

Notch offered to not (tm) Scrolls etc, but Bethesda sue ahead anyway - willvarfar
http://notch.tumblr.com/post/10990169550/a-short-response

======
masklinn
It's important to note Notch not only offered dropping the trademarking of
"Scrolls", he also offered adding a subtitle or new words to the game title to
not make it just "Scrolls" (on top of the non-trademarking stuff).

Bethesda/Zenimax essentially sues to prevent Mojang from using the word
"Scrolls" at all, in a game which is all about, well, scrolls.

~~~
zerostar07
Why would anyone want to make such a compromise, build a brand, make money,
and then risk a lawsuit that will lead to a massive settlement. alternatives:
"Scrollings", "Scrollables" etc...

~~~
masklinn
> alternatives: "Scrollings", "Scrollables" etc...

That does not make much sense, it's not a game about scrolling it's a game
about scrolls. As in rolls of parchments with words on them.

~~~
norova
> rolls of parchments with words on them

I truly believe that Mojang could change the name to this and it would still
be a smash hit.

------
pestaa
Has anybody at Bethesda considered that nobody actually calls their games
"Elder Scrolls"? I've seen pretty much all the footage on Skyrim, and I don't
recall I've seen the series title _once_.

In their nonetheless strong position I'd try to create a culture where gamers
point out, when talking about Notch's Scrolls, that this is not _that_
scrolls; I see this as an opportunity for cheap marketing.

And what happened to the Quake 3 duel? It'd have been a win-win PR maneuver
too. Unless they plan to play it in front of the judge.

~~~
masklinn
> And what happened to the Quake 3 duel? It'd have been a win-win PR maneuver
> too.

The Bethesda/Zenimax lawyers "declined"

~~~
pestaa
Thought so. It's a pity because that unusual move alone would worth a couple
of bucks in terms of advertising. At least they didn't sit down to play _AND_
sue Notch at the same time.

Thanks for the update.

------
grimen
I heard Bethesda's next version of the game will be titled "The Elder Patent
Trolls". I also heard they are sueing all patent trolls for being patent
trolls, as they consider themselves have (TM) on that in the current game
industry. Will be interesting to follow. :)

~~~
StavrosK
You can't sue someone for being a patent troll just because you have a
trademark on a game called "Patent Trolls"! Just like Bethesda can't sue
scrolls for being scrolls now.

~~~
lawnchair_larry
You can sue for whatever you want. If you are a rich bully, you'll almost
always win one way or another. The law is barely relevant.

------
mcantor
Serious question: Have we heard from a human [1] in Bethesda's ranks about
this issue? Or are they just playing the silent giant?

If I were the head of Bethesda's PR team and I saw this post, I would be
having conniptions.

Footnotes [1]. "human", that is, an individual person speaking on-the-record,
having identified themselves by their name and position within Bethesda. _Not_
a legal team, committee or any other culpability-diffusing vehicle.

------
quadhome
Bethesda suing over "Scrolls" when their trademark is for "The Elder Scrolls,"
even in the light of notch's offer to relinquish his trademark seems
irrational.

But, they're still doing it.

So, what are some rational alternative reasons?

One conspiracy theory immediately comes to my mind: they want Mindcraft. They
can't buy it; but, they sure as hell can "settle."

------
Havoc
Bethesda makes awesome games, but their legal dept is clearly full of
industrial grade a-holes. Notch has clearly show he is willing to back down.
Get that in writing & call it a day. Instead they decide to take it to court.

Sounds like lawyers trying to justify their existence.

------
jjm
Well since Notch has TM'd Scrolls he in fact might be in a better position
than if he TM'd XYZ Scrolls or Scrolls XYZ.

Either way this will be thrown out and Notch will win, but only after spending
6-7 figures on defending it. :-(

------
felipemnoa
I wonder if they are looking to extract some money out of notch.

------
zerostar07
They kind of have to, protecting your trademark is part of your obligations.
They seem to have a good case for it too, it s not like their claim is
unsubstantiated.

~~~
pyre
Next up: "Apple sues makers of 'Pod People' video game for trademark
infringement. Apple legal says, 'We sorta have to or people will get
confused.'"

~~~
latch
Trademarks tend to be tied to a specific type of business. A better analogy
would be if Apple sues an mp3 product named "Pod: The Music Player".

~~~
officemonkey
Or Infogear's iPhone trademark, which Apple aggressively violated.

------
FredBrach
What would happen if the first company which has used "war" in a video game
title sue the other ones...

------
smallhands
i think it is time to create a different court system for silly law sues like
this

~~~
Symmetry
This has nothing to do with the laws, and everything to do with the lawyers.

------
vlad99
You fucking Bethesda bastards, leave notch alone. * chris crocker _

------
bluelu
Even if Notch doesn't register Scrolls, he is still violating their trademark.
That's what trademarks are for, ensuring that nobody else uses your name.

~~~
maximusprime
Scrolls is just an English word. You shouldn't be able to trademark it in the
first place.

~~~
latch
That's exactly how trademarks _don't_ work. Windows. Apple. McDonalds (a
proper name!). Name combinations: Pizza Hut, Quaker State, Bank of America.

~~~
maximusprime
Yes I know how it works. I was commenting that I find the current system of
being able to trademark English words like "orange" a pretty silly system.

~~~
latch
You really don't see a problem with someone other than Microsoft selling an
operating system and calling it Windows?

What about a company that does mail delivery calling itself the "United States
Postal Service" ?

An airline called "Virgin"?

~~~
0x12
It should be called 'microsoft windows'. That way we can have 'Apple windows',
'digital research windows' and so on. Window managers are a class and you
should not be able to monopolize a class name without some sort of addition.

~~~
zerostar07
"Hello, I have a problem with Nokia Photoshop not loading on my Fujitsu-
Siemens Macbook Pro after installing the latest upgrade of 'Google Snow
Leopard Windows'".

~~~
rfrey
"Google" is an English word, so you'll have to be a bit more specific.

~~~
Aqua_Geek
Technically, "Google" isn't an English word - it's a misspelling of the
English word "googol."

~~~
mukyu
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb)>

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rig...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rights)

~~~
zerostar07
The point is it was not a verb before Google the company

------
maxklein
Read the article linked: [http://kotaku.com/5846111/mojang-v-bethesda-or-i-
hate-it-whe...](http://kotaku.com/5846111/mojang-v-bethesda-or-i-hate-it-when-
mommy-and-daddy-fight)

Notch is trying to own the word "scrolls" in all media. This has implications
not just for that single company, but every gaming company that ever wants to
use the word "scrolls".

To me, that's scummy behaviour. People should not be able to trademark single
words across all forms of media. It does not matter if they made minecraft or
not, they do not deserve to own the word 'scrolls'. It's an english word, it
belongs to all of us.

~~~
masklinn
Have you read TFA? Notch offered to drop the trademarking entirely.

And while their attitude could (of course) change in the future, so far Mojang
has only used trademark law in a single case: against a fellow selling a
minecraft ripoff as "Minecraft" in the AppStore (which is about as clear-cut
as you can be for trademark infringement). Not even FortressCraft[0], a
blatant ripoff of the game using a very similar name structure and reusing
half the trademark, has triggered any giving of fuck from Mojang (as far as I
know, I might be wrong) although it has drawn the ire of the community.

[0]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHdWswvezds&feature=mfu_i...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHdWswvezds&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL)

~~~
WizKid
Notch even congratulated them:
<https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/115752966702628864> . And people didn't
believe him so he posted:
<https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/115753196785381376>

