Warhammer fan-film may never be released due to copyright

Game fans are, once again, foiled by copyright laws. Warhammer 40,000 fan-film, Damnatus, may never see the light of day thanks to German copyright laws.

The Warhammer fan-film based on the popular table-top war game Warhammer 40,000, which is an expansion on the original Warhammer, was four years in production and cost a 10,000 to produce. Production of the film involved elaborate costumes, a cast of 11 main actors and countless extras.

Now, after all the blood, sweat and tears put into the making of the film, Nottingham-based Games Workshop refused to grant the creators of Damnatus permission to show the film in front of an audience, and to do so would be a breach of GW’s copyright.

The problem is not that the boys in Games Workshop are bullies who don’t want the fans to have any fun. Far from it. The reason they have refused to grant the makers of the very expensive and very elaborate fan-film is because they can’t give them permission to show it without signing over the intellectual property of the game to the creators of the movie.

Games Workshop feels if it lost control (lost the IP) of Warhammer 40,000 that it could mean the end of business for the company and says because of this, it must remain vigilant with regard to protecting the intellectual property of Warhammer 40,000.

A full, open letter from the head of the legal department at GW explaining the issues, which led to the rejection of Damnatus and the further banning of an fan-films can be seen at www.forenplanet.de.

Fans have started an online petition to try and convince Games Workshop to allow the film to be released. Warhammer enthusiasts can sign the petition on the Damnatus website or at www.petitiononline.com