EDGE of Asshattery

[Skreeee]

Couldn't the game's creator/Mobigames just choose another, arbitrary word to name the game that this Tim Langdell douche wouldn't be able to guess beforehand and therefore couldn't run out and trademark it like the little weasel he is?

If the only issue is the name, wouldn't it makes sense to just change it now, and give the asshole what little money he'd actually get from the sale of the game when it was actually named Edge and then write him out of their lives for good? It wouldn't be a flawless victory, but at least the guy who actually made the game could get on with his life and see a real cashflow from his hard work.

There's tons of synonyms for 'edge'. Langdell can't have a supposed trademark on them all. I rather like the idea of naming it Brink myself.

Perhaps I'm just too far from the issue to be sure of what I'm talking about...

 

[ASnogarD]

Izzil : It was after Mobigames got good reviews and initial hype on the game Edge that Tim sent the lawyers after Mobigames, ie after the game got recognition... changing the name at that stage is the equivilant to hyping Halo 4 , and releasing bolo 4.

 

[AncientYoungSon]

One of these days, this guy is going to get on the bad side of an individual with mafia connections and "vanish".

Seriously, the real reason you don't employ business tactics like this is because, while it works in the short run, it's a bad idea to be a thorn in many sides.

And I too am a bit confused about how he can do this, since the trademark department requires you to prove that you're using a trademark in commerce and that you cannot hold onto it indefinitely if you have no product for it.

 

[Susan Arendt]

There is only one solution.

Sue him out of existence.

Monopoly, restraint of trade, harassment, whatever. Someone like EA needs to go after him, and get a settlement so large that he'll never have money to pursue litigation again.

Then they need to make a game called "Edge of Edges."

You, sir, have just made my "Top 10 posts" list's number 2 spot.

That thought is eerily attractive; the legal evil of one man versus the legal evil of a developer-swallowing conglomerate.

Also, welcome to the forums!

Thanks. Actually, Susan A and I have a history.

*snicker*

Nothing like that. She just bought a custom faceplate from me.

Two, actually. And wrote an article about you.

 

[Kazturkey]

Hey, hey, let's stop wishing physical harm on the guy, ok? Karma, people, karma.

I think when it comes to this prick Karma will turn a blind eye. Now where's my blunt instrument gotten to..

 

[SpaceGhost2K]

There is only one solution.

Sue him out of existence.

Monopoly, restraint of trade, harassment, whatever. Someone like EA needs to go after him, and get a settlement so large that he'll never have money to pursue litigation again.

Then they need to make a game called "Edge of Edges."

You, sir, have just made my "Top 10 posts" list's number 2 spot.

That thought is eerily attractive; the legal evil of one man versus the legal evil of a developer-swallowing conglomerate.

Also, welcome to the forums!

Thanks. Actually, Susan A and I have a history.

*snicker*

Nothing like that. She just bought a custom faceplate from me.

Two, actually. And wrote an article about you.

I didn't want to be cocky.

You need to interview me again. I have more news.

 

[JC175]

This article serves as a prime example of how ridiculous some of the modern laws surrounding copyright and trademarks are. Whether what this Tim Langdell is doing is morally or legally correct or not, it definitely creates a large stain against the standards upon which copyright law is based.

Personally, I hope the game is allowed to return to the Apple Store under its original name, and if not, then the developer should be offered some kind of compensation for all the hoops this guy has made him jump through.

And I suppose if Mr. Langdell and myself met at all he'd probably get a kick in the balls.

 

[karpiel]

I did not know that about Soul Edge. All in all this is a pretty funny way to cash in on companies that give games poor names.

 

[j0frenzy]

What I find most interesting is that this guy knows who frivolous he's being. From what I can tell, he never went after Mirror's Edge and I would bet it is because that would involve legally battling someone who has the money to kill the money machine. I am very surprised that Namco didn't do that way back in the 90s with Soul Edge.

 

[Outamyhead]

Wow that Langdell bloke sounds like a total toss pot, I'm praying for a legal battle that will show him to be the total ass hat he really is and royally fudge his career of shady copyright lawsuits.

So the "Chaos Engine" think tank, has the Bitmap brothers tried a lawsuit on them for the name being used?

 

[shaderkul]

What. An. Arse.

How the hell did he even get in the board of the IGDA? And why hasn't he been booted yet? This is just too stupid for words :-/

That is the exact same thing I came here to say. This is a very serious question mark on the credibility of the IGDA.

 

[Captain Pancake]

Tim should die in a fire...

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Technically. It's also legal for a no-talent imbecile to stand next to a brilliant street musician and threaten to blow an air horn until the musician forks over 10% of their tips. You can get away with stuff like this as long as you don't mind being hated, shunned, and reviled by every decent human being in the civilized world.

The music industry dose this all the time....
==================

IP/Pantent/ copy rights we need to set stricter definitions and values for them, least everything is owned by a few conglomerates...

 

[UtopiaV1]

Wow, that article was pretty... EDGY!!! THAT'S RIGHT, COME AND GET ME, TIM!!!

I really thought this was a joke until the end of the first page. I can't believe someone would do this! (wait a minute, hasn't this same story happened with Apple Mac, Transformers, Jack Thompson "I'm OK!", and Donald Trump? I think it's the same thing.)

Lawyers should die in a fire, people like Tim should follow them in. Or at least hit them where it hurts, their wallets...

 

[ReverseEngineered]

And here we have a case-in-point as to why the United States copyright and patent systems need to be burned to the ground and rebuilt from scratch. As if Amazon.com patenting the concept of "one-click checkout" wasn't proof enough.

I agree entirely. Any legal loophole that makes perpetual extortion legal needs to be stricken from the record. Trademark is supposed to be protecting companies from copycats riding on (and perhaps tarnishing) their good name. Copyright is supposed to give small-time innovators a chance to make their move before copycats flood the market. Patents are supposed to encourage people to share their ideas (into the public domain) by granting them a temporary exclusivity to use those ideas. All of these things have somehow transformed into ways to take trivial, mundane, obvious ideas, give their creator (or at least the loudest claimant) nearly perpetual exclusivity, and extort every real innovator out of their hard-earned money. Where did we go wrong?

 

[theklng]

What. An. Arse.

How the hell did he even get in the board of the IGDA? And why hasn't he been booted yet? This is just too stupid for words :-/

That is the exact same thing I came here to say. This is a very serious question mark on the credibility of the IGDA.

because IGDA is bathed in the putrescent nectar of corruption. first mike capps, now this? on the same board is a representative from EA. i'm sure they had no problem figuring out the details of mirror's edge.

 

[Harrow]

Edge is a fun iphone game, this guy is absolutely ridiculous. How does he sleep at night?

On a waterbed, filled with the tears of orphans. Which he got by sueing their orphanages for having edges. Tim can now sleep comfortably on their pain. Because he won't know I'm watching until it's too late.

 

[SpaceGhost2K]

What. An. Arse.

How the hell did he even get in the board of the IGDA? And why hasn't he been booted yet? This is just too stupid for words :-/

That is the exact same thing I came here to say. This is a very serious question mark on the credibility of the IGDA.

because IGDA is bathed in the putrescent nectar of corruption. first mike capps, now this? on the same board is a representative from EA. i'm sure they had no problem figuring out the details of mirror's edge.

Can someone explain the Mike Capps story to me? I haven't heard it so I don't know what you're talking about when people bring it up.

 

[13lackfriday]

Wow, that's fucking revolting.

To think a man (if he's even worthy of such designation) has survived, and even thrived, for so long by leeching off the contributions of those with a spark of creativity.

I believe Andrew Ryan called such people "the Parasite."

 

[theklng]

What. An. Arse.

How the hell did he even get in the board of the IGDA? And why hasn't he been booted yet? This is just too stupid for words :-/

That is the exact same thing I came here to say. This is a very serious question mark on the credibility of the IGDA.

because IGDA is bathed in the putrescent nectar of corruption. first mike capps, now this? on the same board is a representative from EA. i'm sure they had no problem figuring out the details of mirror's edge.

Can someone explain the Mike Capps story to me? I haven't heard it so I don't know what you're talking about when people bring it up.

feel free to take some initiative by doing a google search.