This year, Games Workshop seems to be more known for suing its fans than creating its wargames, as it has initiated lawsuits against several YouTube influencers who promote Warhammer 40,000 over IP infringement. Now, miniature sculptor and fan creator GHAMAK opened a GoFundMe to fight against their incessant lawfare.
Games Workshop has a penchant for aggressive lawfare, suing creators and fans as much as possible over IP infringement for decades, of this kind of anti-creative push from the company. Author M.C.A. Hogarth first drew headlines having to fight a legal battle for the term “space marine,” which Games Workshop claimed was their proprietary property, despite not creating the term nor popularizing it, but ironically, appropriating it themselves.
Almost all of Warhammer 40,000 and Fantasy lore is something that is ripped off of some other IP, ironically, as they’ve thrown together a mash-up of fantasy and science fiction in a grimdark setting. This year, they’ve opened up lawsuits against several fans selling similar merch from their influencer channels. While many are simply removing the merch, GHAMAK is fighting back and opening a GoFundMe to do so.
He is an Italian miniature sculptor who does his own 3D modeling and making some great work. GHAMAK became a full-time miniature sculpting operation, and they required him to remove 90% of his catalog, claiming IP infringement, and also that they’d sign away creative rights for the future. GHAMAK has its own ruleset on its website, and though some people may use the miniatures for Warhammer 40,000, they are not selling them explicitly as such. Now, they’ve taken him to court, claiming he was engaging in “unfair competition.”
They don’t want people 3D printing their own models that are compatible with their games more than anything, because they know they can’t compete with a lot of the creativity out there.
His GoFundMe states:
The time has come to break the silence about this.
In early 2023, Games Workshop reached out to many creators, including me. While GW asked most creators to change some models with details that were almost identical to their designs, I received a different letter. GW demanded that I delete almost all the models in the Ghamak catalogue, claiming that my models were breaching their copyright. However, GW did not provide the list of specific models to be removed and did not explain how the models were infringing their Intellectual Property. Additionally, GW asked to hand over sensitive business data and demanded me to sign a contract that, in practice, would prevent me to make new models in the future.
Despite my willingness to find an amicable solution, offering to remove or heavily modify over 30% of the catalogue, GW ignored all my letters. GW took almost 12 months to reply to my first letter, refused to provide a list of infringing models, refused to provide any guidelines for me to assess which models were supposedly infringing their IP, and attempted to have Ghamak’s models removed from Patreon and MyMiniFactory.
After MyMiniFactory refused to remove Ghamak’s models due to the lack of information provided by GW, this controversy escalated to a full lawsuit in January 2025.
Interestingly, the lawsuit (which listed over 1000 models), did not include any copyright infringement claim, but was framed as “unfair competition”, claiming in substance that creating models compatible with GW’s games is illegal per se. This last statement is a real threat to hundreds of companies that create miniatures for the wargaming market.
This isn’t just about me.
If a billion dollar corporation can declare generic skeletons, alien bugs, futuristic tanks, dwarves and orcs, or landsknecht inspired soldiers “counterfeit,” every independent sculptor, as well as your freedom to buy or print the models you want, hangs in the balance.
We want the regulators to clarify where their IP rights end and whether GW is legally allowed to prevent the sale of models compatible with their games. Once these limits are clear, everyone will be free to create models without the fear of receiving unilateral demands by GW.
For all these reasons, as well as my own battle to continue to work in this field and provide for my family, I am raising funds to fight back, set a precedent, and keep the creative doors of tabletop wargaming open.
This aggressive attempt to shut down a miniature sculptor is par for the course for the company that’s very anti-competitive and anti-fan in nature over last several years. It’s a disgrace that this can happen, and it’s our hope that GHAMAK can overcome this.
I’m putting out a trilogy of some of the best science fiction in years, bringing back the sense of wonder and exploration to the genre. The crowdfund is open now, and if you miss what sci-fi used to be, this is the series for you. Back it today.
NEXT: Magic: The Gathering Champion Banned from Tournament Over Allegedly Wearing A MAGA Hat
I'm all for defending one's own property, but the way GW has been handling this since ages is simply shameful. Fighting their own community for imaginary infringements is so pathetic it beggars belief. That they go out of their way to ruin small creators and their livelihood, who pretty much do 90% of GW's PR, is the lowest of the low. A few centuries back the CEO and main legal counsel would have long been gone after any of the duels they would have faced.
Oh, and trying to trademark generic words should not only be illegal, it should carry a hefty penalty for anyone attempting it. In the same way composing words into sentences can never be covered by any copyright law that would even remotely make sense.