Hasbro vs. Rutter
Hasbro v. Rutter was a lawsuit filed by Wizards of the Coast's parent company in response to the leak of unreleased proprietary information. The defendant, Daron Rutter, known online as rancored_elf, had been an administrator and moderator on MTGNews and MTG Salvation, and had established a reputation by sharing information about upcoming Magic products.
Description
On January 19, 2006, Hasbro filed suit against Rutter, accusing him of sharing Wizards' proprietary information in the form of playtest cards. At the same time, they submitted a DMCA claim with MTG Salvation's hosting company, demanding the removal of the same information.[1][2][3] Wizards of the Coast attempted to obtain summary judgment for an injunction against Rutter barring him from discussing Wizards' non-public materials, as well as an award of $90,000 ($136,000 in 2023). Rutter received pro bono legal assistance from Jay Shergill, a lawyer and fellow MTG Salvation user known as Haloscope.
In April 2006, the case was settled out of court. The terms of the settlement are sealed, and in a statement on the MTG Salvation forums, Rutter said that he is "no longer interested in hearing any information about Wizards' products that aren't already publicly available".[4][5]
References
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (2006-01-19). "Wizards of the Coast Takes Legal Action". Archived from the original on 2009-06-04.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 19, 2006). "Law and Order". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 02, 2006). "Timeshifting Into Gear". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Daron Rutter (2006-02-18). "Wizards of the Coast vs. Daron Rutter: An Update". MTGSalvation.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
- ↑ Daron Rutter (2006-04-06). "Wizards vs. rancored_elf: the Resolution". MTGSalvation.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.