Silver Lining for Fan Project

For several years now a web-based team has been working on an unofficial sequel to Sierra's classic King's Quest series. On September 29 the project, called King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has a Silver Lining, was hit with a cease and desist order from Vivendi Universal. Though Sierra no longer exists as a physical company, Vivendi owns the studio's name and properties. Shutting down the project isn't all that surprising, as similar actions have been taken in the past against fan projects, but what is particularly notable is that after apparently thousands of emails sent to Vivendi regarding the situation, the team announced today that the company has granted a license to allow development to continue. The "King's Quest" part of the name has been removed, presumably so there is no confusion as to whether it is an official product, but the actual world and characters remain intact. The team's press release included part of a statement from Vivendi:

"After extensive evaluation, Vivendi Universal Games is pleased to announce that the fan developed trilogy project 'The Silver Lining' (previously known as King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has A Silver Lining), based on characters from Sierra Entertainment's 'Kings Quest' series, has been given approval to continue development. We look forward to seeing the first of its three upcoming chapters, 'Shadows', completed soon." [Note: Though Vivendi's permission was granted November 29, it was only announced today.]