Star Control lawsuit settled using.. bees?

[Andytizer 269]

Who knew that a shared love of bees, honey and mead could settle combative lawsuits between game companies? That's exactly what happened between Stardock CEO Brad Wardell and original Star Control creators Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III. It's all explained in this blog post from Fred and Paul.

Here are some choice quotes from the announcement:

Quote

"Before I start talking about settling our legal conflict, I'd like to talk about bees." The conversation about bees, honey, mead, and bee stings went on for quite a while before we moved on to the talking about the case. Our perspective was this: we don't like fighting, but we love creating, so can we step waaay outside the box and settle our dispute through positive, creative actions rather than continuing to beat each other up?

Quote

There is a weird paragraph in the agreement that involves bees. Seriously — no kidding. Brad Wardell is giving Fred and Paul honey from his hives and Paul is giving Brad some bottles of his homemade mead. Brad will also be giving Paul advice in how not to be stung. The lawyers thought this was pretty dang crazy. This goes to show you can find common ground in the strangest (and most delicious) of places.

Such a wholesome story. To see a detailed history of their grievances and how they came to a settlement, it's all laid out in this excellent Ars Technica post.