Notch Challenges Bethesda to Lawsuit Deathmatch

[Kyle 2175]

Notch, what did I tell you about being ridiculous,crazy and completely awesome? On a more serious note this would be a wonderful way to settle this, and is truly the way video game related disputes should be settled. May the best gamers win! I really hope Notch/Mojang wins this, I usually love Bethesda but they're basically saying that their fans are completely illiterate and can't tell the difference between "Scrolls" and "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim"

 

[sephiroth1991]

If this happens and Bethesda win and Notch changes the name, I will be happy with the change since Bethesda will deserved it not demanded it.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Notch has now elevated himself to godlike in my book, that's just AWESOME!!

Bethesda should do this and I demand video proof of this deathmatch, but I wonder if the lawyers will let them do it...

 

[ramboondiea]

a ballsy move, which i appreciate, but the law student in me wants to smack notch upside the head for suggesting such a thing ha so yeah im a little torn on this

But it's perfect! It won't cost the court anything, it'll raise publicity, it'll ease tensions between studios, and it might become the new norm for game devs!

but it also spits in the face of the legal process, if bethesda has raised this lawsuit, it causes problems for the courts who will suddenly get a letter saying "lawsuit dropped, we decided to settle things in the arena" its a legal issue, it should be settled within the legal system

This kind of lawsuit is a dispute between private parties, the state is merely an arbiter.

These kind of suits are settled out of court all the time. Basically, if the parties can come to an agreement on their own, they don't need to waste the state's time, or bring it into their business. And it saves everyone a lot of time and money on lawyers.

CAPTCHA: government floure. Are these context sensitive?

i agree with you, i know it would be settle out of court, probably before it even reached the court, and fees ect would be sorted then, what annoys me is the way notchs has gone about it, like i said before, i do appreciate the idea, its a sound business method aswel, but hes basically said (publicly) that he is willing to ignore all other procedures here, and settle it with a game, making him look the more reasonable, thats why i am annoyed

 

[Halcyone3]

and i honestly mean no offence with this, but its a pretty ignorant thing to argue,. its nothing to do with how much you pay a solicitor, it just so happens that better solicitors cost more.

None taken, im mostly joking around, if the legal system were THAT down the drain (neon pink sun) i wouldnt live here. But it is undeniable that copyright tends to be murky terrain, and bethesda probably has the more money for a better lawyer, even as unreasonable as their demand sounds (they don't own the word "scrolls" itself).

But the legal system is still far from perfect; if you honestly think money has nothing to do with it, you are just being naive.

 

[zidine100]

If this actually happens, we need a stream of it. seriously.

 

[RagTagBand]

Nice to see Notch applies his philosophy of "I take nothing serious" to -all- serious matters, rather than simply his Minecraft development cycle.

Not that I needed another reason to believe that he shouldn't be in charge of a company or worth millions of dollars...

 

[Vivi22]

i know damn well tis is notches idea of a settlement, i just dont agree with his method of doing it, its a publicity stunt and from a business point of view a good idea, but it makes a mockery of the legal process by saying instead of going about things the normal way, lets settle it with a game.
like i said, i appreciate the idea, but the way that he has gone about it pisses me off a little

I agree this is certainly a publicity stunt, whether he's really serious or not, but I disagree with the idea that it shows his contempt for the legal system. Rather, I'd say it shows his contempt for a ridiculous lawsuit Bethesda is threatening. Now I understand fully that they have to pursue any perceived threat to their trademark lest they lose it, but any lawsuit they choose to bring over this issue would clearly be absurd since there is little chance of anyone confusing Scrolls for an Elder Scrolls title. If that were the case then Blizzard and Activision should get in on the actions and sue Mojang for Minecraft claiming people will be confused into thinking it's a new RTS or MMO they made.

And I have to agree with Kwil that this is simply Notch's offer for a settlement. Settlements are done out of court all of the time and aren't seen as someone making a mockery of the legal process. You may not like the settlement he's offering, but that fact doesn't change, nor does it mean he's not going about things in the "normal way." So his settlement offer isn't to change the name, or pay thousands, if not millions, of dollars to keep it. So what?

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

Is this just so court doesn't interfere with his constant vacations?

 

[Scow2]

a ballsy move, which i appreciate, but the law student in me wants to smack notch upside the head for suggesting such a thing ha so yeah im a little torn on this

But it's perfect! It won't cost the court anything, it'll raise publicity, it'll ease tensions between studios, and it might become the new norm for game devs!

but it also spits in the face of the legal process, if bethesda has raised this lawsuit, it causes problems for the courts who will suddenly get a letter saying "lawsuit dropped, we decided to settle things in the arena" its a legal issue, it should be settled within the legal system

It's called reaching an out-of-court settlement. It's how almost all aggressive lawsuits are resolved:
Big company threatens a victim with a flimsy lawsuit.
Victim cannot afford the court costs associated with effectively defending themselves (Unless it's the type of lawsuit that can be successfully defended against by a $30 legal pre-assembled legal package)
Victim settles dispute for a direct price smaller than court costs. Settlement is reached out-of-courts.

 

[JSDodd]

Man this guy is a complete and utter legend. This would certainly make court TV more fun

 

[teebeeohh]

if this becomes a thing i see id ruling the world.

edit: chrome finally put the forum upside down, see you guys tomorrow.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I want to see this deathmatch broadcast in real time on TV or the internet. I'd plug my HDMI cord into my widescreen TV and cheer on the competitors. Real life stakes will make it super exciting.

I understand that Bethesda is taking action against Mojang because they have to, but I still hope this gets settled out of court. I think the best thing would be for Notch to give up the name Scrolls in exchange for some kind of concession or promotion from Bethesda. That may seem unfair to Notch, but that may be just the way it is.

 

[Sartan0]

sounds like a cool way of doing it. however for bethesda that might bring about a president where they have to accept all challenges for quake fights for ALL copyrights sounds a bit risky for them.

It is a trademark dispute. Not the same body of law as Copyright. They could easily put in that this is a one off if they were that concerned about it. Most likely they will ignore Notch on this. Sadly.

 

[The Great JT]

I like this idea. I encourage Bethesta to do it.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Bethesda gets john carmack and it's over

 

[Dastardly]

Here's the short story of it if you don't know.

1.Interplay is making a Fallout MMO.
2.Interplay is nearing bankruptcy.
3.Interplay sell the Fallout licence to Bethesda, the agreement is "We make Fallout MMO, you make Fallout games."
4.Bethesda makes Fallout 3.
5.Bethesda makes millions.
6.Bethesda goes full Kotick and sues Interplay to take away the rights for the MMO.
7.Court says no.
8.Bethesda know Interplay are standing on their last leg and is suing them again hoping to drain their resources in court battle.

Almost.

Interplay retained the rights to the MMO... but only under certain conditions. They had to secure funding and begin development by a certain date, and then they had to release by a certain date as well.

They allegedly got funding and began development right on the edge of that deadline, but the lack of any notable progress (and further financial woes) seem to indicate that it was not a good-faith attempt to begin development. While it technically fulfills the letter of the contract, it could be argued that it was simply a stall tactic.

Intellectual property laws can get tricky like that. Just look at the practice of patent trolling, in which a company patents something... but then doesn't use it, choosing instead to just camp on the patent until someone unknowingly infringes. (See: Tim Langdell and "edge") All they technically have to do is crank out some cheezy product featuring the patented/trademarked bits in order to keep up the appearance. Then they just wait for someone else to spend real time and money making a product, and then pounce from the shadows.

It looks like that's the game Interplay has been trying. They make a hasty deal that, on paper, meets the conditions of the contract in the barest technical sense. That buys them more time, which they then use to get further into financial trouble. Bethesda is looking at this and saying, "Come on. They're not making any good-faith effort on this, and we feel they're in violation of the purpose of our original agreement."

 

[Ickabod]

Then live stream it for a fee and donate that fee to charity.

Everyone wins!

 

[Monsterfurby]

Am I losing Karma for not liking Notch? Still, I think Bethesda's trademark claim is amazingly silly and simply won't stand in court.