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Notch Asks For Trial By Combat
Vrallis writes "As reported recently, Mojang AB, the creators of Minecraft, have been sued by Bethesda over the name of their latest project, Scrolls, citing a trademark infringement with their Elder Scrolls games. In his latest blog post, Notch, the founder of Mojang, has challenged Bethesda to a trial by combat. Specifically, a frag match in Quake 3."
I assume that, in the old dueling tradition, his opponent gets to choose the mod. I recommend INSTAGIB.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
If he actually gets them to agree to this then even if he loses it ought to generate enough publicity to make up for having to change the name.
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Set your binoculars on the pirate bay scallywags.
I do remember reading that, according to some interpretations, Trial by Combat *may indeed* be legal under the US legal system...
I don't know what's more impressive, this article or the fact that it managed to make its way onto Slashdot the same day it was published.
Bethesda really are being total assholes here. Suing a independent developer for the word "Scrolls"? Bethesda does not own that fucking word... If those corporate assholes actually agree to this I'll be totally shocked.
Notch should stop fooling around and just finish Minecraft. I paid 15 bucks for it under the promise the game would be finished at some point. It's taking really long to add just bits of content and when you see what mods modders come up with you can only assume Notch spends 1 hour a week on Minecraft. Guess now that he's a millionaire he thinks he doesn't owe buyers anything. Sad.
That's just typical Mojang: Try to sidestep a perfectly valid and not-at-all overreaching trademark suit by bringing VIDEO GAMES of all things into the equation. Nothing about this industry has anything to do with gaming.
Of course, it's Bethesda. Thankfully, they're not in it for the GAMING, like some kind of video game developers. They're in it for the money, like a company ought to be. They'll do the right thing and make asses of themselves because the arrogantly assume they can own a word.
Why does Notch expect them to sell-out their morals and instincts for a few fleeting moments of fun and chance to be the bigger person over something they're making a bigger deal about than necessary?
Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
I assume that, in the old dueling tradition, his opponent gets to choose the mod.
According to the article, the sides alternate choosing levels. But seeing as Bethesda's parent company owns Id Software, three of Bethesda's best warriors might be people who actually developed Q3A. So in a sense, it already is on Bethesda's home turf.
Notch just got married this weekend, and is officially away right now, for his honeymoon. This lawsuit came up at a terrible time, and this is the way that Notch handles such stuff.
Notch seems to read and reply most to comments on the minecraft channel at reddit. The thread there would probably be the place to post if you want to volunteer as one of the representatives :)
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I'm sure that's about as valid as other unusual laws that are, in theory, still on the books--can't play hopscotch on a Sunday, can't dress a donkey in a sundress in rainy weather, etc.
And of course he's been watching Game of Thrones... he even said that in his blog post!
(Off topic: This is probably the best book adaptation to film/tv I've ever seen, well beyond even Lord of the Rings or the Sci-Fi mini series version of Dune and Children of Dune. Those have been my yardsticks to measure other adaptations by for a while now. I do think that people who haven't read the books are at a serious disadvantage, though, as too much background is missing due to time constraints.)
.... don't the Dead Sea Scrolls count as prior art?
So.... seeing as Bethesda and id Software are both now arms of Zenimax, can id Software employees be part of the Bethesda team?
Shoulda stuck with counter-strike, Notch!
I do remember reading that, according to some interpretations, Trial by Combat *may indeed* be legal under the US legal system...
And there is a history of trademark disputes being settled this way.
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is finally some news for nerds
It's on.
Q3DM17, The Longest Yard, is almost mandatory, I would think...
We're all full up on Crazy here...
my brother, Fatal1ty.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
If they agree to it in a well-written contract, it's absolutely legal. This is a civil suit we're talking about, after all, and the contract doesn't involve anything illegal AFAIK. (IANAL)
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
They should pick custom avatars with Majong as James T. Kirk and Bethusda as the Green Lizard Man...
If this was an episode of Damages (awesome show) Patty Hugues would instruct her client, Bethesda, to stick to their guns and sue the guy for all he has. Mojang AB has basically admitted by asking for a sporting contest decision that they cannot win on a point of law. A judge would be flagrantly out of his or her depth to overlook that and even be a little perturbed by it.
All that said, it would be a great marketing campaign for both companies if they decided to do so. My guess is that Bethesda will take them up on their offer and have a live stream.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
See if pay per view offered legal combat settlements I'd sign up in a second. They'd need to keep it fresh though (think judge judy mixed with gamesmaster).
pretty much any way of settling a dispute is legal if both parties sign a contract saying that that's how they are to settle it. why would this not be legal?
He says he is serious, but unless there is something I am missing or Notch is an idiot he is not actually expecting them to agree. Supposedly Bethesda have a financial reason for suing Notch and for a actual business to engage in basically a game of chance (Quake 3 is not a game of chance but pitting two unknown team against each other in it is) to determine if they will go ahead with the suit or drop it is just irresponsible. And assuming that they are a corporation beholden to look after the best interests of their shareholders most likely an illegal act to boot.
now i hate Bethesda as much as anybody for pulling such a stupid move and I would not dislike Notch solving a disagreement with a match of Quake 3 (and would think him even more cool for doing so), but if he actually thinks that there is a possibility that they will accept or of this is just a publicity stunt (the only two possibilities, well then I think he is being kind of stupid.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Strange I've never heard that excuse used here for Billy Gates and co.
If serious, he just screwed himself out of using the contested name. He just expressed his willingness to change it. So now, a judge knows that it's not crucial to the project to keep the name, if he would frivolously agree to changing it over the outcome of a video game match.
It's like this. Big bad greedy company wants your name, or your domain, or wants you to stop using it because it infringes on their trademark, or "dilutes their brand" or whatever buzzwords they use. You say you will change it if they pay you a million dollars. You probably just screwed yourself in court if they refuse, because it makes you look like a squatter.
Remember MikeRoweSoft.com? He might have had a leg to stand on because it was his name, and he was a software developer, but as soon as he attempted to extort money from Microsoft, his prospects of winning were shot. (If I recall correctly, he settled for some free gifts from MS)
But yeah, free publicity, anyway.
This is a good offer for both companies ether way i goes. Less lawyer costs and great publicity for both companies.
All gamers would see this as a more honest way too settle things then suing each other!
(Hope they steam it if they agree too the match)
Why not Quake Live? Has Notch completely forgotten about that? How does he know the lawyer scrub owns a legal copy of Quake III Arena?
Hope they don't play OpenAre-ah, forget it.
It also assumes that Bethesda feels they have a legal leg to stand on here. They may have just fired off the letter as a scare tactic.
They do. Lern2trademark. Bethesda's lawyers would've been foolish not to send a nastygram - they have to appear to be defending it.
"Fail"?
MineCraft has sold over 3,000,000 copies. Alpha copies went for ~$14, Beta for about $20. You do the math.
How many tens of millions of dollars have you earned?
I thought so.
They could go the Prince route, and make the game "previously known as Scrolls".
No, he should call it "Roll of Parchment." Or maybe Super Cool Really Original... er, something Simulator. Quick! I need a word that starts with "L"!
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So the next new hire interview will involve a frag match? How do I apply?
On a side note, God I hate what lawyers did to our justice and legal system . . . .
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive
Notch does not have the funds to match Bethesda legal team.
I think they (both) might want to check with Steven Mancinelli. Notch's defense would run to "I can't be infringing on Bethesda's trademark, since this other trademark was plainly issued to the pertinent domain AND is more directly infringed if anyone is.
If you're going to have a trial, it should definitely be a trial by stone.
Notch doesn't have to match them. He has a three-million-strong army of rabid fans. Bethesda cannot afford the negative PR they risk generating through this and they know it.
I have to say kudos... Not only is it a more fun way to settle these things, its a great PR move. I've never heardbof these guys before, but I have respect for him not immediately getting lawyered up.
Good on ya! I wish "real" companies took this route once in a while.
Of course! Notch is fighting asymmetrical warfare. Bethesda is huge, lumbering monolith of assholes. They are huge. They have lawyers for days. They can burn him to the ground in any courtroom of choice. Notch is refusing to meet them on that field (for now) by dragging the whole mess into the public eye, where he will steadily demonstrate that he represents interesting people who love games, and that Bethesda behaves as if they hate people like that. He keeps this up long enough, like any good insurgency force, he can do enough brand damage that they will be begging him to make it all go away.
He should just rename it to "Ancient Tomes" and be done with it!
Anyone realize yet that this is an episode of Undergrads; http://www.tv.com/undergrads/new-friends/episode/95828/summary.html
I remember as a kid/teen reading the trademarks Mortal Kombat and thought Scorpion was just stupid. So nobody can call have a character called that? (Would anybody want something so unoriginal anyways).
Atlas Shrugged : Thematic Story
I'm usually not this low-brow, but I'd like to give Bethesda a roll of toilet paper, which is the trophy for winning Ass-Wipe of the Year. And if you think about it, toilet paper is rolled like scrolls are, so sue me too, ass-wipes.