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

[deltasparky]

i was thinking about buying skyrim but if thye win i wont buy it ill make sure others dont besthsa is lazy notch earned his money you guys did also but maybe you should hvae made new vegas

[Hachigatsu]

People need to get off their high horses. "Oh I'm not gonna buy Skyrim because they're suing mojang for intellectual copyright infringement". Oh please, I bet 99% of the people who "say" they won't buy Skyrim will be at the midnight release giggling like school girls. I follow the path of "If it doesn't affect me personally I don't care". Do you really think Zenimax, not Bethesda Game Development the people who actually make the Elder Scrolls, care that some random schmuck on the internet is upset with them? Of course they don't. Get over it that's the way the world works, and all of your bawwing and whining is just pissing into the wind.

[PoweredBySushi]

Honestly I dont care but these guys are like a bunch of kids, its just the word Scrolls... Theres no word Elder there... It would be like Blizzard sueing everybody using the words World Of, its just a stupid waste of time... I hope Notch wins if it goes to court, its just plain stupid...

[Povuholo]

This might just be me and my circle of friends, but I've never heard TES referred to as "The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim". I've only heard Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, so if I, being a "general consumer", would be asked about "scrolls", I'd probably not make the connection.

Same here. Nobody says 'I saw a mudcrab the other day in The Elder Scrolls 4. Nasty creatures.'.

[hlvr]

I'm studying law at the moment in Sweden and the last subject before summer we went through was intellectual property. Here's what I would say concerning this problem:

 

Firstly, a trademark can consist of every sign, mark or symbol that can be reproduced graphically. This can include certain words, symbols, numbers, letters, shapes, packages or looks.

 

Secondly, in order for trademarks to get protected they need to be distinctive. It's distinctive if it can be seperated from products that are similar on the market. This only applies for products in economic activity.

 

Thirdly, a word that describes a generic designation can not be protected.

 

Last but not least, the most important question is if another trademark infringes an already protected trademark, which is this topic's case.

 

The exclusive rights of a trademark includes that no identical or similar trademark for products and services of the same kind is permitted.

If there risk for confusion or risk that the usage leads to the apprehension that there is a connection between the one who uses the sign/mark/symbol and the owner of the trademark, then that is not permitted either.

If a trademark is known, then this protection is broadened.

 

 

 

In this case:

 

The certain word "Scrolls" can be protected as intellectual property. However, one must also keep in mind the competitive interest.

To answer the question if there is an infringement of the trademark's exclusive rights, it's necessary to state that the more similar the products are, the more different it is required for the signs/marks/symbols to be.

 

Here, we're dealing with products that are similar; they're both video games and they both include fantasty elements.

Therefore, it's required for the signs/marks/symbols to be more different than otherwise required.

 

When determining if there is risk for confusion and risk that the usage leads to the apprehension that there is a connection between the one who uses the sign/mark/symbol and the owner of the trademark, one must value the overall impression of the sign/mark/symbol against the trademark. The trial is done from the overall impression of the average consumer.

 

Given the stylistic and visual differences and the differences in words (The Elder), it would be no risk for the average consumer to confuse "The Elder Scrolls" with "Scrolls" and no risk for the average consumer that the usage leads to the apprehension that there is a connection between "Scrolls" and "The Elder Scrolls".

 

Thus, "Scrolls" does not infringe the exclusive rights of the trademark "The Elder Scrolls".

Edited August 8, 2011 by hlvr

[Beyonder]

Glad you guys don't approve about that just because its bethesda. Really now, suing them because they used the world "scroll"? I hope the other company isn't intimidated and goes to court, which will unfortunately will still cost the smaller company money, hopefully common sense will prevail and they will win.

 

And I won't get skriym at launch, not because of this(though this makes it even easier) but because I honestly don't see how its going to come close to a modded oblivion in graphics or amount of quality content.

[alec6694]

why does notch need to put out another game anyways? He should be focusing on getting minecraft out of the beta stage first...

[ub3rman123]

why does notch need to put out another game anyways? He should be focusing on getting minecraft out of the beta stage first...

 

Notch isn't making it. His company is. He's working on Minecraft.

[robert01]

This is the same deal with EA vs Edge Games. Edge games lost and so will Zenimax. Bethesda isn't suing Notch, Zenimax is.

[Timmhaze]

now i love bethesda and all, but come, on! Their just being B****y about this whole thing, i mean, people will just call the games morrowind, oblivion, and skyrim, and even if you do call it by its offical title, its the elder scrolls, not "scrolls".