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Out of nowhere indie-game hit Minecraft has just surpassed 3 million sales, but all is not perfect in the pixelated world created by Markuss "Notch" Persson. According to Notch, developer Bethesda has threatened him over the name of his company's in-development game "Scrolls."
Here's the tweet:
"Just got a letter from Bethesta's lawyers. They claim 'Scrolls' infringes on their trademark and everyone will confuse it with Skyrim."
Could it be that the makers of Skyrim are a little afraid of the fact that Minecraft is scheduled for release on the same day that Skyrim hits? I would say this is highly unlikely... Bethesda's legal team has an obligation to patrol the video game world for names that might infringe on the company's trademarks, so I seriously doubt it's anything personal.
Here's Notch's even-handed twitter response to the legal letter:
"I still <3 Bethesda. This is hopefully just lawyers being lawyers."
If you'd like an inside look at lawyers being lawyers, here's the actual letter.
Tell me, readers, are you likely to confuse Mojang's Scrolls with Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim?
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Comments
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Embarr_Cailte
Okay folks, be honest. Who here actually says "Elder Scrolls _" Before saying the name of the game.
For example: "Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind", or "Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" instead of just "Morrowind" or "Oblivion".
dbzwig
no
Cryptomaster420
Bethesda needs to grow a pair !!!
Their jealious cause they didnt think of minecraft 1st and their insulted on the games sales !
Don't get me wrong we all luv bethesda but this is ridiculas!!!
Read more: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/bl og/post/715170/bethesda-threat ens-notch-over-scrolls-name/#c omments#ixzz1UsDUejBH
scorpian876
Honestly I don't care for Mine Craft at all,I played 10 minutes of Mine Craft beta and U didn't care for it ,reason why is I felt like my brain was being sucked in to the game by the electromagnetic radiation wavelengths that emanated from the game,it was like I was being brain washed by a crappy game. And I can tell if I am playing a really good game ,so I think Mine Craft is an okay game for the fans,the game isn't for me.
thegreatmabel
Lol no, this is ridiculous
Vashnik
It's only illegal if:
A) The game Scrolls uses the same story, characters, etc as Elder Scrolls
B) The game Elder Scrolls was actually referenced as and filed as Scrolls for a Trademark (which there wasn't one filed. The only one with a claim called "Scrolls" is some clothing brand http://www.trademarkia.com/scr olls-85033266.html )
Searched: http://www.trademarkia.com/tra demarks-search.aspx?tn=Scrolls
Since neither describes Majong's scrolls, they have no basis for a lawsuit. That's like saying Fantasy Football could be confused for Final Fantasy because someone might think Fantasy Football is part of the Final Fantasy series because of the word "Fantasy." These lawyers are sad excuses for the breed of Lawyers. They're probably not even smart enough to actually look for their company's trademark files and just went on a whim because of a common word.
ZeniMax Media Inc. owns Bethesda Softworks. I guess the parent company is desperate to make some money cause they're Skyrim might be a flop if Majong's Scrolls comes out. Shows how much confidence ZeniMax Media Inc. has in their subsidiaries. Feel free to flood them with complaints: http://www.zenimax.com/contact .php
Lindenstien
Thats crazy, good thing Bethesda makes some awsome games otherwise they'd loose like 20 points.
As for their crazy law suit, I hope the judge laughs them out of court.
VeritasRex
Personally I think Notch should just keep developing. If Bethesda is dumb enough to go to court over copyright over the word SCROLLS and the games are different enough they won't have a case. Unless Notch is building a first person, dragon hunting game called Scrolls. Then there could be something. But I don't see this as anything to worry about. It really just seems like lawyers being lawyers.
lokilance
I would really like to be able to see what that letter says in English since looking at it I don't know what Super Mario bros and World of Warcraft have to do with this..
Gel214th
This is why more and more indie and mobile developers are saying they are not developing for the US Market.
The threat of litigation is simply ridiculous.
hardrock2013
what Bethesda just automatically owns the word "scrolls" now and no one else can use that word? theres a difference between the titles so whats the big deal? i agree with Notch.
ActiveGinko
If you look up "Scrolls" the first thing is the game "Scrolls" Not "Elder Scrolls"
orangenod18
What's up with Americans love suing people? you guys are crazy!
marsil602
thats just absurd. i doubt anyone would get the two confused. i always refer to an elder scrolls game as "elder scrolls", if not use the name of the specific game. so im pretty sure theres nothing to worry about on bethesdas end...
MyWonderApple
We are not going to confuse Scrolls with Skyrim, most people will call skyrim, skyrim, not the elder scrolls skyrim. just like i dont call oblivion, the elder scrolls oblivion :)
Maedra
Heck no, there is no way any decent gamer can mix the two up.
F4m1LyGuy10
I agree with Notch; It's not BGS, it's the ZeniMax lawyers.
Kleins92
silly silly bethesda, give notch a break, nobody's gonna be confused.
Kleins92
silly silly bethesda, give notch a break, nobody's gonna be confused.
F4m1LyGuy10
I agree with Notch: it's not BGS, it's the ZeniMax lawyers.
Displaying 1–20 of 49
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