Bethesda Calls Fallout MMO Contract "Clear and Unambiguous"

[Ausir]

Did they actually trademark the terms supermutant and nuka-cola?

Because I think by "elements" Bethesda just means they can't use any existing source code, art, textures, or other property.

Because regardless of what the contract might have said, they have absolutely no right whatsoever to say they can't use anything that they don't own such as "nuka cola" (if it is indeed not trademarked) and Bethesda's legal team couldn't possibly be THAT stupid.

The Trademark License Agreement, when listing such elements, clearly also lists:

Fallout artwork, locations, graphic representations, story lines, creatures, monsters, names, likenesses, behaviors, environments (e.g., vaults), universes, settings, legends, characters, character classes, character professions, packaging, advertisements, text and translations, and any and all Fallout proprietary characters, trademarks, copyrights and artwork.

as things Interplay cannot use in the event that the agreement is terminated. So it's not just about the trademarks, and super mutants and Nuka-Cola falls under that. Even if not trademarked, someone else using "Nuka-Cola" in a similar game could be considered a copyright infringement.

 

[fletch_talon]

I'm sorry, but when I hear the term "Fallout Branded" that means more than just the use of the name.
If I had a brand name article of clothing, it will generally have a brand, logo, trademarked colours and designs, etc. My understanding is that they were given the right to use the Fallout brand, which incorporates more than just a name.

Or is that just me?

PS: I've got nothing against CAPTCHAs or Ads, or even combinations of the two, but I'm curious... When it asks you to rate Samsung from 1 to 10, is there a right answer? If so, what the heck is it? If not, how does this help stop spambots?

 

[Sgt Pepper]

if i were interplay i would just make a horrible game just to piss bethesda off after all this tomfollery

I've got a feeling that Bethesda have taken another look at what Interplay have done so far and realised it already is going to be horrible.

Bethesda certainly seem desparate to halt the project, perhaps with good reason.

 

[bojac6]

Their legal argument doesn't even make sense - why would you allow dilution of a strong IP by licensing the naming rights to another company, but not use of any elements of the IP itself?

-m

My theory: Bethesda originally figured that turning a story driven RPG like Fallout into an MMO wouldn't work. So, they sell the rights to Interplay and let them take all of the risks and foot all the costs of developing an MMO. But now, after seeing the potential success rival BioWare has with turning an RPG IP into an MMO, Bethesda decides that they want in on the Fallout MMO. So they come up with whatever argument shuts down Interplay's project the fastest and gets them the rights to a Fallout MMO back.

They don't think they're going to dilute the IP, they think they're going to shut down all production.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Their legal argument doesn't even make sense - why would you allow dilution of a strong IP by licensing the naming rights to another company, but not use of any elements of the IP itself?

-m

Maybe they want to make their own MMO?

That doesn't make much sense though...

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Why don't they just suck it up and make the MMO together? At this rate we'll never get that Fallout MMO.

 

[Timbydude]

Bethesda is clearly in the right here. The contract clearly said that Interplay could make a game and call it Fallout, but that it can't be related to the already-established Fallout universe.

In other words, it allowed for Interplay to essentially make a new IP that is also called Fallout; it just can't be the same thing as the already-established Fallout.

Though this certainly leaves Interplay in a bad position, they signed the contract. You can't just go back after having signed a contract and say, "Well, that part of it was really stupid; we're not going to do that."

 

[Ausir]

[qu

Bethesda is clearly in the right here. The contract clearly said that Interplay could make a game and call it Fallout, but that it can't be related to the already-established Fallout universe.

The contract doesn't state clearly that it can't be related to the Fallout universe. This is how Bethesda interprets it, but it's not as unambiguous as you make it sound. Anyway, it's up to the court to decide.

 

[Wolfram23]

Depends what they mean by "they can't use elements from the Fallout franchise". Are we talking only stuff that has been trademarked? Or are we talking all the familiar things like New Vegas, Capital Wasteland, Caesar's Legion, GNR, Three Dog, Enclave, Nuka Cola, Super Mutants, Brotherhood... etc?

I think we all need some clarification but strictly speaking, sounds to me like Bethesda doesn't want it to have even the slightest thing to do with anything they put in the Fallout games. So it'll be Fallout... somewhere else. And everything will be different. Like a bad spinoff. Greeaaaaat... I hope Interplay win.

 

[Ih8pkmn]

Let me see if I have this right:
If Interplay tried to release an MMO named "Fallout", it could. But it couldn't have:
Vault-Tec
Deathclaws
Ghouls
Radscorpions
FEV
Super Mutants
Nuka-Cola
Plasma Rifles
The Enclave

or anything to do with Fallout period.

Why can't Bethesda just co-develop the MMO with interplay? Interplay provides the name, Bethesda provides the licenses, and everyone's happy!

...but we all know that ain't gonna happen. What probably is gonna happen is that Interplay is gonna terminate the contract, cancel the MMO, and cut off all ties with Bethesda.

 

[Wolfram23]

make a fall out porn game to stick it to bethesda!!!

Hmm... using Kinect?

 

[aPod]

They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. I beg to differ. Bethesda is leaving a really nasty taste in my mouth right now.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

While Skyrim looks pretty great, Bethesda has fallen far, far from the company that it used to be (or at least seem to be). Maybe they just kept a better handle on it, but they really seem to have shifted disappointingly toward a big production house tone both in terms of their companies actions and in the games they make.

 

[VZLANemesis]

you can have the name BUT DONT DARE use anything else? ... so a game called fallout cant have radiation then? that comes under "any" right?.

You realize "radiation" isn't a registered trademark or asset of the Fallout franchise right?

They just mean they can't use any source material, such as source code or art or textures.

I think it's ridiculous too, but get your facts straight.

Actually you're wrong, by source content they mean any use of the past fallout games, story, settings, etc. Thats the absurdity of it all. Read the past article (linked in this one) to read interplay's response.

Bethesda is being ridiculous and is mostly looking for a way to get complete power over the Fallout franchise seeing that its selling really well... maybe they didnt expect it to be this successful and now they want to make their own FO MMO.

 

[DMonkey]

Okay, you know that one guy who thinks being a dick and being witty is the same thing?
Like, when you ask him if you could have a piece of cake, he breaks you off a crumb, then says "what? You said you wanted a PIECE! HAHAHAHAHA *snort wheeze snort* HA!".
That's Bethesda in this.

 

[VZLANemesis]

Their legal argument doesn't even make sense - why would you allow dilution of a strong IP by licensing the naming rights to another company, but not use of any elements of the IP itself?

-m

My theory: Bethesda originally figured that turning a story driven RPG like Fallout into an MMO wouldn't work. So, they sell the rights to Interplay and let them take all of the risks and foot all the costs of developing an MMO. But now, after seeing the potential success rival BioWare has with turning an RPG IP into an MMO, Bethesda decides that they want in on the Fallout MMO. So they come up with whatever argument shuts down Interplay's project the fastest and gets them the rights to a Fallout MMO back.

They don't think they're going to dilute the IP, they think they're going to shut down all production.

Totally Agree