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Mojang, Bethesda settle 'Scrolls' lawsuit

Minecraft developer's new game allowed to keep Scrolls title, so long as it doesn't compete with Elder Scrolls; trademark surrendered to Bethesda.

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Minecraft studio Mojang and The Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda have settled the trademark lawsuit over Scrolls, Mojang has announced.

Scrolls will be called Scrolls.
Scrolls will be called Scrolls.

Mojang managing director Carl Manneh announced the news on the company website this weekend, saying "We have settled the lawsuit over Scrolls, and Mojang and Bethesda are friends again."

As part of the deal, Mojang's forthcoming title Scrolls will be allowed to keep that name, but it must surrender the Scrolls trademark to Bethesda.

"For us, this was never about a trademark, but being able to use Scrolls as the name of our game, which we can," Manneh said.

Mojang founder Markus Persson shed further light on the matter, saying on Twitter that in addition to the above, Mojang has agreed to not make an Elder Scrolls competitor using the Scrolls name.

The court case erupted in August when representatives of Bethesda parent publisher Zenimax contested that Mojang was infringing on a trademark of the Elder Scrolls series with its upcoming game, Scrolls.

Bethesda has not chimed in on the proceedings through official channels, and as of press time, the publisher had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment.

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Lyryck

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I can see why Bethesda would take issue with Mojang over the title Scrolls, not just because of the name but also the genre of the game appears to be similar by the marketing images as well. Glad they worked it all out amiably.

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Dan11223344

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Bethesda /Zenimax should be ashamed. You don't see Blizzard trying to sue over Minecraft, even though the name makes it sound like it could be made by Blizz. Warcraft and Starcraft have similar names to minecraft, Scrolls doesnt make me think "The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim" or any ES before that.

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OSiLiFe

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Visit these sites for the best Minecraft resources!

<< LINK REMOVED >>

<< LINK REMOVED >>

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amdreallyfast

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@MarcioHuser They only own the word "Scrolls" if the 's' is capitalized, methinks.

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Zerabp

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This is well over a month late but here is an open letter to other Dev's Please make a parody game called "The Elder of the Scrolls: Chapter V A Dragon is Born." Why a parody because as long as your are obviously parodying it, they can't do crap. It would be the most awesome call out in the history of gaming.

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MarcioHuser

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So, it is official now that Bethesda OWNS the word "Scrolls"?

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Xenuri

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<< LINK REMOVED >> exactly, how ridiculous and childish of Bethesda

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UnwantedSpam

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@Darnasian I didn't mean to come off nasty like that. I apologize. Like I said, I know what you mean, but I didn't expect a paragraph's worth of a reply to an innocent joke.

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Darnasian

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@UnwantedSpam I was just saying...

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JimmeyBurrows

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I'm sorry Bethesda, but what kind of a bell end lawsuit is that... Don't compete with us, don't use a word from the dictionary in your title... Why not just state that you don't want anyone to make games in general incase it cuts your profits.

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UnwantedSpam

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@Darnasian Whoa dude, chill. I was just kidding around. I completely understand what this lawsuit was about, I was just making a comparison to show how stupid it was.

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aussiemuscle

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i can see why Zenimax pursued this, but i don't get is why they don't have a problem with Runes of Magic - The Elder Kingdoms.

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Arturo84

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so what happens if there is a sequel also how about they just use Scrollz since i believe using a name that is almost a parody or joke keeps it out of reach of Bethesda

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Philly1UPer

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Dear Bethesda, Someone once tried to get an everyday word trademarked because they were mad people were saying it and using it. Her Name was Paris Hilton. No one likes Paris Hilton.

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brok

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Dear Bethesda. You're a bunch of idiots on this matter. Thankyou, and goodbye.

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warhawk-geeby

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Bethesda are pretty up their own arse if they think the word scrolls is limited to them anyway. Anyone ever play rogue? Absolute genius of a game. Could call scrolls and potions whatever you liked. "You drunk the SWEATY SOCK JUICE" Best moments of my childhood :P

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Wormkid_64

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So this is good,because Mojang gets to make their game. Bad because every time you say "Scrolls" you have to pay Bethseda a nickel. This includes use of the word with regard to "scrolling" an Internet page. @Davo-C Amen.

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Davo-C

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They should rename the game to; Scrollers Gonna Scroll.

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Death_Blade_182

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They should've just settled the whole matter with the Quake 3 match and it would've been the most awesome lawsuit of the decade.

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10V3n0M01

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What's with all the hate people? This is a classic example of what rich companies do for fun. The concept of "owning" all the words of your creation is stupid to begin with. I wonder how many people have to be sued by the publishers of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II -- The Rise of the Witch-king.... Ha ha, I'm sure Bethesda just was out to help Mojang get some publicity, which it got. Anyways, now it can stop trolling the video games news headlines :)

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Darnasian

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@UnwantedSpam You do realise that companies sue each other for key words in a games name and in Call Of Duty & Call of Juarez....the key words well aren't "Call of"...but Juarez & Duty... "Call" is just a supportive word which also has it's meaning but without the key word it doesn't matter much... If there will be any game that in it's name will have the words "Call" and "Duty"...well yeah here you go Activision will file a lawsuit... But considering the name is too short a single word out of it doesn't make any difference... But at this lawsuit over the word "Scrolls" it's a different story... The name of the series is a kinda long if you add the chapter title too...also to be honest that is like the most important word in that name...really "Elder" & "Scrolls"...don't tell me someone would really care about "The"...

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Darnasian

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Well the game will be called Scrolls....Scrolls at plural...not even Scroll....but Scrolls...and to be honest when I think of this word I think of games and items in games and of the Elder Scrolls franchise first of all...so you this was a defending move from Bethesda which I still respect... They are still one of my favorite developers...

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Everiez

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And here people, gaming industry at its peak. Serious business is serious.

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Cyberneticdemon

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A lawsuit over a single, common word? Dang.

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Gelugon_baat

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Why the kow-tow, Mojang? :?

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selbie

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It was a rather paranoid move by Bethesda/Zenimax. Yeah they needed to protect their trademark, but over one word?

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birdgang_1

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bethesda should've prevented another abomination being spawned by that studio

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UnwantedSpam

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And in tommorrow's news, Activision sues the "Call of Juarez" developers for using the words "Call of" in their games title. Doesn't matter. They're both crappy game series.

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dav2693

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$.$

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brow3458

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i cant belive that this even made it into court.

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Sythion

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Litigation exists to sacrifice common sense to the devil for money.

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kid23455

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Good. this was stupid anyways.

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Sniper-Gamer

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So what will happen if another company calls their game Elder? Will Bethesda sue over that as well? Ridiculous.

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NeilCardiff

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@moremoneythanu Did you really need to write all that just to prove you're a moron?

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HipHopBeats

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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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supertom221

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LOL, dumba$$es should habe taken up on Notch's offer for a duel of Quake when he offered it.... Now they came out as Aholes and lost moneyzz on a law suit they only partially won thanks to ZeniMax's deep pockets. Interesting enough, I didn't know there was a new game by Mojang called Scrolls until I heard of the case. So thanks Betesthda, free advertising for what you wanted to stop :P

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aekaekaekaekaek

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My keyboard used to have a Scroll key, then it took an arrow key to the knee...

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gilitiko

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@BryanParksSuper A company doesnt own every word in their game's name it is like saying that activision can sue every game that has the word "of" in it and Mojang is not an unknown developer they are the guys that made minecraft

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barronator

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Alright this anti-corp BS is gratting on my nerves. Their just protecting their name not trying to get huge amounts of money out of Majong, Its the same thing as putting as putting a chain around your bike.

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Yomigaeru

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Hey Bethesda... my keyboard has a Scroll lock key. Come at me bro. ...said a wise and humorous poster.

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BryanParksSuper

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A lawsuit are u kidding me. Bethesda owns the name Scrolls. This unknown Publisher/Developer think they have rights use Scrolls. They don't have the right. Now I'm not a fan of Elder Scrolls but still.

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longestsprout

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I was wondering when this travesty was going to be over with. Such a waste of of both time and resources.

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mrboone01

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So, since Mojang surrendered the trademark, how much are they having to pay Bethesda to use it?

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RiP_ili

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Hey Bethesda... my keyboard has a Scroll lock key. Come at me bro.

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ZabuzaR

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[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

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SuperSandwich5

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Why was there a lawsuit in the first place? I can see having a copyright to the word elder scrolls, but not a single word. what airheads

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gix47

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lawyers!

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