11 ms·

Forgive me if I've misunderstood trademarks. But aren't Bethesda, as trademark holders, required to defend that trademark or risk losing it? I don't agree that

Forgive me if I've misunderstood trademarks. But aren't Bethesda, as trademark holders, required to defend that trademark or risk losing it? I don't agree that a trademark on Elder Scrolls should cover just Scrolls, but it might just be a case of a legal department going through the motions.

Tichy 15y ago
Legal departments going through the motions are a big problem, though.
Dylan16807 15y ago
They have to defend the trademark itself, yes. But not things that aren't all that similar.
- cube13 15y ago
  From what I've heard, Scrolls is a fantasy... something(could be turn based strategy, role playing, or something completely else) game currently in development by Mojang. The Elder Scrolls is a series of fantasy role playing games developed by Bathesda. Bathesda's lawyers probably felt that the two titles are similar enough in either gameplay style or genre that it could be infringement. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way of resolving this than suing the people you believe are infringing on your trademark.
  - uxp 15y ago
    The unfortunate side effect is that Scrolls (the parchment containing objects) are a deprecated technology. The only time We get to use them anymore is in a fantasy setting. I really don't understand how they can reasonably expect to own the trademark on a word that is only a portion of their actual product line and describes an object that has been known to exist for thousands of years. Microsoft was denied the trademark for "Windows", but they were given trademarks for the phrases "Windows XP Operating System", etc.
    - cube13 15y ago
      The trademark doesn't prevent you from having in-game objects called "Scrolls". I can only(if Bathesda wins the suit, which I think is unlikely) prevent you from creating a fantasy video game called "Scrolls". Also, MS does have a registered trademark for "Windows"(http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualProperty/Trademarks/EN-US.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualPrope...), but this is only for computer operating systems, not for physical building windows.
withad 15y ago
Notch apparently hoped that it was just "lawyers being lawyers" early on, but I doubt it would have gone this far without important people at Bethesda/ZeniMax noticing and (presumably) supporting it.
Pyrodogg 15y ago
Yes, Bethesda is required to defend their trademark but suing the other party to completely change course isn't the only option available. See Trademark Coexistance http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2006/06/article_0007.html http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2006/06/article_0007.ht... SparkFun vs SPARC International http://www.sparkfun.com/news/344 http://www.sparkfun.com/news/344

Tichy 15y ago

Legal departments going through the motions are a big problem, though.

Dylan16807 15y ago

They have to defend the trademark itself, yes. But not things that aren't all that similar.

cube13 15y ago
From what I've heard, Scrolls is a fantasy... something(could be turn based strategy, role playing, or something completely else) game currently in development by Mojang. The Elder Scrolls is a series of fantasy role playing games developed by Bathesda. Bathesda's lawyers probably felt that the two titles are similar enough in either gameplay style or genre that it could be infringement. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way of resolving this than suing the people you believe are infringing on your trademark.
- uxp 15y ago
  The unfortunate side effect is that Scrolls (the parchment containing objects) are a deprecated technology. The only time We get to use them anymore is in a fantasy setting. I really don't understand how they can reasonably expect to own the trademark on a word that is only a portion of their actual product line and describes an object that has been known to exist for thousands of years. Microsoft was denied the trademark for "Windows", but they were given trademarks for the phrases "Windows XP Operating System", etc.
  - cube13 15y ago
    The trademark doesn't prevent you from having in-game objects called "Scrolls". I can only(if Bathesda wins the suit, which I think is unlikely) prevent you from creating a fantasy video game called "Scrolls". Also, MS does have a registered trademark for "Windows"(http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualProperty/Trademarks/EN-US.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualPrope...), but this is only for computer operating systems, not for physical building windows.

withad 15y ago

Notch apparently hoped that it was just "lawyers being lawyers" early on, but I doubt it would have gone this far without important people at Bethesda/ZeniMax noticing and (presumably) supporting it.

Pyrodogg 15y ago

Yes, Bethesda is required to defend their trademark but suing the other party to completely change course isn't the only option available. See Trademark Coexistance http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2006/06/article_0007.html http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2006/06/article_0007.ht... SparkFun vs SPARC International http://www.sparkfun.com/news/344 http://www.sparkfun.com/news/344