Bethesda sues Notch over the use of the word "Scrolls"

[Sinjalaninja]

im a gonig to get mad in swedish now...BANGARRÅÅÅÅÅÅÅ!!!!!! orka att bryer om det och sen på det stämma dom?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!??!?!? RASTLÖST...i hope this upcoming games becomes a flopp // a swedish guy^^

 

[Tchos]

I'd also like to mention that magic scrolls have been in video games at least as far back as Rogue and all the Rogue-likes like Nethack. It's not even a unique word in relation to video games. Edited August 8, 2011 by Tchos

[arcane20]

The thing is... Its two titles in the gaming industry, if it were a book called Scrolls, it wouldn't matter. I am glad to see that Bethseda cares about it's copyrights and trademarks and is willing to defend them. The argument of World of Warcraft to Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is perfect for this case.

 

If you believe that this is simply to gain money, or abuse power, you can take your arguments somewhere else. This is simply about keeping their trademarks and making sure that newcomers to The Elder Scrolls series does not mistake "Scrolls" to be either Bethseda's works or an associated company's.

 

Well I hope this comment will be read and will get people to realize that what Bethseda is doing is the right thing.

 

Are you serious?

There's a big difference between someone naming a game say the archaic scrolls and someone just naming their game scrolls. What they're doing is proving their dominance. It's absolutely pathetic. And quite frankly arrogant to think they own the word 'scrolls'. By that logic they should be paying oxford dictionaries because they used the word scrolls in a product long before Bethesda were even a company. This is bordering on fascism.

It's absolutely rediculous.

 

and FTR your arguments are to sense what Heavy Metal is to peace and tranquility.

Edited August 8, 2011 by arcane20

[Mizuchiro]

Seriously, this is really stupid. Did James Cameron sued Nickelodeon for using the name "Avatar" in their cartoon series ? Both of them have explicitly the same name, however neither of them bothered about suing each other. There is simply no reason for suing over one specific word, it's like Square suing any game with the word "Fantasy" on it. If i remember right you can't copyright and/or trademark single words exactly for this reason.

[smoked86]

@mooglebye if the game was named ancient scrolls and was a fps RPG based in a fantasy medieval world with stories focused around a series of scrolls from which you could divine future events, then you'd be right on the money. But 'scrolls' more or less is a type of card battling game so far as we know. so MTG or yu-gi-oh would have more legal standing in a reasonable sense. Unfortunately lawyers are far from reasonable.

[uberness23]

This type of thing happens all the time between companies. It's usually kept private, and with good reason. Companies must actively take legal action, even when it seems pointless, like this one does to prevent the gradual genericization of their trademark. Look at products like Velcro (a brand name; the actual product name is a "hook-and-loop fastener") or Band-Aid (which is actually an "adhesive strip"). Those companies have suffered from genericized trademarks when their brand names have become synonymous with the actual original product. This type of lawsuit is typical of most companies and is to be expected. Granted, something like TES is unlikely to suffer the same fate ( and even if it did, it would take years) but the principle remains the same. There are dozens of brands out there which have fallen by the wayside for NOT taking legal action like this.

 

The lawsuit will likely turnout to be nothing to either party anyways. Worst case for Notch: he changes the name of his game. Worst case for ZENIMAX (Not Beth), they pay Notch's fees. Either way, Notch's game is still likely to be released in one form or another, and Beth keeps their trademark relevant. I agree that the lawsuit is stupid and frivolous. But I also agree that Notch should have handled this more professionally, like most companies instead of making it into a circus show by publicizing it widely.

 

At the end of the day, it matters little to either party. No real money is going to be made or lost here, regardless of who wins.

 

 

EDIT: Really, the naming of all these articles is poor. Zenimax lawyers are suing Notch (possibly semi-autonomously depending on how much leeway they're given) This was bound to cause the "Hrr... Bethsoft is evil for suing an indie company" reaction.

Edited August 8, 2011 by uberness23

[deadybear]

@Mizuchiro: Actually if you look at the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie title you will notice that a certain part is missing from the title. I wonder why?

 

@smoked86

Don't jinx him. Last time someone tried to cut in on Magic: The Gathering Wizards closed down half the MTG websites on the internet. Hasbro's legal department is scary.

 

My personal opinion is that the legal fees should have probably gone into the development of Skyrim as this lawsuit is unlikely to benefit anyone.

Edited August 8, 2011 by deadybear

[ub3rman123]

I believe Mojang is slightly in the wrong as well for their attempt to trademark the Scrolls name. Had they not tried to secure it for themselves, Bethesda would've never had a problem. Their attempt to trademark it could potentially even lead to a situation where someone else makes a game called Scrolls or similar, and Mojang sues them.

[Mattatatta]

It's a single word, that has little to do with anything on it's own. I mean, if we're going to go on about the "value" of a word, then I'd say the word "Elder" is worth a ton more. How many games do you know of that use the word "Elder" in their title compared to games that use the word "Scrolls"?

 

"Scrolls" is a simple, if unexciting, title. On it's own it holds no real connections to anything other than the mental image of rolled up sheets of paper - like it is supposed to. Now if the upcoming game 'Scrolls' is similar to 'The Elder Scrolls' in terms of gameplay, graphics, content, etc, then I can see an argument arising. But over a title? Please, that's just ridiculous.

[deltasparky]

@uberman you are wrong games are diffrent Bethesda is trying to get money mojang didnt sue ALOT of games that look exactly like minecraft