Does White Wolf still own BESM and is anyone licensing it from them?

Question

I would like to know what the current ownership situation around BESM is. Here's the story as I know it from my research:

In 2006, when Guardians of Order went out of business, ArtHaus, a subsidiary of White Wolf, purchased it and released BESM 3rd Edition. Then, in 2012, when White Wolf decided to leave the pen and paper market, Onyx Path bought Scion and the Trinity lines and became a licencee of the World of Darkness (table top) and Exalted lines and gained ownership of Scion and Trinity outright. A separate group, Night Studios, is licensing the MET rules for WoD. But, I have not heard anyone mention BESM, and I can't find any up to date info searching the web.

While issues of IP ownership aren't always publicly known, and may not even be clear cut, has anyone clarified if White Wolf still owns BESM, and if so, if there has been any movement for someone to try to license it like with the other properties?

Answer 1

As the now parent company, you could just try calling or emailing CCP Games directly. The trail stops dead with White Wolf as Richard Thomas did not buy/acquire the license for BESM. So one can assume that with CCP it has remained (as far as the public domain is concerned) and that it is highly likely that it has been moth-balled due to the focus on WoD MMO and CCP's laser guided focus on the online platforms, merely using the White Wolf talent to enhance the projection surrounding the games.

Although a point to note, the international IP database only lists CCP, Eve, Eve Online and CCP games as IP/Trademarks of CCP. With no known entries (either alive or dead) for any of White Wolfs titles, or White Wolf for that matter.

Big Eyes-Small Mouth was not bought. When Richard acquired the other titles for Onyx Path

Source (with official OP interaction and no denial): http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=67636

Answer 2

Paradox Interactive purchased White Wolf and all its intellectual property from CCP in late October 2015, so that would seem to indicate they now have the rights to BESM. According to Wikipedia--Purchase by Paradox Interactive--the company was being revived as a subsidiary to Paradox with its own CEO and not just as a product line within Paradox.