"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.
ANd Skyrim isnt stolen from this?
Oh yes I'm sure that this multi-billion dollar corporation (with several of the greatest RPG's ever created under their belts) are jealous of an Indie game that would probably come nowhere near to the success of the Elder Scrolls series, no offense Mojang I love you and I'm entirely supportive but I'm also a realist when it comes to business competition :laugh.gif:.
I think it's simply just about marketing. People hear scrolls and they think The Elder Scrolls! If you Google "scroll" a couple of links below you would get The Elder Scrolls website. Now throw in another game with a similar title and that could potentially affect marketing sales and also who's website shows up first in google queries, yea pretty ridiculous if you ask me but there's a reason businesses spend millions of dollars on marketing alone.
[Edit] Also let's not get too pist off at Bethesda as I'm sure that this had absolutely nothing to do with their programmers or anyone who's actually responsible for the development of the Elder Scroll series.
I'm here because I play Minecraft, how should I care for either of scrolls? Good game will be played, irregardles of it's name.
True, but they can keep Mojang behind the curve by spending Notch down. Marginal lawsuit, Mojang spends itself down a little. It's pretty straightforward corporate tactics. If a competitor presents a vague but substantial threat, and you don't have a direct way to gut them, you play head games with them and spend them down/halt development on their upcoming games.
I don't honestly think Bethesda Softworks ever expected to "win" in court. They may have expected Mojang to roll over and settle, as an alternative to prohibitive legal costs and mandated delays on development of Scrolls. But the fact that Mojang is picking up the bait, means they will spend some serious money and time defending Scrolls. This money doesn't come out of thin air, it is diverted away from design, development, promotion, and server overhead. And this is Bethesda's real goal; to sap the time and money of competitors with tactical legal ******** even they acknowledge is frivolous and untenable.
In hindsight, it would have been better for Mojang to settle and relinquish "Scrolls" for "Rolled-up Parchments" or something wacky. The outcome would have been far more strategic for Mojang's favour. 1) Bethesda would have still looked like assholes. 2) They would have the very marginal and short-term victory of sole copyright on the word "Scrolls". 3) Mojang would have saved a pile of time, money, and manpower. 4) Silly awkward names like "R-U P" are ironically appealing to People who Buy Indie Games. The pronunciation of such names usually come out as "Game that's Not Called Scrolls Because Bethesda are D-bags" in any relevant language.
Also, last time I heard having the moral high ground didn't sell games. Having your game talked about everywhere sells the game. Let's stop talking about "Elder Scr***s" and start talking about Rolled Up Parchments and Minecraft.
He has every RIGHT to call the game whatever he wants. Now if he was trying to directly tap the Elder Scrolls IP by using specific names or whatnot, then Bethesda would have a case. But he isn't. It's his own IP.
What if I decided to name a game "Fire"? Could any other developer that has a title with the word FIRE in it justifyably turn around an sue me? I don't think so. You cannot copyright a single word. This is nothing more than an example of a corporation trying to strong-arm a small company. Notch needs his day in court. And when the Judge rules in his favor, it will send a message that supports what I believe to be true:
Independent Game Developers are the future of the industry...
Just FYI, Notch isn't a "little guy" anymore.
3,619,371 people have bought minecraft.
At 25 bucks a pop (I am taking the current price just for the sake of argument),
25 x 3,619,371 = $90,484,275
:|
Either way, ON TOPIC: Besthesda is out of their gourd. It would be one thing to sue if the games were shockingly similar, but Notch is developing a card-based game. Unless I am mistaken, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim have nothing to do with cards.
I will continue to support both Mojang *and* Besthesda, since I believe both companies make a quality product, and I want to play the hell out of Skyrim (Sorry Minecraft! On 11/11/11, I'm gone!)