The Scrolls dispute between Mojang and Bethesda is headed to a courtroom.

Back in early August, lawyers representing Bethesda Softworks sent a notice to Markus "Notch" Persson claiming that the name of Mojang's new game, Scrolls, infringes upon Bethesda's Elder Scrolls trademark. The letter demanded that the game be renamed and that Mojang fork over some bucks for the inconvenience. Persson expressed hope that it was "just lawyers being lawyers" and that the whole matter would eventually be dropped; he even went as far as to suggest that Bethesda and Mojang settle the matter by way of Quake 3 Team Deathmatch, an offer Bethesda chose not to respond to. But he also made it clear that it if Bethesda insists on making a fight out of it, Mojang wouldn't back down.

It would now appear that Bethesda is very serious indeed. "The Scrolls case is going to court! Weee!

" Persson wrote on Twitter today.

"Yeah, we got a notice from the Swedish court," Mojang Business Developer Daniel Kaplan explained to Gamasutra. "We are going to do as much as we can, since I really hate it how the big boys always get their own way."

According to Kaplan, Bethesda's lawyers plan to use user comments about Scrolls videos, articles about the game and even screen shots to prove that gamers are likely to confuse Scrolls with the Elder Scrolls franchise. "It is really silly believing our game will be confused with their FPS-RPG with realistic graphics," he said. "They have dumped everything they could find about Scrolls."

Specific court dates haven't been revealed but Kaplan said Mojang will begin submitting its own evidence in the case "soon."

Originally Posted By markornikov (3 OCT 2011 11:18am)
Then again maybe Bethesda has no other choice than to take this case to court.
I don't know how trademark regulations work in Sweden, but in Belgium if someone discovers that a company is violating his trademark and doesn't take action, they might lose their trademark.

If you want to commercialise a product, one should always check for possible trademark or patent infringements. Better safe than sorry!

Bethesda's vice president Pete Hines gave the following insight:

   "Mojang's public comments have not given a complete picture as it relates to their filings, our trademarks, or events that have taken place. This is a business matter based on how trademark law works and it will continue to be dealt with by lawyers who understand it, not by me or our developers."

   "Nobody here enjoys being forced into this. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon."

I have supported and continue to support Bethesda as one of the best and most advanced game developers in the game industry...their titles have always reflected a push for quality, immersive worlds and remarkable story, and I don't think it is fair to base an opinion on this matter on the publicity seeking of Mojang, which is a very different kind of company with different methods and tactics...much more aggressive and self focused...

Originally Posted By Fnord (18 OCT 2011 8:46pm)
Unsurprisingly Swedish court found that ZeniMax and Bethesda had a very weak case, and ruled in favor of Mojang, which was what was expected by most people. This was very much the case of ZeniMax & Bethesda trying to apply American laws in another country, it would seem.