I'm sure Bethesda will lose this case if it ever goes to court. J.K. Rowling borrowed, stole, or was inspired by the word 'muggler' in another author's books. The other author, not J.K. Rowling, lost the case. The other author insisted that she had copyright and trademark rights to the word 'muggler.' The English Court did not see it this way.
And while, Sweden and Denmark do validate the US copyrigts and trademarks laws, there are still some differences in the trademark and copyrights laws in these countries when they are compared with the trademarks and copyrights laws of the US...
As for trademarking Windows or Apple, is it not so that it is the whole -ahem- background of these corporations e.g. it is not the word windows or apple themselves that are trademarked, but also the organisation and the machinery behind them so to speak?
And to me, The Elder Scrolls, and Scrolls, are two different words and sentences - that also have two different meanings. And let's be clear here: No one, or nobody, ever calls Bethesda games anything other than Oblivion, Morrowind, or Skyrim. We know what they are, they're rpgs. I don't think that Notch's next game is going to be an rpg...
So, does this mean, with the explanation given in the above post, that Notch insisted on having an option to sue other people that uses the word 'scrolls' too? Gee, what is this world coming too. And this must mean that Bethesday now are afraid that Notch will sue them for infringement of their trademark...
Why not just let Notch and Todd sit down over a pint of ale and solve this? Save the money for lawyers to money for game development...