Wizards of the Coast is planning to release a commerative set for Magic: The Gathering's 30th anniversary later this year, although the son of deceased Magic artist Quinton Hoover has claimed that the company might be using some of his father's art that it may not have the rights for.
Over on "Quinton Hoover's Art Auction And Fan Page" on Facebook, Justin Hoover is made aware of a card included in the 30th anniversary set called Meekstone which uses the same Meekstone card art created by his father Quinton Hoover. However, Justin states that Wizards of the Coast hasn't been in contact with his family over the use of the card art at all, leading to speculation that Wizards may be using the art without actually holding the rights to it.
The reason why there's so much uncertainty is because it seems like Justin Hoover himself is confused as to who owns the rights. Justin reveals that Wizards allegedly contacted the Hoover family in an attempt to buy the rights a while ago, but were turned away after failing to meet their desired price. This has apparently led Justin to believe that the rights don't actually belong to Wizards of the Coast despite them using the art in an official product.
"The last time this came up they tried to buy the rights but fell short of what we thought was fair," says Justin. "This led me to believe they don't have full rights especially when it came to printing. The wording in the contracts is very particular and I've already been working with property/copyright lawyers, just really don't want to go down that road."
Justin later clarifies that he has reached out to Wizards of the Coast but has yet to post about any potential response at the time of writing. We'll keep you updated as the situation develops.