Sometimes, Even the Marines Need a Little Help

How MCA Hogarth took on a gaming Goliath... and won

Gather ‘round, young ones! It’s time for a story. Oh, I suppose you older folks can join us as well. I see some of your smiling and nodding already. Likely because you’ve heard this one before. It’s worth retelling though, isn’t it?

It’s the reason why Raconteur Press has a series of Space Marines anthologies. It’s how Three Ravens Publishing was able to put out their Contested Landing stories. It’s the reason publishers like CKP haven’t been turned into dust by the legal equivalent of orbital bombardment.

And it’s all because one wonderful author stood up and told a behemoth of a gaming company to… er, “get lost”. Yes, I see you snickering there in the back. I could use saltier language, but as I’ve pointed out, there are children present.

ANYWAY! Listen up and listen closely as I tell you the story of the time when…

Spots the Space Marine Sent Games Workshop Packing

Spaceships have been part of science fiction since, well, forever. And obviously, if you’re going to have ships in space, they’re going to be run by a space navy. Just as obviously, if you have a space navy, you’re going to have— ta-da!—space marines.

Images of armored soldiers battling extraterrestrial threats in the void of space have been a staple of science fiction almost before the genre had a name. The phrase “space marine” first appeared in Bob Olsen’s 1932 short story “Captain Brink of the Space Marines” (Amazing Stories), and was later used by E.E. “Doc” Smith in his Lensmen series and Robert Heinlein in works like Starship Troopers.

Fast forward to 2012, where indie author M.C.A. Hogarth self-published a novel named Spots the Space Marine. Based on a web serial she did in 2011, the book follows a middle-aged mother-turned-marine named Spots defending against alien invaders in an homage to authors like Smith and Heinlein. She even donated a portion of the book’s proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Enter British gaming behemoth Games Workshop (GW), who looked at this creative use of an incredibly well-known and well-established trope and stated, “This aggression will not stand, man.”

The first shots in the Great Space Marine War were fired in December of 2012. GW filed a complaint with Amazon, alleging that the novel’s title infringed on their trademark for “space marine.”

You see, GW was the creator of the Warhammer 40,000 universe (often abbreviated as WH40K). In 1987 GW introduced genetically enhanced super-soldiers to the setting and called them—you guessed it!—“Space Marines”. Now, in 2012, GW had decided to publish e-books in the WH40K setting. They claimed that their decision to publish e-books extended their common law trademark rights to that name to that format.

At least, according to them.

At the time, their registered trademarks in the US cover board games, war games, toy models, and related items. They also held a broader European trademark that included “printed matter”, though it did not explicitly encompass e-books. Despite the complaint originating from Amazon Kindle Publishing UK, Amazon removed the e-book from sale globally, affecting Hogarth’s primary sales channel. In a strange fit of common sense, since the complaint was purely about the e-book, the print edition remained available and was never blocked.

Yeah, laws are funny that way.

Hogarth detailed the ordeal on her blog, where she was very reasonably annoyed at the financial burden of a potential legal defense. She consulted multiple lawyers specializing in trademark and international law, who estimated that the cost for fighting GW’s legal assertion could reach five figures—far exceeding the book’s earnings.

Hogarth patiently tried to explain the situation to GW both via email and on the phone. As she’s an experienced and capable author, one must presume that she understood her audience, and thus used small words. Very small words. She argued the claim was spurious, citing the term’s origins in 1930s science fiction, preceding GW’s introduction of Space Marines to WH40K by fifty years.

That’s half a century for you old folks keeping score in the back.

Aside from the little problem of trying to copyright a term that’s been in common use for over fifty years, there was the fact that Hogarth’s space marines bore no resemblance to GW’s WH40K soldiers who shared the same name. Instead of grimdark, genetically engineered, all-male soldiers fighting in the far future, her cookie-baking female protagonist was in a near-future setting.

Despite that iron-clad logic, that the company insisted on their “rights”.

The takedown of Spots the Space Marine by Amazon sparked immediate backlash across the internet. Science fiction author Cory Doctorow publicly criticized GW, labeling them “trademark bullies” in The Guardian. Media outlets including Wired, Techdirt, and SiliconANGLE echoed this sentiment, accusing GW of overreaching and stifling creativity. On forums like RPG.net, users decried GW’s actions and urged boycotts of the company.

Then, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) moseyed on over and asked what in tarnation was going on here?

The EFF chimed in, arguing that such claims threaten free speech and online commerce. They didn’t just speak up, either—they put their money where their mouth is, providing Hogarth with legal resources to fight GW’s claims. EFF’s involvement was instrumental in publicizing how third-party platforms like Amazon enable quick takedowns without due process, often under the guise of DMCA-like procedures.

GW backpedaled. Responding via a (now-deleted) Facebook post, they clarified they do not claim ownership of the words in general prose. Despite this, public sentiment against GW continued to mount. Well-known SF bloggers like Alex Shvartsman commented on the case and urged readers to support Hogarth by purchasing her other works.

Then, On February 8, 2013—nearly two months after the removal—Amazon reinstated the e-book following EFF’s intervention and the widespread outcry. At that point, GW did…nothing. They took no further legal action.

And thus ended the Great Space Marine War. Though resolved without court involvement, the whole incident remains a cautionary tale for indie authors navigating IP claims from larger entities…and a warning to those larger entities, as well:

Fans can get testy when you screw around with the things they love.

In the aftermath, the publishing world took the Space Marines idea and RAN with many, many anthologies and books. However…..not ONE of them invited the woman who made it all possible to join in their anthologies.

Well, we get testy in the face of a lack of gratitude and grace, so we decided to honor her, and asked if she’d be our flagship author in (what we thought) would be a single Space Marines anthology—and she said YES!! And in true Raconteur Press tradition, one anthology can never stay ONE.

---

A bit dry, isn’t it? Well, what can you expect from a story that’s primarily about lawyers, guns, and money, only without the guns?

If you’d like to learn more about M.C.A. Hogarth, her career, and her writing, then you’re in luck! Follow the link below to check out our author spotlight with her from last year.