Elite: Dangerous pen-and-paper RPG stymied by intellectual property dispute

Enlarge / Time for a saving throw. (credit: Spidermind Games)

Late Friday evenings, backers of the Elite: Dangerous tabletop role playing game received a cryptic e-mail from Kickstarter explaining that the almost-complete crowdfunding campaign had been suspended, pending the resolution of an intellectual property dispute. The message read:

Hello,
This is a message from Kickstarter’s Integrity team. We’re writing to inform you that a project you backed, Elite: Dangerous Role Playing Game (ED RPG), is the subject of an intellectual property dispute.

The project has been removed from public view until the dispute is resolved, which can take up to 30 days. The project’s funding and the countdown to its deadline have been stopped. If the project becomes available again, the countdown will continue and the new deadline will extend past the original deadline for as much time as the project was unavailable. You can find out more by reading our Copyright Policy and our Trademark Policy.

Original deadline
Wed, Feb 15 2017 6:46 am EST

Time remaining if project becomes available
4 days

Your pledge is currently still active. If you’d like to manage your pledge or reach out to the creator directly, you can still do so through the project page.

We reached out to designer Spidermind Games for comment. Spidermind informed Ars that the complaint was lodged by Chris Jordan, apparently acting for Ian Bell, or at least on behalf of a LLP bearing Bell’s name. Bell is the co-creator of the original 1984 Elite.

Ars obtained a copy of a statement issued by Jordan to Spidermind Games, which reads as follows: