Bethsda files copyright claim against Mojang, Jagos's face explodes into candy

[Nikose Tyris]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/05/elder-scrolls-vs-notchs-scrolls/

Alleges Minecraft-maker Notch on Twitter: “Just got a letter from Bethesda’s lawyers. They claim “Scrolls” infringes on their trademark and everyone will confuse it with Skyrim.”

No way/what/how/why/whatwhatwhat? What? Hopefully this is just crossed wires, an overzealous lawyer acting alone, a weird joke or othewise not actually happening. We’ve asked Bethesda for a statement. Let’s wait for more information before we decide we know what’s going on: if it is as it appears, good grief. If it isn’t, phew. More as we have it, anyway.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/08/05/bethesda-claim-mojangs-scrolls-infringes-on-skyrim-trademark/

Notch has just tweeted with news that he’s received a legal notice from Bethesda: “Just got a letter from Bethesta’s lawyers. They claim “Scrolls” infringes on their trademark and everyone will confuse it with Skyrim,” he writes. We’ve reached out to Bethesda for response, but they have “no comment at this time.”

This comes on the same day that Notch also revealed that Minecraft has now passed three million sales. Notch has since tweeted to say “I still <3 Bethesda. This is hopefully just lawyers being lawyers." He also posted a picture of the document, which he says is 15 pages long.

Hopefully a case of lawyers being lawyers but I'm pretty god damn confident that the word 'scroll' is too common in the vernacular to actually have a copyright on it.

[Marc v4.0]

Grandma is gonna get real confused when she goes to buy the latest hit, Skyrim, for little junior snot-nose and all she sees are miles of completely digital copies of a game called Scrolls The Elder Scrolls: V

[akaSM]

Dude, April Fool's day was about 4 months ago.

[Pip Boy]

Didn't you guys hear about the scrolls update? Since the game is so old and now includes scrolls and the aether, they're changing the name of the game to Elder Scrollscraft: Skymining.

[Magus]

If I were Notch and I didn't speak...Swedish or whatever that is, I'd just be like "man if you want to sue me you'd best send me legal notices in English".

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

If I were Notch and I didn't speak...Swedish or whatever that is, I'd just be like "man if you want to sue me you'd best send me legal notices in English".

Notch is Swedish.
I don't think they'll buy that.

[Aerozord]

I am confused, I do not recall there even being anything minecraft related that uses the word "scrolls". What is this about?

[Pip Boy]

Just to clarify, Minecraft isn't actually the game they're getting sued over. They're being sued over a different one. This one (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/29/mojangs-scrolls-to-follow-minecrafts-piecemeal-release-strateg/) in particular.

[Magus]

No, we get that. We just can't figure out how and why Scrolls isn't generic enough that The Elder Scrolls makers think they can sue him over it.

[Nikose Tyris]

http://notch.tumblr.com/ Notch gives us a full story update.

[Melfice]

Nikose is a motherfucking ninja. As in, he actually fucks mothers. These may be his own mother. (http://notch.tumblr.com/post/8519901309/bethesda-are-suing-us-heres-the-full-story)

But seriously, well played, Nik.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Wow, ok, this is utterly stupid. Incidentally, why don't they sue every game maker that has "The" in the title of any of their stuff? Becuase they apparantly seem to think they can get away with that just fine and there's a lot more of them they could sue.

[Aerozord]

I think that part about a swedish legal firm was someone just trying to get money. Trademarks only cover the exact name, with the only exception being when intentionally trying to mislead the consumer into thinking its the same product, since thats fraud.

So Notch is right, they have no case. They might try to out lawyer him, but thanks to minecrafts success he has the cash to take them on in a legal battle if he has to.

[Jagos]

Coming up next story. The same lawyer firm that represented Tim Langdell also represents Bethesda!

[Nikose Tyris]

Without googling, is Tim Langdell the Douchenozzle from "EDGE games"?

[Magus]

Yup.

Someone mentioned that "well if my friend asked me if I'd tried out the new Scrolls game, I would probably think he was talking about The Elder Scrolls". This makes no sense as far as hurting The Elder Scrolls sales, since it made the guy think of The Elder Scrolls!

Also the game isn't even similar at all. It's a chessboard type strategy game with a trading card aspect built into it (the cards are called "scrolls", i.e. magic scrolls). It's fantastical, admittedly.

EDIT: That and everybody I have ever talked to calls the games by their subtitles. I never even knew the series as a whole was called "The Elder Scrolls" because for years everybody just called it "Morrowind" (because it literally took years to "beat" Morrowind). Oblivion continued this, same with Skyrim. Nobody goes around calling them The Elder Scrolls III, IV, and V except in official press release parlance.

[Jagos]

Wait, it's out now? I'll buy this and metacritic Bethesda just out of spite. YAARGH!

[Doc ock rokc]

I am reading up on scrolls or whatever it's going to be called and it sounds like a game I have been wanting to make for years. Thank god someone with actual experience is on it I would have fucked it up proper.

[Melfice]

Wait, it's out now? I'll buy this and metacritic Bethesda just out of spite. YAARGH!

What, Scrolls or TES: Skyrim?

Neither of them are released, however.

[Seil]

Two fun little stories:

Jane Goodall (the monkey lady) was out on a research trip when Gary Larson released a Farside comic (http://www.lessonsforhope.org/images/cartoon_larson.gif) which insinuated that Ms. Goodall was having relations with her monkeys. Her lawyers (acting on her behalf what with her out researching stuff and all) sued to have the cartoon removed from further publications. When Jane Goodall returned and heard what happened, she thought it was hilarious, apologized, and brought Larson out to visit her and her monkeys. She did the written introduction to one of his books.

Second story being that the Art Gallery of Ontario - AGO - had a Barnes exhibit. (A famous painter) Barnes painted some femalkes nude, and the AGO had t-shirts made saying "Rarenaked Ladies." After a cease-and-desist was sent to the AGO, the Barenaked Ladies had shirts made up for their next concert with pictures of barns (The farm kind) saying "The Barnes Exhibit." The shirts were sold at the next show, and worn by the band on the stage.

Sometimes wires do get crossed. I'll go check the inter-scrolls and the news-scrolls for new scrolls scrolls scrolls.

[Nikose Tyris]

Notch has opted to challenge Bethesda to Quake combat, highest fragcount submits in the issue of the Scrolls name.

I'm laughing.

[Marc v4.0]

Stay Classy, Notch.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Dude just threw down the gloves! Bethesda would be stupid not to rise to the challenge. Regardless of whoever wins it is an amazing PR stunt.

Lawsuit settled by video games. Fuckin genius.

I second Marc's statement.

[EVILNess]

Can you picture the lawyer presiding over the contracts?

"You are deciding a copyright claim... with Quake?"

I would love to see his face.

[Magus]

Good times.

Wait, it's out now? I'll buy this and metacritic Bethesda just out of spite. YAARGH!

I'm not sure which part confused you, either my describing the game Scrolls (which I got from a preview of it) or asserting that everybody will describe Skyrim by the name Skyrim and not by Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which was just a logical conclusion, but I apologize for misleading you. Neither is out yet, though both are probably a good buy.