The Witcher Author Andrzej Sapkowski Reportedly Settles With CD Projekt Red For Less Than He Bargained For

[Raevenlord]

Remember when we brought you news that The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski was looking for payment in the order of 6% of total The Witcher profits from CD Projekt Red? At the time, CD Projekt Red made it clear that they thought their contractual obligations had been fulfilled - which meant that Sapkowski's decision to accept a lump-sum payment instead of a percentage on the profits was his own.

Well, news is circulating that the parties have reached a silent, under the table agreement, much like Sapkowski initially wanted. It remains unclear whether CD Projekt Red's lawyers actually saw some merit on the author's claims, or if the studio just wanted to avoid any sort of bad press that could be associated with these developments. Choosing to focus on the studio's well-being and not being driven into a conflict with the author of the universe they were built upon certainly wouldn't boost morale in the studio. With the money the studio has garnered from all its investments, it's likely a "pay and forget" stance was enacted, though for less than the initial $16 million Sapkowski was looking for.



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[64K]

He's fortunate that CDPR is giving him any more money at all. He was the one to underestimate The Witcher games potential success and wanted a lump sum instead of a percentage.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I wish I could just go rehash all the bad deals I've made too.. If they told him to sod off I wouldn't really care. I wouldn't look at CDPR any different.

 

[Space Lynx]

I wish I could just go rehash all the bad deals I've made too.. If they told him to sod off I wouldn't really care. I wouldn't look at CDPR any different.

yeah CDPR actually lost a little respect from me on this... they made a deal signed contract - he chose lump sum over percentage because he did not have faith in its success, and that's that...

heh. I would have never gave in and given him a dime more than the lump sum, he had no legal right to it.

 

[jabbadap]

yeah CDPR actually lost a little respect from me on this... they made a deal signed contract - he chose lump sum over percentage because he did not have faith in its success, and that's that...

heh. I would have never gave in and given him a dime more than the lump sum, he had no legal right to it.

Alas, but he has by Polish legal system.

 

[mouacyk]

yeah CDPR actually lost a little respect from me on this... they made a deal signed contract - he chose lump sum over percentage because he did not have faith in its success, and that's that...

heh. I would have never gave in and given him a dime more than the lump sum, he had no legal right to it.

That's because you got some common sense. CDPR is right to fear the internet social mob, in order to protect its long term profitability -- especially when Cyberpunk is so deep in development.

 

[notb]

Alas, but he has by Polish legal system.

Not really. There's an article that he intended to use, but it was impossible to win in a court.

The article states that a deal like this one can be reopen if the payment is inappropriately low. What is "inappropriate" is left to court interpretation, but it is usually applied to cases where the author didn't have full information (he didn't know how much something is worth, ideally: he was misinformed by the buyer).

This is not the case with The Witcher. At the time of the deal Sapkowski was already a renowned writer in Poland. CDPR was the largest game distributor, but had no game creation experience.
Few years earlier Sapkowski had already sold Witcher rights to another studio, but the game was canceled due to little interest.
As a result, it's quite understandable that he didn't believe in game success (or even: being finished).
In both cases Sapkowski asked a sum close to average yearly salary in Poland.

On the other hand...

yeah CDPR actually lost a little respect from me on this...

Try to understand the situation. You know CDPR as the big company behind a very popular game. Sapkowski may seem like a random, anonymous guy - just like all those Hollywood screenwriters that no one remembers.

However, in Poland Sapkowski is almost a legend - the second most popular fantasy author. The whole generation of 20-30 year olds grew up reading books about the Witcher. He's most likely also very respected among CDPR employees, so it was also a matter of their morale for sure.
So you may have lost a little respect, but in Poland (and among Sapkowski fans abroad) this will be seen as the right move.

 

[Ubersonic]

yeah CDPR actually lost a little respect from me on this... they made a deal signed contract - he chose lump sum over percentage because he did not have faith in its success, and that's that...

Except that it isn't that, because the law is written specifically to protect people from situations like this and so CDPR had no choice but to increase his royalties to a fair amount (not saying I approve of it, people shouldn't need safety nets to stop them losing out because they have no faith in their work).

 

[Vya Domus]

He's fortunate that CDPR is giving him any more money at all.

That's right, he should be lucky CDPR gave him any more money for the use of his intellectual property which is literally the foundation of this game series. How can you be so convinced he didn't deserve more ?

I am always amazed by the sort of stuff hardcore CDRP fans say. CDRP is apparently physically unable to do anything wrong.

 

[ZeppMan217]

That's right, he should be lucky CDPR gave him any more money for the use of his intellectual property which is literally the foundation of this game series. How can you so convinced he didn't deserve more ?

I am always amazed by the sort of stuff hardcore CDRP fans say. CDRP is apparently physically unable to do anything wrong.

You do know that the reason he sold the rights to make Witcher games indefinitely was because he thought the studio would fail and he'd just get some quick cash? He pulled a reverse George Lucas and then got "upset" because of his own shortsightedness, and you're saying he should be validated because of it?

 

[Vya Domus]

You do know that the reason he sold the rights to make Witcher games indefinitely was because he thought the studio would fail and he'd just get some quick cash? He pulled a reverse George Lucas and then got "upset" because of his own shortsightedness, and you're saying he should be validated because of it?

I am saying it's bizarre to immediately jump to the conclusion that he definitely doesn't have the right to do this.

Do you know what contracts he signed and their details ? Do you know what they discussed prior to that and how whether or not he might have been misled/manipulated into taking certain decisions by CDRP and how any of this would weigh in court ? If anything the fact that they apparently settled on their own indicates CDRP might be trying to avoid something a lot messier than it seems at first sight.

 

[notb]

Except that it isn't that, because the law is written specifically to protect people from situations like this and so CDPR had no choice but to increase his royalties to a fair amount (not saying I approve of it, people shouldn't need safety nets to stop them losing out because they have no faith in their work).

It's not (I've described this above).
The article that was used here is meant to protect artists who may not understand the value of their creations. Artists may not understand finance and may not know the market very well. Someone may say that it's against artists' nature to care about money.
Anyway, Sapkowski understood the situation very well. The sum he got was, by all means, fair at the time. As mentioned above: he already did it once and the game wasn't even released.

That's right, he should be lucky CDPR gave him any more money for the use of his intellectual property which is literally the foundation of this game series. How can you be so convinced he didn't deserve more ?

Foundation?
The story is clearly a "foundation" of any game, but not necessarily a foundation of the success.
Being based on a book famous in Poland surely helped locally, but what really rocketed these games to global fame was a combination of graphics and playing mechanics in second and, especially, third installment.
Witcher 1 wasn't very successful (CDPR almost went bankrupt after the release) despite being based on the same story. I read somewhere that more Witcher 1 copies were sold after the Witcher 3 success (via GOG and alike) than before.

Also, keep in mind Sapkowski wasn't harmed by the game success. Sales of his books exploded, he got some awards and distinctions that most likely wouldn't happen without the game. And he certainly negotiated a nice fee for the upcoming Netflix series.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

CDPR didn't expect it to be a run away success either. It's only right that the IP owner get in on some of that success too--at least until it is public domain. I'm sure both parties are happy with whatever was agreed to. Sapkowski doesn't feel cheated every time he hears about the Witcher games and CDPR maintains a good relation with him should he write something new and CDPR wants to make a game out of it.

 

[Ubersonic]

It's not (I've described this above).

It is, this was a legal slam dunk from his lawyers POV, CDPR didn't really have any option other than to settle (which in fairness is what the author wanted).

You're right that it's for the court to decide how much the royalties owed should be, however when a company makes hundreds of millions based on an author's work then the court isn't going to decide he's only owed $5 lol.

It's also worth remembering that the article 44 statutory requirement for his royalties to be increased in line with what CDPR made wasn't the only legal cannon pointed at CDPR if this had gone to court, there is also the article 45 case that because the contract never specified it covered additional uses of the IP (such as Witcher 2, Witcher 3, Witcher TV series, et al) there was unpaid royalties due for these subsequent uses. In some ways CDPR should be thankfully he was only looking for fair payment for his work and not trying to take them for all he could get.

 

[moproblems99]

That's right, he should be lucky CDPR gave him any more money for the use of his intellectual property which is literally the foundation of this game series. How can you be so convinced he didn't deserve more ?

I am always amazed by the sort of stuff hardcore CDRP fans say. CDRP is apparently physically unable to do anything wrong.

I'm a little surprised by your response on this. He only deserves what he obligated himself to get when he signed the contract. When you sign a contract to buy a house and then your area blows up in popularity in two years, should the bank be able to come back to you and adjust the purchase price because your house quadrupled in value and they deserve more?

Had he just signed a percentage in the first place, he would be much happier. Instead, he didn't have faith that the games would turn into anything so he, probably smart at the time, took the option to get a larger sum up front than the though the games would get as a percentage. In retrospect, he made a poor decision and now wants a cut of someone else's pie. When he signed the rights over, it isn't exactly his IP alone anymore.

If anything the fact that they apparently settled on their own indicates CDRP might be trying to avoid something a lot messier than it seems at first sight.

Possibly, but more likely is they are watching a bunch of whiny, internet clowns crap all over 4A and want to avoid it even if they are right. In most cases, no body wins the beauty pageant in a court cases.

CDPR didn't expect it to be a run away success either. It's only right that the IP owner get in on some of that success too--at least until it is public domain. I'm sure both parties are happy with whatever was agreed to. Sapkowski doesn't feel cheated every time he hears about the Witcher games and CDPR maintains a good relation with him should he write something new and CDPR wants to make a game out of it.

This. They don't lose any of my respect for settling this. They may or may not have owed him anything. He may or may not have had legal ground. But, like Ford says, both parties are likely happy and nobody burned any bridges.

 

[Vayra86]

yeah CDPR actually lost a little respect from me on this... they made a deal signed contract - he chose lump sum over percentage because he did not have faith in its success, and that's that...

heh. I would have never gave in and given him a dime more than the lump sum, he had no legal right to it.

Well, this is about creating goodwill on all sides of the table, isn't it. That seems to be the modus operandi for CDPR all over the marketplace. From GOG, to their DRM-free AAA releases, to the amount of (free) post-release DLC the game received. They rely on goodwill to make them money, because it is their unique selling point in this cutthroat world we live in. This is being bigger than Andrzej himself, its about taking the moral high ground instead of fighting over every last penny. After all, its still his setting the game has thrived so much on.

 

[mouacyk]

With the awesome publishing reputation that CDPR has (as mentioned by @Vayra86), I'm more surprised they let it get to this point, where it's already become a public stink (stingy contract dealings aside). Even if they didn't prevent it, at least now they have de-escalated the situation and can focus on delivering a quality Cyberpunk 2077, which is 100% free of Sapkowski's grasp.

 

[Space Lynx]

Yeah, I suppose it all worked out for the best in the end. Morale is important, everyone can move on now, so that is good.

 

[notb]

It is, this was a legal slam dunk from his lawyers POV, CDPR didn't really have any option other than to settle (which in fairness is what the author wanted).

CDPR obviously had the option to go to court and win the case.
I mean no offense, but you should stop these theories and accept the fact that I know polish law better.

You're right that it's for the court to decide how much the royalties owed should be, however when a company makes hundreds of millions based on an author's work then the court isn't going to decide he's only owed $5 lol.

Let's put aside the complicated problem of copyright for a moment. You're literally undermining the whole idea of "trading".
Just a short reminder: sometimes two parties meet, agree on a value of particular good or right and exchange it for money.

Simple fact is: at a time CDPR bought the rights to make the game, Witcher wasn't that hot. Books were popular, but everything else based on this story was pretty meh.
Neither of the sides could have known at the time that these games would become a great hit.

The law that Sapkowski was trying to use here doesn't apply to such cases. It only, and I repeat, ONLY applies to trades done with large information asymmetry.
Imagine a situation where Sapkowski is an immature student or a poor farmer, who somehow wrote a fantastic book and couldn't assess its value properly. A local agency notices it, tells him the story is interesting and it would like to print a few pieces. They pay a little sum. But they would be almost certain that the book will be selling like hot cakes and soon they're making millions. That is the kind of situation the law was designed to prevent (or rather: fix afterwards).

Also, lets just stress one important bit here. The story is great, but CDPR haven't bought the rights to the story. They can't sell books (an expected, fairly safe profit). They only bought the right to make a game based on this story.
And that's a totally different situation simply because not every successful book is turned into a successful game. It's a risk (investment) CDPR was willing to take.

I mean: good meat is a base of a good meat dish, but a particular butcher can't demand additional money just because Gordon Ramsay sold the steak for £100. This is NOT how the world works.

It's also worth remembering that the article 44 statutory requirement for his royalties to be increased in line with what CDPR made wasn't the only legal cannon pointed at CDPR if this had gone to court, there is also the article 45 case that because the contract never specified it covered additional uses of the IP (such as Witcher 2, Witcher 3, Witcher TV series, et al) there was unpaid royalties due for these subsequent uses. In some ways CDPR should be thankfully he was only looking for fair payment for his work and not trying to take them for all he could get.

This is incorrect. At this point I'm not sure if you're a Pole who doesn't understand this law or not a Pole who read something online and is making things up. Care to confess?

The article 45 of polish Act on Copyright concerns something called "fields of exploitation" (direct translation). This is the article:
"Article 45. Unless the contract provides otherwise, the author shall have the right to a separate remuneration for the use of the work in each separate field of exploitation."
A "field of exploitation" is defined as a way to use a particular work. So separate fields of exploitation would be: printing, recording, public showing and so on. So using a book as a basis for a game (or movie) is a field of exploitation. The article says that the copyright transfer agreement must state which fields of exploitation are covered and how much each of them contributes to the total sum.
For example: you're buying the rights to a song in Poland that will allow you to both sell mp3 and play it on the radio. You pay 1, but the contract must say that selling mp3 is worth 0.8 and playing on the radio is 0.2.

CDPR bought the right to use Sapkowski's Witcher story in their games. They can make as many games as they want. But they can't print the book nor make a movie.
And while we're at it: why would CDPR pay royalties for the TV series anyway? They aren't involved.

 

[arnold_al_qadr]

imho, a wise move by cdpr..

 

[lexluthermiester]

imho, a wise move by cdpr..

Have to agree with this. Regardless of who was right or wrong, or even somewhere in between, it was better to resolve the matter peacefully than drag it through the mud.

 

[Deleted member 177333]

If they gave him anything it's more than I would have given him. CDPR wouldn't have had any bad press from most gamers as most gamers would have sided with them in this. Sapkowski is quite simply a fool for choosing to take the lump sum and he needs to own it. So anything CDPR gave him out of this was simply charity as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ernorator]

The whole generation of 20-30 year olds grew up reading books about the Witcher. He's most likely also very respected among CDPR employees, so it was also a matter of their morale for sure.
So you may have lost a little respect, but in Poland (and among Sapkowski fans abroad) this will be seen as the right move.

I'm one of these 20-30 year olds. I started reading witcher back when it was just a story in "fantasy" paper. I was so hyped to meet author of my favorite book after reading first witcher. Oh my dear lord, what an ashole is that guy. Can beleve person so ulikable can spawn books this good.

 

[Shelukindo]

I think it was a wise move regardless of the mistake the author made. The game profits from the universe the author created and it's only morally right that the author should benefit and profit from it.
Mark 8:36
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

 

[medi01]

So, from legal perspective, why did he have rights to it?

Alas, but he has by Polish legal system.

Does he? Sounds weird.