As ridiculous as this headline seems, that is exactly what has been happening for the past two weeks in the recent legal drama between two powerhouses in the video game industry. So the summation of events is that Mojang, developer of the widely popular Minecraft, is trying to develop another title simply titled “Scrolls.” ZeniMax Media, parent company to Bethesda Studios, is concerned that having a game named “Scrolls” will bamboozle the general consumer. This is due to the fact that Bethesda Studios, for 17 years, has been developing “The Elder Scrolls” series with the upcoming “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” due to release this November on the 11th. Now you’d think that suing a small developer over one-third of the title would make little sense, but ZeniMax Media has decided to pursue this.
One of the reasons this has been taking so long to even get started in the courts, according to Andrew Webster of arstechnica.com, is that Mojang is a Swedish developer while ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Studios are located in the United States. Webster quotes Mona Ibrahim, a Seattle-based entertainment lawyer who focuses on these types of cases, saying, “ZeniMax would have to prove that there is a likelihood of confusion between the two games, which could be difficult to do. This is primarily due to the fact that neither game has been released, and so the only way to prove such confusion would be to produce convincing market research. This would definitely be the case in the US; however, according to Ibrahim, "the same principles may generally apply due to international IP treaties.”
The follow-up and most interesting part of this whole story is that the founder and spokesperson of Mojang, Markus “Notch” Perrson, wants to settle this legal dispute in a match, with developer Bethesda Studios, via Quake 3. Quake 3 being a very popular First Person Shooter back in its time. The winner would either back off of the lawsuit or change the name into something more appropriate, respectively. This is the smartest option Notch could have suggested given that ZeniMax Media is a large corporation while Mojang is still an independent development studio, getting by with fans and support for unfinished games. Although Notch might have bitten off more than he could chew when he told Wired Magazine that he might have been a poor choice in judgment. He went on record in saying that, "If it came to a Quake 3 tournament, I have a feeling we just might have to change the name," Notch told Wired.”
Whether or not this proposed Quake 3 tournament would even be approved, as ZeniMax Media have made no comment about it is still up in the air. I think the whole idea of a tournament to circumvent legal fees and drama is an ingenious idea, one that I hope ZeniMax Media will take up, even just for free press for the upcoming Elder Scrolls game. Sound off in the comments of what you think the outcome of this latest gaming legal drama should be.
