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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →In September 2022, Wizards of the Coast asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to block publication of Star Frontiers: New Genesis, a tabletop space-opera roleplaying game then in development at TSR LLC. The request was a motion for a preliminary injunction, filed inside a dispute that had already started in December 2021, so it was not the first court filing between the two sides. Wizards based the motion on trademark and intellectual-property rights it says it holds, and argued that the game’s content could damage its reputation. The court later denied the motion. A docket-history index also records dismissals in May 2024 that treated the two sides’ claims differently. The most recent entry this article can verify is from May 2024, so anything after that date is outside its scope.
What Wizards asked the court to do
A preliminary injunction is a temporary court order issued before a case is decided. Its purpose is to keep the situation from changing while the court looks at the claims. In federal court, the party asking for one generally has to show that it is likely to succeed on its claims and that it would suffer harm that money damages could not adequately repair. GeekWire, which reported the motion on September 12, 2022, described Wizards’ request as an effort to stop publication and distribution of the game.
The game had leaked online as a preview copy in July 2022, and GeekWire reported that it drew controversy. In its filing, Wizards argued that publication using its trademarks would cause irreparable harm. GeekWire quoted the filing this way:
“it ‘would be irreparably harmed by the publication and distribution of the game using its trademarks because consumers may mistakenly associate Wizards with the reprehensible content of the game, damaging its reputation and goodwill and undermining its efforts to foster a culture that embraces diversity.’”
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That sentence is one side’s argument in support of the relief it requested. It is not a finding by the court.
The content allegations
Much of the public attention focused on claims that the game’s content was racist and transphobic. As GeekWire described it, those claims come from Wizards’ filing. The filing pointed to examples that it attributed to a playtest, and it alleged that the game’s rules barred transgender characters. The reporting does not describe TSR LLC’s answer to those specific examples.
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These are allegations, and the court’s orders described in the docket index do not reproduce any finding that the content is as Wizards characterized it. Anyone repeating the claims should attribute them to Wizards’ filing.
The competing claims over TSR and Star Frontiers
The disagreement over rights predates the injunction request. TSR LLC filed a complaint on December 29, 2021, which appears in a USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board record. The complaint asks for a declaration that Wizards does not own certain trademark and copyright rights. Because it is a party’s pleading, its statements are allegations. Wizards’ side, as GeekWire reported it, rests on a 1997 acquisition and on licensed use of the TSR mark. The table below sets the two positions side by side.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match| Issue | TSR LLC (December 29, 2021 complaint) | Wizards of the Coast (as reported from its filing) |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership of the TSR name and marks | Asks for a declaration that Wizards does not own the relevant trademark and copyright rights | Says it acquired the TSR name, logo and intellectual property when it purchased TSR in 1997 |
| Star Frontiers | Not stated in the reporting or docket entries cited here | Says Star Frontiers was included in the intellectual property it acquired in 1997 |
| Use and registration of the marks | Alleges that Wizards did not maintain registrations or use certain marks, and that TSR had repeatedly been told to stop registering, using or promoting them | Says it licensed the TSR mark and related Dungeons & Dragons intellectual property to OneBookShelf, whose sales of TSR-marked products continued from December 2012 |
Timeline as recorded in the cited sources
| Date | Event | Where it is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| December 29, 2021 | TSR LLC files its complaint seeking a declaration on trademark and copyright ownership | USPTO TTAB record containing the complaint |
| July 2022 | A preview copy of New Genesis leaks online and draws criticism | GeekWire reporting |
| September 12, 2022 | Wizards files its motion for a preliminary injunction in the Western District of Washington | GeekWire reporting |
| December 14, 2022 | The court denies the preliminary-injunction motion | Docket-history index |
| June 2023 | A bankruptcy stay is entered | Docket-history index; the entry does not describe the stay’s effect on the case |
| May 2024 | Orders dismiss TSR LLC’s claims against Wizards with prejudice and dismiss Wizards’ counterclaims without prejudice | Docket-history index |
What the denial and the 2024 dismissals do and do not mean
Denying a preliminary injunction means the court did not grant the temporary order Wizards requested. It does not decide who owns the disputed marks, and it does not decide whether the game’s content is actionable. The docket index does not describe the court’s reasoning.
The May 2024 orders treated the two sides differently. A dismissal with prejudice generally bars the same claims from being filed again. A dismissal without prejudice generally leaves the claims open to refiling. Under the index’s description, TSR LLC’s claims were closed in the first way and Wizards’ counterclaims in the second. The docket index does not reproduce the orders, so this coverage cannot explain the reasons for the different treatment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Older Star Frontiers products and New Genesis
Star Frontiers is an older property, and New Genesis is the newer title whose publication was challenged. GeekWire reported that Wizards’ filing described licensed sales of older TSR-marked products, including Star Frontiers, through OneBookShelf. Readers looking for the older game should check retailers directly, because the reporting does not confirm any current listing. The coverage cited here describes New Genesis as in development in 2022 and does not report that it was released.
Several questions are therefore outside what is established:
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- Whether New Genesis was ever published, and in what form.
- Whether any Star Frontiers product is currently available for purchase.
- Who would ultimately own the disputed TSR and Star Frontiers marks, since no ownership ruling appears in the record described here.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
