Baresark said:
Ragsnstitches said:
You seem like a reasonable and informed kind of guy/girl. I have a question for you, something that is bothering me. Maybe you covered it in your post already, and if you have, I apologize. Does the company who loses the case have to change their trademark?
So, if Bethesda/Zenimax loses, do they lose the right to use "The Elder Scrolls" in future games? Or if Mojang loses, do they lose the right to use "Scrolls"? I'm not a lawyer but to me it seems like their has to be something at stake in order for their to be a legal case about it.
Or does Mojang simply have to prove that there is not any confusion and then both get to keep moving forward with there respective trademarks, which would be recognized as not similar enough to matter?
It seems to me this matter that Bethesda/Zenimax, "must sue in order to protect", would be voided altogether unless Bethesda/Zenimax felt that there would be other aspects of the game that would be similar. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks
I'm not too sure about how the results of the case will unfold.
What's at stake is primarily on Zenimax's field. If Zeni does NOT contest the case, someone somewhere at some time could argue, though unlikely, that The Elder Scrolls Trademark is weak and that they can use it for their own gain... that's probably not right, but the risk is something akin to the strength of the trademark in the eyes of the law... it would be like if Coca Cola had to accept their brand (label, name, colour scheme etc) is no longer protected and everyone and their mother starts copying them in order to make money off of the famous label, because they can.
I know that Mojang won't lose the rights to their game, but might have to change the name. Not a subtitle, but a full name change. He could keep scroll in the title if affixes something to it like "Scrolls of War" or "Scrolls of Time" or whatever is thematically appropriate as long as it's not Scrolls or "Ancient/Weathered/Seasoned Scrolls". I read somewhere that the context and language (grammatical correctness) used in making a trademark is VERY important, but I'm not sure exactly how.
Worst case would be a "rephrasing" of his trademark, so that it doesn't encompass so much stuff (you should google what he had trademarked under scrolls... like he was trying to own the word). Still, Mojang can't lose their game to Zeni, just the name.
In this event, a distinction between the 2 labels is created by act of a name change (or whatever is deemed appropriate by the courts). Mojang loses out on their title, or wiggle room for the franchise, but it's a minor thing for a fledgling product. Zenimax proves their Trademark is strong and can use this case against other infringers in the future, if it's appropriate.
If Mojang win nothing physically changes, but a clear official distinction will be established between the 2 trademarks, so the 2 trademarks can then exist independently without conflicts (as long as notch doesn't do something stupid like call his next game "Scrolls: Skyrim" or Bethesda make a card based game based on The Elder Scrolls). Zenimax will just accept that Scrolls exist as another game, but confident in the fact it's distinguished from their product and their Trademark has been used actively in court which prevents it from being "diluted" or weakened.
A rephrasing of his trademarks might still be needed, even if he wins... it's just ludicrously wide reaching.
Now my research was surface research at best, I am no lawyer and a lot of the nitty gritty goes way over my head... I can't fully or accurately tell you about the risks for Mojang or Zenimax over this case. All I know is that in Trademark laws, a possible infringement must be confronted, or your trademark might be seen as weak and not worth protecting from public use. Essentially making a brand or label part of the public domain.
TL/DR:
Yes the name "Scrolls" is at risk for mojang, but it is minor compared to what COULD be at risk for Zenimax and Bethesda, if this did not go to court.
It's a lot of hearsay, paranoia and speculation frankly, but Zenimax is sitting on a multi-million dollar franchise and would do wisely not to let their guard down. Some people are just scumbags and would walk all over them if they could.
Their is no physical gain for Zenimax, just confidence in their trademark (win or lose) and the loss for mojang in the worst case scenario is superficial and maybe a little damaged pride. He will recover without a doubt.
WITH ALL THAT SAID:
I think notch will win, but will need to compromise all the same. His Trademark of the word "Scrolls" is just so vast it's silly. He didn't need such a far reaching trademark for his game and can always just make new trademarks if he wants to expand his franchise.
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