Mojang and Bethesda Are Going to Court

[Andy Chalk]

Mojang and Bethesda Are Going to Court

The Scrolls dispute between Mojang and Bethesda is headed to a courtroom.

Back in early August, lawyers representing Bethesda Softworks wouldn't back down [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112106-Bethesda-Says-Mojangs-Scrolls-Infringes-on-Elder-Scrolls-Mark].

It would now appear that Bethesda is very serious indeed. "The Scrolls case is going to court! Weee! " Persson wrote on Twitter [https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/118644693801250816] today.

"Yeah, we got a notice from the Swedish court," Mojang Business Developer Daniel Kaplan explained to Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37478/Mojang_Really_Silly_Bethesda_Scrolls_Case_Heads_To_Court.php]. "We are going to do as much as we can, since I really hate it how the big boys always get their own way."

According to Kaplan, Bethesda's lawyers plan to use user comments about Scrolls videos, articles about the game and even screen shots to prove that gamers are likely to confuse Scrolls with the Elder Scrolls franchise. "It is really silly believing our game will be confused with their FPS-RPG with realistic graphics," he said. "They have dumped everything they could find about Scrolls."

Specific court dates haven't been revealed but Kaplan said Mojang will begin submitting its own evidence in the case "soon."


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[imnot]

I hope it ends in some kind of drunken fight between Notch and some laywers!

 

[Dogstile]

According to Kaplan, Bethesda's lawyers plan to use user comments about Scrolls videos, articles about the game and even screen shots to prove that gamers are likely to confuse Scrolls with the Elder Scrolls franchise.

Lets hope they stick to people and not "anon 317 thinks its the same" and not "WE MADE THIS GUY UP, MWAHAHAHAHA"

 

[XT inc]

I hope Mojang Wins, not because they made minecraft, but Because I think Bethesda are being complete morons and in their own way Insulting consumers intellegence.

Game is callsed Scrolls, Those dumb customers might think its our game and it isn't we better spend a ton on legal fees to sort this out.

The Ironic thing is most people I know, know of the elder scrolls games, and Can Identify them, but they call the game by its subtitle. It isnt The Elderscrolls 3,4 and five it is Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.

Im also excited for scrolls because Apparently Jerry holkins of Penny arcade wrote for it.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.315125-Bethesda-decides-to-go-to-court-in-the-Scrolls-case

Made this before this story came out . Still, im cool.

OT: Damn bastards that are lawyers, I bet Todd Howard and the like were fine with the Quake Match but NO they had to be useful whilst ruining everyone else time!

 

[uppitycracker]

Looks like they're taking a page from Skyrim, and offering UNLIMITED LAWSUITS!!!!!!!

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Looks like they're taking a page from Skyrim, and offering UNLIMITED LAWSUITS!!!!!!!

Sounds more like they're channeling Darth Sidious' UNLIMITED POWAH!!!!!!

 

[DasDestroyer]

Lucky for Notch Blizzard's lawyers aren't that nasty, otherwise I'm sure they'd get sued for using the -craft suffix.

Also, I could understand if Bethesda made a game called Scrolls and then Mojang made The Elder Scrolls, but the other way around just seems a bit weird.

 

[josemlopes]

This is so stupid, everyone knows that Scrolls is Scrolls and that Skyrim is fucking SKYRIM, are they really scared that people will mistake the titles? A lot of people probably just forget "The Elder Scrolls" part of the title and just go with Skyrim (like Morrowind and Oblivion, almost no one says Elder Scrolls 3 or Elder Scrolls 4)

 

[Steve Lovell]

Would that mean that Coca-cola own the word cola? And toys-r-us own the word toys? Because customers are.stupidand easily fooled.

 

[Simeon Ivanov]

What happened to the Quake Deathmatch?

 

[Creator002]

Bethesda. If only you were a young child, then could I show you the error of your ways. Or just slap you and say "no, leave it".

 

[thethingthatlurks]

I'm curious, has anybody ever called the TES games by their full name (eg The Elder Schrolls: Morrowind) over their respective subtitles? I can't for the life of me imagine that anybody would ever get confused by two games having a single word in common, particularly if the plaintiff's game has the subtitle written approximately three times larger (and in the more prominent center position of the box) than the word "Scrolls."

But hey, I just see this as more evidence that copyright lawyers aren't even fit to be a source for soylent green. Can we just launch the whole lot into a black hole somewhere? (no, I'm not being a Minecraft fanboy; the almighty Feynman knows it has its share of flaws. I just hate these absolutely fucking retarded lawsuits)

 

[Aiden_the-Joker1]

I do not think Bethesda will win this court case. I mean can you actually patent the use of an everyday word? And everyone I know does not even call them the elder scrolls we call them by their subtitle names.

 

[fraszoid]

I'm cheering for Notch on this one, and will be speaking with my wallet on this. Until the lawsuit is settled, I won't be buying Skyrim so Bethsoft won't be getting my money.

 

[Radoh]

Okay first things first, Bethesda are kind of needed to do this to protect against future cases. It is simply the way this works, if you go back and watch that Escapist Podcast about this they explain it quite well.

Still though, it's too bad they denied Notch his Courtroom Deathmatch idea, that would have been really fun.

Captcha: Everybody iarinc. Quickly everyone, Iarinc!

 

[Paragon Fury]

Good for Bethesda.

I hope they get to see Mojang driven before them.

 

[Alandoril]

If I were a judge, I would throw this case (like so many others in our pants on head retarded, laughably litigious society) right out of court.

 

[uppitycracker]

Looks like they're taking a page from Skyrim, and offering UNLIMITED LAWSUITS!!!!!!!

Sounds more like they're channeling Darth Sidious' UNLIMITED POWAH!!!!!!

That was what I always thought back to when they started boasting unlimited dragons for skyrim, and honestly am so surprised nobody has made that picture yet!