
Update, May 18th, 2017: As per the comment below from Neobokrug Elytis, further information pertaining to the situation has been published via Google Docs here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-_7k-VigxufaTM5b18yVXpvZU0/view, offering additional information on the situation from the claimant’s perspectives.
Update, May 17th: As per the comment below from Sue W, the Ozimal blog, including the post referred to in this article, has been cleared down.
Sonya Marmurek indirectly brought this to my attention via an image posted to her Flickr stream: Ozimals, the brand of breedable rabbits and Pufflings is closing its doors with immediate effect.
The cause is apparently a Cease and Desist letter forwarded to Ozimals founder Malkavyn Eldritch. No specific details of the cause of the letter have been made available. However, Malkavyn broke the news in an Ozimals blog post on Tuesday, May 16th, 2017, which reads in part:
At 8:00 am on Monday, May 15, 2017, I received a Cease and Desist letter from legal counsel representing Edward Distelhurst and Akimeta Ltd. This letter demands that I cease all use of Ozimals intellectual property.
I don’t personally agree with this claim, but I do not have the means to fight this in court, therefore I have no choice but to comply.
As of the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2017, my products and their associated games will cease to function.
This means:
All databases supporting the bunnies and Pufflings will be off-line.
Support, both in-world and through the ticket portal, will cease.
All Ozimals in-world groups will be closed.
Pufflings will cease to function.
Any bunny who is Everlasting will continue to function, as he or she does now: without cost.
Any bunny who is not Everlasting will be unable to eat and will hibernate within 72 hours.
This is not the first time Ozimals have faced a legal situation, having been involved in a lengthy dispute with Amaretto Horses which ran from late 2010 through 2013.
Alongside her image, Sonya notes: