Notch wins Mojang -vs- Bethesda

Straight from http://www.minecraftforum.net/ :

Notch just revealed that Mojang won the interim injunction, allowing them to keep the name Scrolls for their upcoming CCG-alike game! While Zenimax can appeal this ruling, Notch was nonetheless optimistic about the outcome, as were numerous employees at Mojang. If you're fluent in Swedish, you can see the released document... here.

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Well, it is not settled yet Notch has suggested to duke this out in a Quake III match, which he is fairly confident to win But I wouldn't be so sure, I guess some of the Bethesda devs might be really good in that. I like his way of doings things

I don't think anyone doubted he'd win in the court.

GothicGothicness said:

Well, it is not settled yet Notch has suggested to duke this out in a Quake III match, which he is fairly confident to win But I wouldn't be so sure, I guess some of the Bethesda devs might be really good in that. I like his way of doings things

I don't think anyone doubted he'd win in the court.

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Yeah? I know he is seen as the little guy against the big, bad company and all that, but actually I think it is very wrong that he (or anyone) gets to trademark a common word like "scrolls". He does not have my sympathy in this. Because now HE will have the power to sue all others who use "scrolls" in any of their work, and he will have a much stronger case than Bethesda currently has... And he is a mulitmillionaire by now with the financial capacity to do that, too.
And the Quake match proposition is cute and all, but is really just a PR stunt, imho.

I don't think he is the kind of person who will go around and sue people for using "scrolls" actually. Time will tell. Either way fair should be fair if you can trademark "windows" why not "scrolls" ? Actually if you are a big cooperation it appears you can trademark close to iEverything. ( hopes none is going to sue because of that word )

Because Microsoft gets to do it doesn't make it right. And by the way, what's true for Zenimax is true for him as well. If he doesn't sue others for possible infringement, his claim to the trademark looses all value. So if he doesn't plan to sue people, he shouldn't even have applied for the trademark…

If he didn't apply for the trademark and someone else did they might sue him for using their trademark…. by applying for it he avoids this situation.

Because Microsoft gets to do it doesn't make it right.

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No it doesn't but if they are allowed to, he should not be prevented from doing it just because he is small compared to huge MS right ? If there is one thing I'd which from the law it is to be consistent I know it is an impossibility but still.

Avoiding a lawsuit? That sure worked splendidly, eh?

Oh well, they'll all do as they must. The only one to profit are the damn lawyers.

haha, LOL, right you are no matter what happens lawyers profit.

GothicGothicness said:

haha, LOL, right you are no matter what happens lawyers profit.

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Puts the "your job" thread into perspective....

says pibbur who'd rather be a rat than a lawyer

Hey now! Speaking for the rat community I would like to ask you to please don't put us in the same sentence as lawyers. We are noble misunderstood creatures, but lawyers….well they're lawyers. No more needs to be said

Here's the joke:

In the biological sciences, it's been decided to stop experiments on rats. They'll use lawyers in stead. First of all, a significant reduction in protests from the general public is expected. Secondly, there are things rats won't do.

says pibbur, friend of Saul

You may wish to edit your title, they won an interim/preliminary injunction…

TBH, it doesn't really matter… Even if Mojang prevails in the end they've trademarked a fairly common/generic word and I doubt they'd win in court when defending their trademark. Unless the game title and gameplay of the offending game were very similar.

I think trademarking a single common/generic word, especially if it is at least somewhat in use within a specific field/industry is rather silly. Apple may be a common word, but it is not in common use contextually speaking - IE when you consider what business they are in and the products they offer. You can't say the same for scrolls… I mean what's next? Trademarking the word dragon, elf, dwarf, human, fantasy?!? It would be interesting to see when Beth applied to trademark the phrase elder scrolls, was it before or after their series became popular?

Old article from The Escapist:

Mojang's trademark application on "Scrolls" is incredibly broad and could potentially put the company in a position to bring legal action against Zenimax/Bethesda over its use of the name in future Elder Scrolls titles. Perhaps an unlikely scenario; perhaps not.

But in response to that report, Notch claimed on his blog that he'd already tried to soothe any such fears Bethesda might have. "We realized we should apply for the trademark 'Minecraft' to protect our brand. When doing so, we also sent in an application for 'Scrolls'," he wrote. "When Bethesda contacted us, we offered both to change the name to 'Scrolls: [some subtitle]' and to give up the trademark."

"They refused on both counts," he continued. "Whatever reason they have for suing us, it's not a fear of us having a trademark on the world 'Scrolls,' as we've offered to give that up."

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So, no, it's not necessarily a clear-cut case of a random trademark process on a semi-common word.

Drithius said:

Old article from The Escapist:



So, no, it's not necessarily a clear-cut case of a random trademark process on a semi-common word.

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In this instance you are correct… Further down the line(assuming Mojang get's to keep it) when someone else tries to use the word scrolls in a game title, who knows? I mean they did apply for the trademark for a reason, unless there were ulterior motives from the beginning...

Zeni might want to make an example of Mojang or maybe Mojang dropping the trademark/changing it was conditional, one can only speculate… Nothing is preventing Mojang from dropping it of their own volition either. Mojang's move just seemed kind of dirty, and with the sole intent of generating publicity. Which, considering the cost of advertising, might actually be cheaper going the route they've taken.

Long story short, neither party is innocent or a victim, they're both stupid(IMO).