Another good reason why Bethesda doesn't have any right to the word Scrolls

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ThatOneChick

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Oct 6, 2011
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Rhaff said:
Which they will be, if Bethesda gets the trademark.
But I do agree with those who say that both sides are being dicks about this. Bethesda should have taken them up on their offer to give up the trademark, gotten the trademark for them selves, and prevented them from using the name that way. Would have saved a lot of trouble for both sides, and allowed them to save face, instead of this ending in a huge pissing match in court.
Ahhh, I see now...

Bethesda already owns the trademark for The Elder Scrolls. They have since 1994 I believe.
 

Krantos

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Jun 30, 2009
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Bluntman1138 said:
Before Oblivion, Morrowind was referred to as Elder Scrolls, because it was the only one at the time.
Wait, what?

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Those numerals aren't random, there were two other games in the series before Morrowind. They were called Arena and Daggerfall.


No problem with you points, really, and I hear the series referred to as The Elder Scrolls regularly. Calling Morrowind the first however, is just false.
 
Dec 14, 2009
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irequirefood said:
Daystar Clarion said:
*facepalm*

I'm going to explain this one more time.

Bethesda haven't got a copyright on the word 'Scrolls' in all its uses.

They have a copyright on the idea of a game, set in a fantasy world, with different races.

Mojang are making a card game, set in a fantasy world, with different races.

See where I'm going with this?
I've been reading through this whole thread, and by now it seems you're sick of being ignored... I have seen the points you've been making, and I wholeheartedly agree. There's more to it than just Mojang wanting the word 'Scrolls' for their game.
Don't worry about it. There seems to be a common trend to cover eyes/ears and ignore facts mentality.
 

Ridgemo

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Feb 2, 2010
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Bluntman1138 said:
Also, as a quick note:

Lawsuits DO NOT have to be over money. Case in point, in 1998 i had to file a lawsuit AGAINST MY CAR, in the State of Oklahoma, in order to gain ownership of the vehicle after my mother moved out of the States, and lost the Title.

The Lawsuit was written like this:

Plantiff: Me
Defendant: 1992 Chevrolet Caprice

Had a civil court date and everything. Had to take off of work to go to the "trial". Lawsuits are more than one person suing somebody else for money.
Whilst i'm pretty sure that must have been really annoying and caused quite a distraction in your life, theres something completly awesome about this story
 

Jandau

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Dec 19, 2008
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GonzoGamer said:
Besides the fact that it's a pretty common word... especially for particular genres,

nobody associates it with them anyway.

I don't think I know anyone who calls Elder Scrolls games "Elder Scrolls..."

Whenever I hear someone talking about an Elder Scrolls game they tend to call the game Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim. I don't get why they're so protective of a word that they barely use.
I think you got it backwards. Bethesda isn't suing Mojang because Bethesda thinks they own the word Scrolls. Bethesda is suing Mojang because Mojang tried to trademark the word Scrolls, which could potentially let them sue Bethesda in the future.

So, that argument you just put out regarding Bethesda not owning the word "Scrolls"? Apply it to Mojang.
 

Vrach

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Jun 17, 2010
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GonzoGamer said:
I don't think I know anyone who calls Elder Scrolls games "Elder Scrolls..."
I do. When I talk about them collectively. So do a lot of other people. Sometimes it's shortened as "TES" games.
 

Scaevola77

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Oct 6, 2011
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Read through this, and have to say, the only things that I can take away from this is that:

1. Bethesda is vigilant in their trademark protection (which they need to be).
2. Notch needs to get a clue, some better lawyers, and start acting professionally.
3. Trademark/copyright laws can be silly sometimes.

I find it somewhat silly that people are pointing to "Notch said that they'd take back the trademark application and change the name" in order to maintain the Bethesda is evil illusion.

First of all, he will be changing it to Scrolls: XXXX, which does diddly-squat for avoiding any type of infringement.

Second, as it has been pointed out, Bethesda HAS to pursue this. They can't let it slide in any way. Yes, Notch has no change when butting heads with Bethesda, but if they let it slide, and two years down the road a big name company who can support a legal fight challenges it, there will be a precedent.

Third, I find it doubtful that this offer was made properly, that is, with all the necessary legal documentation. No self-respecting company or legal team would agree to a deal like this unless the papers were all in order, which given the apparent competence of Notch's legal team with copyright laws, is doubtful. Even if all the documents were in order, Bethesda would probably not say that they agree until it was all signed. That is just good legal sense, you don't talk about ongoing cases as often your remarks to the media (or the internet) can come back to bite you. For example, Notch is now on the record as to have making the offer, and if he in fact didn't, Bethesda can use this lie as part of their case.

Basically, Bethesda has been acting like a good company defending their property and rights. They don't seem to be spouting off about Notch's conduct, and seem to be speaking primarily through lawsuits. The filed a cease and desist, and when it was ignored took appropriate legal action, and continue to do so as the law allows. At this point he seems to be treating it as a publicity stunt.

Notch, on the other hand, filed poorly worded, overly general trademark applications without doing any research. Seriously, Google "Scrolls", and the Elder Scrolls home page is 6th. He has continually acted unprofessionally by treating this legal matter as a joke and broadcasting it to everyone.
 
Sep 14, 2009
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BloatedGuppy said:
Bluntman1138 said:
Again, all the arm chair lawyers need to wait until REAL details of the lawsuit are actually made available to the public, and first arguments are heard.
People educate themselves before jumping to idiotic conclusions and making stupid threads about a topic they barely understand?

THE HELL YOU SAY.
lol this was perfect. thank you for giving me a good morning laugh.

OT: I can see what bethesda is doing, and i don't blame them really, both sides have some stupid shit happening...

it's like the kid who throws a paper ball at another kid in the class, if you throw a bigger one back at the kid, you know your gonna get caught as the "bad guy" in the situation, in which everyone will blame you even though it was in mere logical retaliation.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Vrach said:
When I talk about them collectively. So do a lot of other people. Sometimes it's shortened as "TES" games.
Me too. I wonder if everyone would have gone apeshit if Mojang wanted to call the game Tes.

Jandau said:
So, that argument you just put out regarding Bethesda not owning the word "Scrolls"? Apply it to Mojang.
I understand that part: I think it would be absurd for anyone to have exclusive rights to use the word Scrolls in a title.

syrus27 said:
Bla Bla Bla
And thank you for proving that I?m not the only person who posts useless brain static on these forums.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Bluntman1138 said:
Also, as a quick note:

Lawsuits DO NOT have to be over money. Case in point, in 1998 i had to file a lawsuit AGAINST MY CAR, in the State of Oklahoma, in order to gain ownership of the vehicle after my mother moved out of the States, and lost the Title.

The Lawsuit was written like this:

Plantiff: Me
Defendant: 1992 Chevrolet Caprice

Had a civil court date and everything. Had to take off of work to go to the "trial". Lawsuits are more than one person suing somebody else for money.
I think we can now declare a winner of this thread: That's hilarious... especially when you picture it as a Family Guy aside.
Did the Chevy put up a good defense?
 

veloper

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Jan 20, 2009
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Bluntman1138 said:
veloper said:
Gears of War
God of War
Dawn of War

all happened and nobody sued anyone.

Activision didn't even sue Mojang over the -craft suffix and that's a better case than fighting over "Scrolls".
Gears of War: A Sci-fi based on a single planet and a single overall conflict. (with 2 races)
God of War: Based off of Earth Greek Mythology
Dawn of War: Sci-Fi , based on MANY conflicts over MANY worlds. (With Multiple races and factions)

None of these games have very little in common. So your analogy fails, as there is nothing infringing on any of the IP's trademarks or copyrights.

Elder Scrolls: Fantasy, based many races, many conflicts
Scrolls: Fantasy, based on no one really knows

This is the oversimplification of it all, but still valid. THERE IS MORE TO THIS LAWSUIT THAN THE USE OF A SINGLE WORD!
TES: a sandbox rpg
Scrolls: a card game

Now if the game were called the old scolls or scoll elders that would have been something. Just "Scrolls" isn't The Elder Scrolls.
 

unoleian

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Jul 2, 2008
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Bluntman1138 said:
unoleian said:
I guess somebody'getting a little uppity about being repeatedly corrected. Apologies for my heinous efficient time-management. Keeps attention spans short.

The Elder Scrolls is indeed a registered trademark. Says so right on the box...
I was corrected, and made my statement on that corrections few posts after that, I am not uppity about being corrected, i am being uppity because people dont read a few more posts to see the rebuttal.

And you are wrong about your "correction". They do not own (C) on "The Elder Scrolls" They own it on the FULL title name. Look at your Oblivion Case, it says "The Edler Scrolls IV: Oblivion (C).

--snipped--
Of course they don't own a (C) on it, they own an (R). It's on the new Skyrim art and also--

Word Mark THE ELDER SCROLLS
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Pre-recorded CD's and DVD's featuring fantasy games. FIRST USE: 20060320. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20060320
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78495285
Filing Date October 6, 2004
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition September 27, 2005
Registration Number 3584564
Registration Date March 3, 2009
Owner (REGISTRANT) ZeniMax Media Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 1370 Piccard Drive Rockville MARYLAND 20850
Attorney of Record Ann K. Ford
Prior Registrations 1943732;2634683;2861127
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
I don't think they would be proceeding with lawsuit without a rock-solid legitimate claim. There it is.