Mojang Vs Bethesda

[Stephen Caswell]

So just a quick thought: Bethesda doesn't want people to get confused between Scrolls and The Eldar Scrolls... yet no one will do that now. A lot of the people who are going to buy either game will have noticed the whole legal battle that has been going on so far and know the difference between the two separate games.
On another note, Bethesda is happily acting as a free marketing department for Mojang. Not only are they drawing attention to Mojang's new game, but they helping the people of the interwebz portray Notch as the victim here and making themselves out as big bullies.
D'OH!

 

[ShindoL Shill]

Apple Corps v Apple Computer.
Apple Corps was using the name first. They won an $80,000 settlement AND Apple Computer weren't allowed into the music distribution business.
If this goes to court, Bethesda's lawyers can pull out this precedent, win the case and possibly put Mojang out of business. Even if Mojang change the name, there's still the possibility of a massive settlement.

 

[Michael Omer]

Russ Pitts wrote an interesting article that really changed my view about the entire thing: http://kotaku.com/5846111/mojang-v-bethesda-or-i-hate-it-when-mommy-and-daddy-fight

 

[Mrmac23]

Notch's friendly, laidback status does not work when someone is trying to sue him. He'd better get his act together and start acting like someone who's actually in a court case or he's only going to be making things difficult for himself.

 

[JesterRaiin]

There is one aspect in this whole farce that i really can't just ignore : stating that gamers may become confused and mistake Scrolls with The Elder Scrolls.
So what does it suppose to mean ? That i and all potential buyers are considered sooooo stupid that different price, screenshots/art, description and sh*t won't give us a hint which game is which ? Also : who really calls MW/OB/SR "The Elder Scrolls part x" ?

 

[GameChanger]

I lately read an article which stated that this whole ordeal is not about the fact that the two games may be confused, but that if Mojang gets trough with the copyright of 'Scrolls' they have the legal right to sue Bethesda instead for the fact that 'The Elder Scrolls' contain the word 'Scrolls'.

Naturally, I am voting in favor of Bethesda in this case. If I were in this situation, I would not take the risk of letting my decade-old legacy fall into the hands of a bunch of incompetent newbies.

 

[NEDM]

I think it is absurd that they are trying to take sole ownership of a word. If they win, anyone who has written a book, produced a movie or TV show with any of the words the/elder/scrolls, should launch a lawsuit against bethesda and site this lawsuit as reason they should win. Claiming sole ownership over a word is insane, and name one elder scrolls game where you call it elder scrolls 4 or 5. Most people call them Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, etc. If mojang named their game Skyrim, sure bethesda would have a case.

Besides, are bethesda's lawyers busy trying to stop Fallout online? Do they really have time for another frivolous lawsuit?

Imagine if Dungeons and Dragons could take over total control of those those words, or final fantasy, or any of these series. It's a recipe for madness.

 

[Esotera]

I think it is absurd that they are trying to take sole ownership of a word. If they win, anyone who has written a book, produced a movie or TV show with any of the words the/elder/scrolls, should launch a lawsuit against bethesda and site this lawsuit as reason they should win. Claiming sole ownership over a word is insane, and name one elder scrolls game where you call it elder scrolls 4 or 5. Most people call them Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, etc. If mojang named their game Skyrim, sure bethesda would have a case.

Besides, are bethesda's lawyers busy trying to stop Fallout online? Do they really have time for another frivolous lawsuit?

Well that's what Mojang tried to do in their patent application, which is also ridiculous. But I'm fairly sure that there are legal precedents against something this stupid, there was a copyright troll who tried to sue over the use of one word, and he lost. But also somehow gained £0.25m from the victors...

 

[NEDM]

Holding a patent for a title is like this. If it is one word, be it scrolls, or dragonlance, or halo, what it means is you own that word, in that no one can write scrolls books, or dragonlance movies, or go around selling Halo merch, without consent of the owners of the title. The difference is, that if someone uses say, Halo in their title like "Halo Jumpers, the game" That would set it apart enough the original halo games.

But they are saying "Scrolls" in a game, and probably book form, is what they are naming their series, So if you had any hope to name your Intellectual property Scrolls, then you are too late. You could name your IP Faded scrolls, the lost scrolls, and stuff like that, which would be fine (until bethesda sued you)

I still go back to the point i made, who actually refers to the elder scrolls games, AS elder scrolls.

 

[Smooth Operator]

If this goes to court, Bethesda's lawyers can pull out this precedent, win the case and possibly put Mojang out of business. Even if Mojang change the name, there's still the possibility of a massive settlement.

Not at this point, they can only ban them from their names and get legal fees from Mojang, but since the Scrolls name didn't earn any money yet they can't aim for that, if Scrolls were sold already tho... then they could demand every single penny they ever made.

 

[sinterklaas]

Scrolls cannot be confused with the TES series therefore there is no case. End of.

Nothing is going to happen.

 

[Gladion]

I think it is absurd that they are trying to take sole ownership of a word. If they win, anyone who has written a book, produced a movie or TV show with any of the words the/elder/scrolls, should launch a lawsuit against bethesda and site this lawsuit as reason they should win. Claiming sole ownership over a word is insane, and name one elder scrolls game where you call it elder scrolls 4 or 5. Most people call them Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, etc. If mojang named their game Skyrim, sure bethesda would have a case.

Besides, are bethesda's lawyers busy trying to stop Fallout online? Do they really have time for another frivolous lawsuit?

Imagine if Dungeons and Dragons could take over total control of those those words, or final fantasy, or any of these series. It's a recipe for madness.

It's exactly like GameChanger says:

I lately read an article which stated that this whole ordeal is not about the fact that the two games may be confused, but that if Mojang gets trough with the copyright of 'Scrolls' they have the legal right to sue Bethesda instead for the fact that 'The Elder Scrolls' contain the word 'Scrolls'.

Nobody can blame Bethesda for their actions in this case.

 

[Saviordd1]

Scrolls cannot be confused with the TES series therefore there is no case. End of.

Nothing is going to happen.

The case is way more complicated then that, look into it.


OT: Bethesda all the way, Notch is being an immature ***** about this (And yes, I do play minecraft) I wish he'd grow up and realize this is serious.

 

[dickywebster]

I used to think fair enough to bethesda, but then mojang dropped all attempts at a copyright, so now bethesda just look like the bad guys as they seem to be chasing mojang down for no reason, as all previous reasons have been removed or sorted out.

 

[JediMB]

I lately read an article which stated that this whole ordeal is not about the fact that the two games may be confused, but that if Mojang gets trough with the copyright of 'Scrolls' they have the legal right to sue Bethesda instead for the fact that 'The Elder Scrolls' contain the word 'Scrolls'.

Naturally, I am voting in favor of Bethesda in this case. If I were in this situation, I would not take the risk of letting my decade-old legacy fall into the hands of a bunch of incompetent newbies.

1) It's trademark, not copyright.

2) That's bullcrap. Bethesda's trademark predates Mojang's, so Mojang couldn't possibly sue for trademark infringement.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Seriously people this is not Bethesa V Mojang it is Zenimax. I mean really there have been enough posts on this site for it be common knowledge also have to sue due to copyright laws. Can we stop with these threads now?

 

[Something Amyss]

Apple Corps v Apple Computer.
Apple Corps was using the name first. They won an $80,000 settlement AND Apple Computer weren't allowed into the music distribution business.
If this goes to court, Bethesda's lawyers can pull out this precedent, win the case and possibly put Mojang out of business. Even if Mojang change the name, there's still the possibility of a massive settlement.

They don't operate on the same level, though. This is an instance of two entire companies operating under the same name, which does create market confusion. It also flies in the face of an agreement held between the two, prior.

The issue of similar trademarks in media is a lot harder to deal with, and "Scrolls" doesn't actually provide that level of infringement. Mojang will not go out of business.

Single-word trademarks tend to be extremely narrow, because otherwise, they could effectively put an end to business. The idea that the two infringe on one another only under an extremely limited view of the law.

The only real point of contention here, far as I can see, is not Bethesda's rights, but the broadness of the "scrolls" application. Notch really is the bad guy here, for attempting to pull something that broad. Rather than it being Mojang infringing, Mojang's trademark would effectively make it so Bethesda was infringing.

I can't blame Bethesda for not wanting that. I can blame them for their actions, but then, with Notch playing the "poor little guy" card, I think he deserves some major blame as well.

 

[GameChanger]

I lately read an article which stated that this whole ordeal is not about the fact that the two games may be confused, but that if Mojang gets trough with the copyright of 'Scrolls' they have the legal right to sue Bethesda instead for the fact that 'The Elder Scrolls' contain the word 'Scrolls'.

Naturally, I am voting in favor of Bethesda in this case. If I were in this situation, I would not take the risk of letting my decade-old legacy fall into the hands of a bunch of incompetent newbies.

1) It's trademark, not copyright.

2) That's bullcrap. Bethesda's trademark predates Mojang's, so Mojang couldn't possibly sue for trademark infringement.

It's not, it says that in the article in the third reply. Read it. It would be one hundred percent legal to charge Bethesda.

Really, I don't want to see either company fall, but if I had to choose, I'd choose for Bethesda at any moment. Mojang's only accomplishment so far is Minecraft. It sold well, but at the moment it is a mess of spaghetti code and redundant features being added. I like the fan-friendliness of Minecraft and Mojang, but I don't really think they know what they're doing.

 

[Something Amyss]

2) That's bullcrap. Bethesda's trademark predates Mojang's, so Mojang couldn't possibly sue for trademark infringement.

Actually, you can sue someone prior to you. Wizards did something similar with Magic way back when.