magicleague1.jpgMaybe I’m overreacting a bit, but I’m fairly disappointed with Wizards of the Coast. In a cease and desist letter to Magic League in mid-April, WotC has made a variety of vague requests that essentially boil down to: you’re hosting tournaments, which confuses people and makes them think we’re the same company. Ignoring the overt silliness of such a claim, the letter particularly hones in on the two programs Magic League uses to facilitate online play, Magic Workstation and Apprentice, calling the programs “unauthorized” in addition to more typical claims of intellectual property infringement. Magic League is taking the high road and making some changes (like removing WotC artwork and posting clear notices indicating their lack of affiliation), but this is a pretty heavy handed approach to a problem where the law isn’t entirely clear (while IANAL applies, it seems highly unlikely that WotC can actually ban a card playing program that implements their non-copyrighted components and doesn’t ship with any of their material!).