Author Topic: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch  (Read 7654 times)

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Offline BloodEagle

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Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
http://notch.tumblr.com/post/8519901309/bethesda-are-suing-us-heres-the-full-story

Quote from: TFA
About half a year ago, our lawyers recommended us to register “Minecraft” as a trademark, so we did. I had voted against it initially, but we did it anyway. Better safe than sorry, and all that. At the same time, we also applied for “Scrolls”, the new game we’re working on. We knew of no similarly named games, and we had even googled it to make sure. I’m not even sure if you CAN trademark individual words, like “Scrolls”, but we sent in the application anyway.

A while later, out of the blue, we got contacted by Bethesda’s lawyers. They wanted to know more about the “Scrolls” trademark we were applying for, and claimed it conflicted with their existing trademark “The Elder Scrolls”. [....]

Anyone with experience regarding Swedish trademarking want to weigh in on this?  Because I'm pretty sure Bethesda's trying to ride Minecraft's coattails with negative press.

 

Offline Droid803

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
skrolz and be done with it.
(´・ω・`)
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Offline BloodEagle

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
I really hope someone makes a Lovecraft inspired game entitled "The Elder," just to piss them off.

 
Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
I think this might be the aftermath of Tim Langdell: Ever since he put a copyright on the word 'Edge' and started bullying everyone who used 'edge' in his name, companies are very wary of single-word trademarks.

So I don't think the that trademark should be registered at all.

 

Offline Belisarius

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
When you really want to piss them off then trademark the title "The Elder Trolls" ;7

 

Offline Bobboau

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
the novice scrolls?
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Offline Sushi

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
http://notch.tumblr.com/post/8519901309/bethesda-are-suing-us-heres-the-full-story
Anyone with experience regarding Swedish trademarking want to weigh in on this?  Because I'm pretty sure Bethesda's trying to ride Minecraft's coattails with negative press.

My understanding is that if when you don't defend your trademarks against potential infringers, you dilute your ability to do so in the future. So this could be seen simply as a way for Bethesda to assert their territory and prove that they are actively defending their trademark (in case a REAL offender ever shows up).

 

Offline deathfun

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
http://notch.tumblr.com/post/8519901309/bethesda-are-suing-us-heres-the-full-story
Anyone with experience regarding Swedish trademarking want to weigh in on this?  Because I'm pretty sure Bethesda's trying to ride Minecraft's coattails with negative press.

My understanding is that if when you don't defend your trademarks against potential infringers, you dilute your ability to do so in the future. So this could be seen simply as a way for Bethesda to assert their territory and prove that they are actively defending their trademark (in case a REAL offender ever shows up).

That's similar to an event that happened with Macrosoft and Microsoft. Macro was perfectly legal, but Microsoft wanted to buy the name simply so people don't confuse the two. This is probably the same sort of case
"No"

 

Offline Colonol Dekker

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
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Offline Nuke

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
way i see it, if they dont want to have other companies use their one of the words in their trademark, they should have to by up each and every word in the name separately and pay the legal and application fees that come with them. if they dont their up for grabs. its like tradmarking the word 'a' or 'the' and then telling people they cant use it in any other tradmarks. i dont have no problem with single word trademarks. scrolls != the eldar scrolls, even though it contains a word used in the latter trademark. the subject of a trademark is not the words or images used, but the way a company or product identifies itself, so long as the trademark in its entirety is unique, and noone else has claimed it, it should be up for grabs. of course i dont actually know what the copywrite laws are. but if companies want to mage the guerrilla move to lock down every single letter of their trademark so that noone else may come up with a vagly similar mark, they should have to pay out the nose for it.
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Offline Aardwolf

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
I don't know exactly how the system works, but I'm rooting for Bethesda to lose, based on how the system should work.

 

Offline deathfun

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
Notch is awesome
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112364-Notch-Challenges-Bethesda-to-Lawsuit-Deathmatch
Quote
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson wants to settle Bethesda's Scrolls trademark lawsuit the old-fashioned way: Quake 3 Team Deathmatch! (And he's serious, by the way.)
"No"

 

Offline BloodEagle

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
I really hope Bethesda accepts, even though they'd purchase ringers.  Something like this NEEDS to happen.

 

Offline TrashMan

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
F*** trademarks.
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Offline Aardwolf

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
Hm...

On the one hand, IMO Bethesda ought to drop the suit out of realizing how stupid it is, or lose humiliatingly in court as a result. It would be horrible if they won.

But on the other hand, if they accepted Notch's offer, that would be equivalent to them saying "trademarks are worth as much to us as the outcomes of team deathmatch games"... i.e. nothing. Maybe that was the point?

 

Offline Sushi

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
Hm...

On the one hand, IMO Bethesda ought to drop the suit out of realizing how stupid it is, or lose humiliatingly in court as a result. It would be horrible if they won.

But on the other hand, if they accepted Notch's offer, that would be equivalent to them saying "trademarks are worth as much to us as the outcomes of team deathmatch games"... i.e. nothing. Maybe that was the point?

There's precedent for this sort of shenanigans, apparently...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_air#.22Just_Plane_Smart.22

 

Offline deathfun

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
Quote
Notch admitted his choice of game might have been a poor one. "If it came to a Quake 3 tournament, I have a feeling we just might have to change the name," Notch told Wired.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/notch-challenging-bethesda-to-quake-3-duel-might-have-been-a-p/

I actually want to see a video of this going down if it ever does
"No"

 

Offline karajorma

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
There's precedent for this sort of shenanigans, apparently...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_air#.22Just_Plane_Smart.22

It's nice to have the people in the PR Dept. occasionally realise that sometimes there are ways for everyone to come out of this sort of situation ahead. :D
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Offline Nuke

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
i dont think a bunch of minecrafters would stand a chance against your more traditional fps players. i mean there is a reason these people play minecraft, they get pewned at dm too easily.
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Offline BloodEagle

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Re: Bethesda Softworks vs. Notch
i dont think a bunch of minecrafters would stand a chance against your more traditional fps players. i mean there is a reason these people play minecraft, they get pewned at dm too easily.

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