"Scrolls" Lawsuit Goes To Court
The original debate started when developer Mojang decided to make the working title of their new CCG-like game "Scrolls", which prompted software publisher Bethesda Softworks to respond, citing potential confusion between Mojang's Scrolls and their own Elder Scrolls franchise.
Some time into the proceedings, Notch offered to settle the dispute with a friendly game of Quake 3, a challenge which was not answered. The proposed solution was intended to ease any potential PR incidents, and provide an amicable solution to the dispute. The challenge went unanswered, and legal proceedings continued unabated.
I wasn't aware that Mojang was trying to trademark the word scrolls across all fields of media at the time of the post. Probly going to be looking more in depth. So far all of the info I've managed to get is from the minecraft forums and there *might* be some bias here. An outside resource with complete details of the lawsuit would be helpful.
You don't have to read "all 14 pages". Why would you even respond? Perhaps you should learn how to read.
There has been a link to an article posted on this page and the one before it--as well as Notch's blog.
This is just free publicity for Mojang.
I'd think that Bethaseda would understand business by now.
Dont really read Notch's blog, and I totally missed the link.
But yeah that completely flipped my opinion of this issue, i change my previous statement to: "MOJANG WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
WHY U SUE MINECRAFT?!?
As punishment, I shall plague the internet with obnoxious writings about you.
I shall
sellBURN my copy of Elder Scrolls and the expansion pack.And I shall reluctantly buy Skyrim ONLY because the Yogscast like it.
FEEL MY PUNY WRATH, BETHESDA!
And you! you have also crossed a line! Thou hast called NOTCH a cock-off! for this I hereby demote your forum status from "mining god" (1889 posts) to..... NEWLY-SPAWNED SILVERFISH! (-6 posts)
I am making other games too, like this one where you carry a gun in a first person perspective, but i am afraid I might get sued, because the first person perspective-the idea is already taken. So...hrmm..maybe third person? idk. Is FPS trademarked? O know, now i am giving them ideas.
I'm making my prediction now that Mojang wins this one...
http://kotaku.com/5847295/mojang-v-bethesda-part-2-the-attorneys-and-notch--pete-weigh-in
http://kotaku.com/5846240/notch-offered-to-give-up-scrolls-trademark-bethesda-sued--anyway
However, for my own biased opinion, I prefer Mojang. I played Morrowwind and it kinda sucked. I also played Oblivion and it was sort of better, I guess. The Bethesda games I've played are nothing to write home about. I would choose Minecraft over Skyrim any day simply for the fact I'll get a lot more mileage out of it.
The excuse that Bethesda "has" to protect its own ass due to enforcing its own branding seems more of an argument against the trademark system than Mojang. Words...sheesh.
Protip: get the whole story before claiming anathema on anyone.
I don't suppose you have the paperwork to prove that oddly specific, incredibly bold statement?
Seriously, read the new Kotaku article from a few posts up. Here
Here's a snippet:
And this:
No one could of said it better.
I know nothing about trademark laws either. I'm just posting to commend you on you're reasoning XD
Edit: Notch responded to me saying that he is refusing to change the title.
I think that the answer to all this is simple:
Notch wants to make a new Pokemon, or at least try.
Look at the Pokemon series. It has cards, a game, clothing, and even a TV series. I think Notch is trying to do just that in the long run. So he doesn't really care what the name is, as long as he has all the rights to it.
This seems the most reasonable to me. I'm not a lawyer, but from what I've gathered on trademark laws, "scroll" refers to the brand, not the word itself. The reason it's in so many media types is because if notch wants to advertise in these mediums or produce brand merchandise, he can without people piggy backing on the project he put the work into.
Notch does strike me as a humble guy. He's been forgiving of piracy (even though, as a developer, he has the most to lose because of it) and has given away copies of his games, something a smaller company doesn't usually do and he's been very open to listening to the player base. I don't know Notch personally, but to think he would all the sudden turn into some greedy scammer seems highly unlikely.