AEON TO BECOME TRINITY
From White Wolf's Press Release
Press Release
For Immediate Release
11/6/97
TRINITY
to Become New Title For White Wolf Science-Fiction RPG .
Two weeks after the launch of ÆON,
the new science-fiction game, White Wolf has received notification
that Viacom International Inc.'s MTV Networks division has filed
a lawsuit against White Wolf in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that White
Wolf's use of "ÆON" is a violation of Viacom's
rights to its mark "AEON FLUX" and constitutes trademark
infringement.
According to Stephan Wieck, White Wolf
president, "While we do not agree that White Wolf has infringed
any rights of Viacom, we are currently in discussions with Viacom
to resolve the matter. While we are engaged in these discussions,
White Wolf has voluntarily elected to temporarily withhold further
shipments of all ÆON products, and we are requesting that
retailers and distributors temporarily pull the product from
their shelves."
One result of an agreement between Viacom
and White Wolf will be that White Wolf will re-title the ÆON
game and product line to TRINITY. White Wolf anticipates
sending out labels to retailers by November 13th that will feature
the TRINITY logo. Retailers will be asked to cover the "ÆON"
name on the cover of the Limited Edition ÆON rulebook with
the labels. This alteration will apply to only the plastic-cover,
Limited Edition copies of ÆON. Subsequent printings of
the hardcover, unlimited edition will be printed under the new
TRINITY name. Retailers with questions should contact their distributors
for more information, or may call White Wolf.
"We are able to comteplate such
a change to the Limited Edition ÆON book because
it does not diminish the quality of the book. The plastic cover
of the Limited Edition was designed to not only withstand a lifetime
of player use, but was designed with the intention of applying
select sticker labels to it. Adding a new TRINITY label should
not affect the appearance of the book, and certainly will not
affect the quality of the game," Stephan Wieck added.
Other than a short, 10-day delay in
sales of the core rulebook, there will be no change in the current
schedule of support books for White Wolf's science-fiction game,
other than to remove "ÆON" from any supplement
titles and to replace it with the new TRINITY name.
More information will be forthcoming
as an agreement with Viacom is reached.
Due to this change, White Wolf's ÆON Website has been taken
down. The TRINITY website is already up and running.
When I attended Sci-Con in Virginia Beach on Sunday, November
11, I met with Andrew Bates and learned a little more. It appears
that the agreement with Viacom will allow White Wolf to continue
to use the Aeon Trinity within the text of the game, but will
they will not be allowed to use ÆON
as a title.
Copyright ©
Conrad Hubbard Go
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