Author Topic: Scrolls  (Read 18763 times)

Krice

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #15 on: October 24, 2011, 09:15:21 AM »
Just pointing out how the American system works.

It doesn't work. Lawyers just want money and everyone else seems to want money, that's why that kind of insult of a law was invented.

guest509

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2011, 10:17:03 AM »
Just pointing out how the American system works.

It doesn't work. Lawyers just want money and everyone else seems to want money, that's why that kind of insult of a law was invented.

  The US I.P. laws are the result of years of corporate manipulation of the legislative process. Lawyers are often trotted out as the boogie man but the reality is far more complex. Attorneys run the gamut of hero to vulture. I'm glad I'm out of the business.

Pueo

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #17 on: December 17, 2011, 12:49:36 AM »
A word is not an intellectual property. A game could be, if it's not a clone like all modern games usually are.

I think I agree with you there, Krice. At least it's not as bad as Apple and the 'i'  :-\
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Pueo

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2011, 12:52:14 AM »
  Both a word and a game clone are very often protected by I.P. laws. Words can be a trademark or a copyright. Games, no matter how derivative, can be protected from piracy. Their titles often cannot be used by another person. Characters and what not (eg Mario) cannot be used without permission.
  Note that I am neither defending nor condemning the practice. Just pointing out how the American system works. IP law is very powerful.

I see a small flaw in that logic, however.  If anything created (ie, Mario) by one person/group can never be used by another person, then there are millions of law breakers all over the world, who create Mario fan-art, Mario-esque games, Mario crochet dolls, etc.
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guest509

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #19 on: December 17, 2011, 01:47:58 AM »
  Both a word and a game clone are very often protected by I.P. laws. Words can be a trademark or a copyright. Games, no matter how derivative, can be protected from piracy. Their titles often cannot be used by another person. Characters and what not (eg Mario) cannot be used without permission.
  Note that I am neither defending nor condemning the practice. Just pointing out how the American system works. IP law is very powerful.

I see a small flaw in that logic, however.  If anything created (ie, Mario) by one person/group can never be used by another person, then there are millions of law breakers all over the world, who create Mario fan-art, Mario-esque games, Mario crochet dolls, etc.

  It has not been stated that something protected under IP laws cannot ever be used by another party. There are licensing agreements and a variety of other ways in which a property owner can allow others to use something. Note the owner still has control.

  Things you mentioned would mostly fall under the doctrine of 'fair use'. This is a broad exception under most IP schemes in which a party may use a piece of IP without consent of the owner. However any diminishing of the value of an IP or profiting from an IP is almost universally protected. Some companies are far more aggressive in policing this than others.

  See Games Workshop as an example of an aggressive company. You cannot even post a fan-made adventure online without drawing their ire. They made Boardgame Geek take down hundreds of fan made cheat sheets and player's aids. Nintendo used to be very aggressive with who and who cannot make games for their systems. They still might be. I don't know. Lately with the rise of emulation sites it seems Nintendo has backed off of certain things. Another good example is the South Park guys. They post all of their shit online about a month after airing. They'd post it immediately except for their studio objected.

  I could go on and on. Attorneys tend to blather.

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #20 on: December 17, 2011, 05:06:00 AM »
Things you mentioned would mostly fall under the doctrine of 'fair use'.

Do you think Scrolls (by Mojang) would fall under fair use, then? After all, it's just a word.  Mojang's game has no relation to Elder Scrolls (or whoever is trying to sue them), so it's not Elder Scroll's IP, right?
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guest509

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #21 on: December 17, 2011, 09:42:49 AM »
  Well it depends on a lot of things really. I don't have enough info. If there is any possibility that it might be confused with something put out by the Elder Scrolls guys then yeah they might have a case. Or they might not.

  But the merits of the case do not matter. If they have anything close to a case they can attack and bog the other side down with legal costs. Making it so expensive that it's not even worth fighting for. The wise move is to concede, change the name and move on.

  That's just how civil law works. You grind the other side down with costs until they no longer want to fight and they give in or settle. It's incredibly rare, like less than 5%, of the cases actually get in front of a judge and are decided on the merits.

  Please note that these are not my personal aspirations or whimsies. They are my objective and professional legal opinion. Personally I think the system needs a major overhaul. But those in power do not agree. So the status quo remains.

guest509

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Re: Scrolls
« Reply #22 on: December 17, 2011, 09:52:24 AM »
  I just looked into the case a bit more. Where is it being filed? That can matter quite a bit. Is it in Sweden or the US? Or somewhere else?
 
The Mojang guys won the initial hearing so they are good to go for now. It is unlikely it will go much further. The Elder Scroll guys will not want to waste the money and this game is unlikely to dilute their property at all. Looks to me like they filed just so that they would have the option to fight in the future if desired.

Pure legal maneuvering common among big corps. Nothing to see here. Move along. :-)