U.K. Judge Crushes Tim Langdell

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

Looks like this is the edge for Edge games, along with it's incredibly edgy games on the edge of the edgiest edgy edge in edge land. Fuck conjugation, I just wanna say edge a lot.

 

[Dooly95]

And again, he had it coming. Now if Apple could release "I" from the trademark "words". And other people realize that you can not claim copyright on a word... Words don't even exist for Atheismo's sake...

But then jokes like this won't be possible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw2nkoGLhrE&feature=related

As for whether or not we can celebrate this; we can. I'm assuming this guy spent more than he earned on lawyer fees, and he has a PhD so he should really know better anyway.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I really think they should hire him for the team that's going to be creating the Mirror's Edge sequel.

Seriously.

I mean, they'll need someone to toothbrush clean the toilets used by the actual developers, won't they?

 

[Pilkingtube]

He was doomed at section 31.

31. I have decided that I should apply some common sense to this issue.

The moment that happened she jumped on him like a tramp on a sandwich.

 

[Gaiseric]

Wow...

I have never seen a court room smack down so deliberately delivered to crush someone.

I approve. Good job judge!

 

[Andy Chalk]

I'm afraid this, and all of the "$500,000!" comments are incorrect. The linked written judgement lists the amounts as $250,000 and $25,000 for the EIM and the con-man respectively

Ah yes, so it was. Apologies for the error, which has been corrected to reflect the true amounts. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[JMeganSnow]

Andy, this article is a train wreck. Trying to follow the various pronouns and figure out who the claimant is and what their relation to the Edge trademark is by reading your article is nigh impossible. Please replace some of those he's with actual names and so forth. Ugh.

 

[Saelune]

Wait...Justice Proudman? Thats a name? Of a Judge?

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

I hereby Copyright the name Blizzard. All who use Blizzard must pay me deh moniez, kay?

In all seriousness, a moron like this has finally gotten what he deserved for screwing over lots of small game businesses with his selfish (and highly stupid) attempts.

 

[Kenji_03]

in a vaguely related point: that is one UGLY guy 0_0

 

[Kenji_03]

I wish he was even more humiliated. He cost honest small time game developers their hard earned money. He was a bully and even though I am happy he got humiliated its still not enough. I want to know what moron judge ever awarded him a victory in the first place. Even being able to copyright the word "edge" is fucking retarded.
Yeah, they finally got off their asses and fixed this fucker but the broken system is still in place. Its like when the IGDA finally decided to remove him, they only did it after he was already on his way down so they scored no points for that.

Probably the same moron "judge" who charged an 18 year old of "uploading child porn online" for e-mailing himself a video of him fucking his 17 year old girlfriend -- because the judge wanted to make an example out of him...

 

[Royas]

Normally, I don't find pleasure in such public humiliation either. In this case, I'm not feeling pleasure so much as satisfaction. Langdell, with his unethical and probably illegal behavior, has brought this upon himself. By lying in open court, he basically invited this level of destruction from the judge. If anything, I think the judge is being very lenient. I don't know UK law at all well, but I'd be willing to believe that lying to the court is a crime there, just as it is in the USA. He's lucky that all he did was lose the case, and not lose his freedom in the form of imprisonment.

A man who shoots himself in the foot loses the right to complain about the pain. Especially when he does it repeatedly. Langdell will not be missed in the gaming world.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Andy, this article is a train wreck. Trying to follow the various pronouns and figure out who the claimant is and what their relation to the Edge trademark is by reading your article is nigh impossible. Please replace some of those he's with actual names and so forth. Ugh.

Perhaps you can explain what's confusing you, and how many different people you think I'm referring to. It's not very clear since, you know, your comment is a bit of a train wreck.

 

[JMeganSnow]

Andy, this article is a train wreck. Trying to follow the various pronouns and figure out who the claimant is and what their relation to the Edge trademark is by reading your article is nigh impossible. Please replace some of those he's with actual names and so forth. Ugh.

Perhaps you can explain what's confusing you, and how many different people you think I'm referring to. It's not very clear since, you know, your comment is a bit of a train wreck.

Very well:

Future Publishing brought suit against Langdell and his "Edge" businesses for breach of contract, breach of copyright and "passing off," and while Langdell offered up numerous and increasingly bizarre and implausible defenses against the claims, ultimately the judge was having none of it.

So here we have the "Edge" businesses owned by Tim Langdell. Simple.

Proudman's first move was to declare that "Jack Phillips," who had occasionally made witness statements on behalf of Edge Interactive Media in the past, was most likely "an invention of Dr. Langdell."

Who the hell is Proudman? First time you've mentioned the name, and it comes with no context to instruct us as to who he/she/it is.

The judge, however, stated that the action in fact made perfect sense since lawyers for Edge Games insisted back in 2009 that the company had been using the Edge logo, the same one used by Future's Edge Magazine, for many years "and they will not cease using it because they are entitled to use it."

Who is Edge Games? Is it owned by Future or Tim Langdell? You don't say. We're just supposed to know off the top of our heads?

This argument was rejected, as was the claim that he was granted permission in 2005 to use the logo, a statement denied by the man who allegedly granted the permission.

This is the worst sentence in the lot. First of all, you probably should avoid passive voice in articles, although I'm aware that many journalists do this in a bad fashion to make it appear as though things just happened instead of saying so-and-so did X. Doesn't mean you need to emulate them, however. It's not clear that the "he" in the first line is Langdell--I'm assuming it is, but maybe I'm wrong. And who allegedly granted the permission? The name should be used and the person's relationship to the proceedings established.

"He said this was what he called 'an estoppel representation,' by which I understood him to mean that he was using it as a deliberate challenge to the claimant to complain about the use. He asserted rather vaguely that this entitled him to a license by conduct," the judge wrote in her final ruling. "I do not accept his contention."

I understand this is a quote, but it's still packed with pronouns and thus vague.

Then things got really weird. Notwithstanding the fact that he admitted to copying the logo for his letterhead, Langdell also asserted in his defense that he had actually invented the Edge logo himself all the way back in January 1991. Proof of this was apparently contained on two 5.25" floppy disks, which were first mentioned by Langdell "in open correspondence" in May 2010 and didn't come up in this court case until November 29, 2010, as part of Langdell's seventh witness statement.

Ahh, here we have some improvement. Names instead of pronouns. Much better.

But when Future's own expert looked at it, he noted that while the disk was old, the 1991 content on it had actually been created by Windows 95 - which, as you might recall, was released in 1995, four years after 1991 - and then deliberately backdated.

Here's that passive voice again--in rather an odd fashion because operating systems don't create documents. Also that "which, as you might recall" bit is a.) needlessly verbose b.) somewhat patronizing.

"By October 2010 Dr. Langdell had seen Mr. Dearsley's report setting out the reasons why the information on disk 1 could not have been produced on the disk in 1991," she wrote. "Mr. Dearsley's view was that it would be possible to create a disk which did not show these software anomalies once the maker was armed with the Report's explanation of what was wrong with the previous version.

I'm assuming that Mr. Dearsley is the expert from Future games? You may have wanted to use his name earlier on in the article when you first mentioned the Future Games expert's testimony, then.

The truth is a prosaic one, namely that Dr. Langdell concocted disk 1 in support of his claim that he had invented the Edge logo in 1991. When this was exposed by the claimant's expert he constructed an elaborate explanation and created disk 3, having learned from the Report how to avoid the mistakes he made the first time."

Passive voice. Also that "he" right after "the claimant's expert" makes it sound like it was the expert who constructed the elaborate explanation. Ouch.

Proudman noted that "as Edge magazine's success grew, Dr. Langdell's behavior became increasingly burdensome."

Here's Proudman again. Who IS he/she/it? And what is Edge Magazine's relationship with the proceedings? Is it owned by Future? Dr. Langdell? You don't say and it makes the reader do too much assuming.

"although the total sum was paid into Dr. Langdell's bank account," to buy out all related trademarks, but then Langdell went ahead and "deliberately adopted a logo which is an obvious replica of the claimant's Edge mark."

Don't use quotes without attributing. That's just wrong. I'd guess this was additional stuff Proudman said, but you don't directly attribute it.

The judge also agreed that Langdell intentionally attempted to confuse consumers about his connection to Edge magazine, citing as one example a letter to Apple written in March 2009 in which he said, "Edge is extremely well known for its other game products and services such as Edge magazine."

So I take it Future owns Edge Magazine then?

The final conclusion is almost mercifully brief: "The claimant therefore succeeds in establishing all claims pursued at trial," the judge wrote.

Since the judge doesn't specify who the claimant is (and the reader may have forgotten in that bog of unspecified pronouns), you may have wanted to avoid using a quote here and just summarize the judgment in favor of Future Games.

Also, if you're going to accuse Langdell of being a trademark troll, you may want to provide links to earlier Escapist articles on the subject. I've read about it, but not everyone has.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Well, firstly, to the proud couple who named their daughter Justice, despite whatever naysayers you may have had to face at the time, I hereby grant you the Parents of the Millenium award. Because did you EVER get that name right.

Secondly, even someone as empathetic as me cannot feel in the least bit sorry for Langdell. His arrogance and greed went beyond the pale, and my only regret is that it took this long to finally grind his last ember of hope beneath the heel of common decency. Such an unrelenting and thorough smackdown could not have happened to a more deserving individual.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go laugh my ass off. I'll try to keep it down for anyone who might be sleeping.

 

[funguy2121]

It's a great day for minimalist rock guitarist weirdos everywhere.

Ha. Spellcheck approves "weirdo," but not "wierdo." 'Cos, y'know, it's not a word.

 

[CrafterMan]

Haha this guy was such a mad bastard! Good to see justice has finally been served!

Always a slippery slope.. down the mountain on a sl(edge) and into the lake!

(I am so sorry)

-JB

 

[Vohn_exel]

Wait...Justice Proudman? Thats a name? Of a Judge?

I know right?! That's freaking AWESOME!

I mean seriously, she needs to be a superhero!

 

[Andy Chalk]

Who the hell is Proudman? First time you've mentioned the name, and it comes with no context to instruct us as to who he/she/it is.

First sentence, third paragraph.

The sheer breadth of the smackdown laid on Langdell by Mrs. Justice Proudman of the England and Wales High Court (Chancery Division) is truly awesome to behold.

I think we're done here.

 

[restoshammyman]

EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE EGDE

just thought i'd get it out now that it's copyright free.

well dear sir. that word was never copy writed, seeing as you miss spelled it.
its edge, and not egde.