establish #1. So, they ruled to issue the order.

It's important to note, that since The Camarilla could not establish #1, in the long term it's not absolutely clear whether they'll win or lose.

So what does this mean right now, and for the future?

Well, until the court comes to a final decision, White Wolf cannot do any of the following:

  1. Claim to be the Camarilla,
  2. Use any Camarilla "proprietary information" including membership lists,
  3. Solicit volunteers from the Camarilla,
  4. Use the name "The Camarilla" or "Requiem"
  5. Claim to be in control of the corporation called "The Camarilla"

This only lasts until the final court ruling, and then things are likely to change.

The interesting question is, will White Wolf, as of this date, release any new materials/books/publications, knowing that they cannot use the name "The Camarilla" in their documents without getting permission first.

More details, as we get them.

Scott Mohnkern
President
LARPA

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