Mojang being sued by Bethesda

[Delta517]

Early today it seems that the battle for patents are still raging between companies, and it seems it finally reached Mojang too.

If you don’t know what I mean by “Battle for Patents” then let me direct you to what is going on between some of the major companies in the past few days. They’ve been have arguments and quarrels about how Google didn’t join Microsoft in wanting to have a certain patent, being it would heavily limit future plans with Android.

Anyway, Bethesda sent a letter to Majong, which states that their other game Scrolls, which infringes on their trademark of Elder Scroll V: Skyrim. The letter being 15 pages long, roughly states that the the name has the same common brand elements and common commercial origin, which could confused between the two. They then use examples like Super Mario and Warcraft to help ‘prove their point’.

Notch comments about it none-the-less with a optimistic stance about the situation.

Quote from Notch's Twitter:

"I still

 

[prowler]

Isn't Minecrafts release date 11.11.11 too?

Also lol.

Edit: Also your image isn't working.
Don't hotlink images :/

 

[cwstjdenobs]

This seems more a trademark than a patent issue. Especially seeing as it's an EU company and software patents mean shit here.

 

[Minox]

Mojäng AB is NOT being sued. They're received a letter of infringement from Bethesda's lawyers claiming that the name Scrolls infringes on their software trademark. That is not a lawsuit.

 

[doyama]

it appears to be your typical boilerplate "Copyright protection" thing. Pretty typical for these things to come out every once and awhile.

The irony is if that you google "Scroll -elder game" the Mojang one doesn't even show up for several pages, and it's only a passing refrence in RPS. Not sure how the lawyers found it, but that's their job.

Once ZeniMax and Bethesda start getting Minecraft hatemail, they'll probably just do the usual "It's just us protecting our copyright, we mean no harm, please continue, it's ok" as is pretty normal when these kinds of things bubble to the surface. I certainly wouldn't be concerned that somehow Scrolls will not be made.

UNLESS a Elder Scrolls CCG is actually in the works. In that case I can definitely see a problem with Mojang's game being similar and confusing to consumers.

 

[DeathStrudel]

tbh I don't think it's quite as stupid as it seems. I've heard quite a few idiots (if you haven't noticed, idiots make up the majority of gamers) refer to Morrowind and Oblivion as "those scroll games." It's still kinda silly but I could actually see (stupid) people getting confused.

 

[Deleted member 473940]

tbh I don't think it's quite as stupid as it seems. I've heard quite a few idiots (if you haven't noticed, idiots make up the majority of gamers) refer to Morrowind and Oblivion as "those scroll games." It's still kinda silly but I could actually see (stupid) people getting confused.

I know people who refer the whole series as "oblivion".

but anyway, everyone seems to be obsessed with sueing each other these days o.o

 

[Foxi4]

Can we PLEASE shut up about that Notch guy? Lately his twitter became a "gaming bible" for some newsposters, and that guy's full of shit from what I read so-far.

It's blatantly obvious what Mojang wanted to do while putting "Scrolls" deliberatelly in the title and the suit has "Good Grounds". Elder SCROLLS have been on the market for years and it's CLEARLY linking to that title rather than being original and choosing a different name.

 

[Celice]

Notch is just some guy.

Now, for the actual attempt at bethesda's argument... they have a lot more to be suing for if they're bothered by just the word 'Scrolls.' They have... pretty much everything open to them for attacking. The choice that they've only decided to make a move on Majong should be telling enough.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Notch can literally change the name of "Scrolls" to anything else and it'll be problem solved.

 

[Terminator02]

Can we PLEASE shut up about that Notch guy? Lately his twitter became a "gaming bible" for some newsposters, and that guy's full of shit from what I read so-far.

It's blatantly obvious what Mojang wanted to do while putting "Scrolls" deliberatelly in the title and the suit has "Good Grounds". Elder SCROLLS have been on the market for years and it's CLEARLY linking to that title rather than being original and choosing a different name.

how is Scrolls linking to The Elder Scrolls other than them sharing one word?

and he made the blog post

 

[Foxi4]

Can we PLEASE shut up about that Notch guy? Lately his twitter became a "gaming bible" for some newsposters, and that guy's full of shit from what I read so-far.

It's blatantly obvious what Mojang wanted to do while putting "Scrolls" deliberatelly in the title and the suit has "Good Grounds". Elder SCROLLS have been on the market for years and it's CLEARLY linking to that title rather than being original and choosing a different name.

how is Scrolls linking to The Elder Scrolls other than them sharing one word?

and he made the blog post

Seriously man, f*ck his blog. Notch is no god and has 0 authority in this subject.

The word "Scrolls" when attached to an RPG has been *hard-coded* into the minds of gamers as "Elder Scrolls game", much like "Warhammer" automatically evokes "Warhammer" or "Warhammer 40k" feelings despite being a "separate" word entirely.

If you can't see that then, gee, you really don't know how marketing works.

It's like naming a coke beverage Pepsi Coke rather than Pepsi Cola and expecting someone to avoid Copyright Claims. Don't be a clown here, you KNOW what they're doing. It's CLEARLY a game of words.

 

[purplesludge]

Sounds nothing like the elder scrolls series.
http://www.scrolls.com/

 

[Zarcon]

If you call up most places and ask to pre-order "the next Elder Scrolls" game they'll have no idea what you're talking about.
Until you ask for Skyrim specifically anyway.

I've even forgotten that Morrowind and Oblivion have "The Elder Scrolls" tacked in front of them.

Most conversations refer to the games as just "Morrowind" and "Oblivion".

Also, Scrolls is going to be a card game isn't it?
It's not like the game is being called "Scrolls - Annihilation" it's just "Scrolls"

I can see why there'd be a lawsuit, but I still think it's kind of silly.

 

[Oveneise]

Wow, Bethesda/lawyers... just wow. *facepalm*

 

[Foxi4]

Never said it's NOT silly, what I said is that there are grounds for a suit.

The fact that nobody recognizes Elder Scrolls as a franchise is caused by the rapid spread of technology across the world. Gaming, once reserved for the few, is now for the many.

Amongst all "Many's" there will be a terryfying majority of n00blets that have no idea what they're talking about, yet those usually bark the loudest.

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

Never said it's NOT silly, what I said is that there are grounds for a suit.

The fact that nobody recognizes Elder Scrolls as a franchise is caused by the rapid spread of technology across the world. Gaming, once reserved for the few, is now for the many.

Amongst all "Many's" there will be a terryfying majority of n00blets that have no idea what they're talking about, yet those usually bark the loudest.

No, there isn't. Bethesda doesn't have, and can't have, copyrighted the word "Scrolls" to name a game. They have no grounds for a suit.

 

[Cablephish]

Throw a z on the end and problem is solved.

Unless there's already a scrollz game.

Then they can make it Scrollzs, I'm sure no one's used that yet.
Always glad to help.

 

[Dangy]

Throw a z on the end and problem is solved.

Unless there's already a scrollz game.

Then they can make it Scrollzs, I'm sure no one's used that yet.
Always glad to help.

Adding a 'Z' to the end of a game is a good way to let people know that your game sucks.

 

[Forstride]

-snip-

Except Scrolls isn't an RPG. It's a TCG-style game. The only similarity is that it's medieval-styled. Get your facts straight before going into a rant. And who said notch is a god? No one was even acting like he was. It's just that anyone with a brain is going to defend him with this.

And to anyone who simply says "Change the name," it's not simple. They've done a lot of work I'm sure, and changing it now would be devastating. The lawyers in charge of this need to get the sand out of their vaginas and realize how childish their case is.