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also last time i checked you cannot copyright a single word of a game title such as scrolls you can only copyright a title that contains more than one word so honistly this will be thrown out of court
You can in fact make a trademark of a single word. Windows anyone? If anyone other than microsoft tried to make an OS called windows, they would be sued. Even if it was a little different like, "Better Windows", they would probably still be sued. Same thing here. Now if Mojang hadn't tried to do exactly this (they tried to make a trademark for the name Scrolls! Which you complainers are saying is wrong!) Bethesda would not have even noticed, and Mojang wouldn't be in this mess.
Hey ZeroTheLiger - if Mojang had been successful, your game "scrolls of the scrolly scroll scroll scrolls" would infringe Mojangs trademark, and they could send YOU a cease and desist.
Sure its kinda silly, but Mojang is in the wrong here.
really Bethesda really you suing mojang for useing the world scrolls in there next project and you think you own the word you guys are really ****ing stupid
They don't just THINK they own the word, they have legal documentation to prove it. Mojang needed some better lawyers before going around making trademark claims. Trademark law is silly, but that doesn't make it not the law. And if you own a trademark and don't pursue infringement, then the trademark becomes invalid. That's how the law works! That's why fan projects are often shut down - not because the creators hate that fans make stuff based on their property, but because if they don't then they will lose the trademark and people can just start copying them outright and selling it with no legal recourse.
I'm going to sit here and troll this topic until people start to understand that Bethesda Softworks is just operating as any company in their position would. They trademarked elder scrolls a long time ago. Mojang tried to copy the word 'scrolls'. Elder Scrolls and Scrolls on their own are indeed pretty similar, so when Mojang tried to trademark 'scrolls' they got in trouble.
They don't just THINK they own the word, they have legal documentation to prove it. Mojang needed some better lawyers before going around making trademark claims. Trademark law is silly, but that doesn't make it not the law. And if you own a trademark and don't pursue infringement, then the trademark becomes invalid. That's how the law works! That's why fan projects are often shut down - not because the creators hate that fans make stuff based on their property, but because if they don't then they will lose the trademark and people can just start copying them outright and selling it with no legal recourse.
I'm going to sit here and troll this topic until people start to understand that Bethesda Softworks is just operating as any company in their position would. They trademarked elder scrolls a long time ago. Mojang tried to copy the word 'scrolls'. Elder Scrolls and Scrolls on their own are indeed pretty similar, so when Mojang tried to trademark 'scrolls' they got in trouble.
Tim langdell copyrighted "Edge" and tried to sue various companies for use of the word Edge (like "Soul Edge"). After losing over and over again, he got kicked out of the company. They aren't similar enough to guarantee a success, and people refer to the game as "Skyrim" not "Elder Scrolls" anyway.
I laughed when I saw this. Not because its stupid (It actually makes a lot of since if you look at it from Bethesda Softworks point of view), but because I knew there would be so much ******** from bitchy little kids who read this. Get over it people, it happens all the time, and one would think that maybe, just maybe since Notch had talked to Bethesda employees before he might have thought "Hmmm maybe, just maybe I should change the name of my new game Scrolls since it could be confused with this EVEN MORE ****ING POPULAR GAME."
Oh and also people, read the whole damn article first!!! IT IS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS! Not Bethesda and not Todd, you really should read if your gonna complain.
Actually I support Bethesda, the idiots that are obsessed with Minecraft are not really helpin out Notch here. I like both of the companies and will continue to do so, as should every dumbass who let's this affect their feelings for the companies. Both are making amazing games and both can continue to do so. You can't really own a word but you can have a copyright issues because of things like this. Scrolls and The Elder Scrolls are similar titles and if things in the games got similar, like if Scrolls were to have Goblins or something it could end up worse, changing the name now is a good idea. Also people Bethesda=Company not she and Notch= a man not a she.
Tim langdell copyrighted "Edge" and tried to sue various companies for use of the word Edge (like "Soul Edge"). After losing over and over again, he got kicked out of the company. They aren't similar enough to guarantee a success, and people refer to the game as "Skyrim" not "Elder Scrolls" anyway.
1. So it's not OK to trademark "Edge", but perfectly OK to trademark "Scrolls"? Mojang tried to trademark Scrolls, and Bethesda said no.
2. One very incompetent disgruntled employee trying to make a buck off of the word edge isn't really the same thing as a big company, with a smart legal team, going after Mojang for using scrolls.
3. It's not a single game but the series that holds the trademark "elder scrolls". It doesn't matter how people refer to the game. If you are talking about the series, you will probably say the elder scrolls. No, it's not really going to cause much confusion, I agree.
4. I do hope Mojang ultimately wins this. If all they have to do is change the name, I'm sure they can find one at least as good as Scrolls.
Bethsada(Or whatever) is being childish for this... You cant own a word... Even if Bethsada where to sue Mohang
The judge would drop the cae. Also I love Bethsada and i feel ashamed that there doing this...
I looked on Allgame.com and every listing of Bethesda's games were "ELDER SCROLLS" with the word "ELDER" in the title. Not a single game mentioned was "Scrolls" by itself. They could contest "Elder Scrolls" but saying a single word from the title would be the same as Microsoft sueing MICROprose, SOFTEx, and anything like that. Maybe Blizzard should sue for using the word "CRAFT", and all makers of 'Mahjong' should sue for the name 'Mojang'.
ALSO:
In a religious game called 'Catecheumen', you heal yourself by reading ancient scrolls with bible passages printed on them. A synonym for 'Ancient' is also 'Elder' so it would be true to say that the game contains 'elder scrolls'.
1. So it's not OK to trademark "Edge", but perfectly OK to trademark "Scrolls"? Mojang tried to trademark Scrolls, and Bethesda said no.
2. One very incompetent disgruntled employee trying to make a buck off of the word edge isn't really the same thing as a big company, with a smart legal team, going after Mojang for using scrolls.
3. It's not a single game but the series that holds the trademark "elder scrolls". It doesn't matter how people refer to the game. If you are talking about the series, you will probably say the elder scrolls. No, it's not really going to cause much confusion, I agree.
4. I do hope Mojang ultimately wins this. If all they have to do is change the name, I'm sure they can find one at least as good as Scrolls.
To answer "1", it is legally okay to trademark "Edge". The problem lies in going after things that are not directly copyrighted (things with edge in them), such as "Soul Edge".
And even if Bethesda wins, it would lose a lot of players to this, and the players that still play would lose respect for Bethesda.
What's up with that? Last I checked, you can't own a single word, and I looked it up, Bethesda only owns the copyright to the phrases "The Elder Scrolls" and "Elder Scrolls", and seeing as that is not the name of the game in dev by Mojang, Bethesda has nowhere to go with this. All they're gonna do is lose money by having to pay for all the court fees, etc. that come out of this. I think I'll start making a game called "Elder", E-Mail Bethesda about it, and before they bring me to court, erase all evidence of it off of my computer, and act like it never existed, and that Bethesda was full of s*it the entire time. I think they're just jealous of how awesome Minecraft is, and how it's one of the most successful indie games ever to be made, how it has many impersonators such as FortressCraft, Castle Miner, Total Miner: Forge, and that's just on the Xbox alone, I'm sure there's more on the PC that I don't know about. I think Bethesda just needs to pull the stick out of it's a*s and just move on with life.
I don't think half of you understand this... If you were to say Elder Scrolls short, you'd take off Elder and it would be Scrolls. Ninja Scroll and Elder Scrolls, can't confuse them. Elder Scrolls and Scrolls, could be confused if you thought scrolls is short for Elder Scrolls. Stop hating on Bethesda saying "LAWL SHE IS B1tch for Sue Sexy notch B3 m1n3" or saying "Haha Notch des3rve this Trololol". Because one both deserve much better. Two Bethesda is a company. Three you can't have Notch. And four you make yourself sound like an asswipe and an idiot all in one sentence.
As I'm reading these comments I see so much bad grammar, but nevermind that, no one is definitely right in this affair. I support him and his work, and attempting to contact Bethesda, but if you look at it from Bethesda's side, Notch's game Scrolls and Bethesda's Elder Scrolls are quite similar in content, by that I mean they are both fantasy games, and involve magic. Also the fact that the title art is VERY similar to that of The Elder Scrolls series. If you google this you can find out more about it, not all the information is on the forums here. Also to all the people who say "You can't own a word", you can't, but you can own the Trademark or Copyright to it. And by the way meanoboy, Madhouse couldn't sue Bethesda for that anime because 1: They are not similar in anyway. Remember: If the content is similar, they CAN sue if you use a name that is similar or the same as the original product/item/etc.
This happened to the first Freespace, which almost got Interplay in trouble for using the name Freespace, since there was an application for Windows already named that, they were right to warn them first that they already were using the name. Which is why its Descent: Freespace the Great War in the US and Conflict: Freespace the Great War in Europe. Just think about that, this whole thing could've been avoided with a very simple name change.
I think Bethesda's lawyers are wrong doing it like this, but people need to stop kissing Notch's ass and look at the god damn facts here.
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http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualProperty/Trademarks/Usage/Windows.aspx
Sure its kinda silly, but Mojang is in the wrong here.
I'm going to sit here and troll this topic until people start to understand that Bethesda Softworks is just operating as any company in their position would. They trademarked elder scrolls a long time ago. Mojang tried to copy the word 'scrolls'. Elder Scrolls and Scrolls on their own are indeed pretty similar, so when Mojang tried to trademark 'scrolls' they got in trouble.
Tim langdell copyrighted "Edge" and tried to sue various companies for use of the word Edge (like "Soul Edge"). After losing over and over again, he got kicked out of the company. They aren't similar enough to guarantee a success, and people refer to the game as "Skyrim" not "Elder Scrolls" anyway.
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1. So it's not OK to trademark "Edge", but perfectly OK to trademark "Scrolls"? Mojang tried to trademark Scrolls, and Bethesda said no.
2. One very incompetent disgruntled employee trying to make a buck off of the word edge isn't really the same thing as a big company, with a smart legal team, going after Mojang for using scrolls.
3. It's not a single game but the series that holds the trademark "elder scrolls". It doesn't matter how people refer to the game. If you are talking about the series, you will probably say the elder scrolls. No, it's not really going to cause much confusion, I agree.
4. I do hope Mojang ultimately wins this. If all they have to do is change the name, I'm sure they can find one at least as good as Scrolls.
The judge would drop the cae. Also I love Bethsada and i feel ashamed that there doing this...
ALSO:
In a religious game called 'Catecheumen', you heal yourself by reading ancient scrolls with bible passages printed on them. A synonym for 'Ancient' is also 'Elder' so it would be true to say that the game contains 'elder scrolls'.
I guess Bethesda's just running out of money!
To answer "1", it is legally okay to trademark "Edge". The problem lies in going after things that are not directly copyrighted (things with edge in them), such as "Soul Edge".
And even if Bethesda wins, it would lose a lot of players to this, and the players that still play would lose respect for Bethesda.
Pipes
This happened to the first Freespace, which almost got Interplay in trouble for using the name Freespace, since there was an application for Windows already named that, they were right to warn them first that they already were using the name. Which is why its Descent: Freespace the Great War in the US and Conflict: Freespace the Great War in Europe. Just think about that, this whole thing could've been avoided with a very simple name change.
I think Bethesda's lawyers are wrong doing it like this, but people need to stop kissing Notch's ass and look at the god damn facts here.
Go here to LYAO.