So the next game for the Minecraft creators is called Scrolls or at least it was before Bethesda threatened to sue Mojang because the name is too close to their franchise’s name, “The Elder Scrolls”. While I would personally find a lawsuit from Blizzard more justified for the name Minecraft than Bethesda’s claim: even that would seem somewhat ludicrous. After some attempt at coming to some middle-ground on behalf of Notch, they finally laid down the gauntlet and requested to settle this intellectual property dispute in Zenimax’s court; Notch challenged Bethesda to a 3-on-3 deathmatch in their own Quake 3.
Fight to the deathmatch… what a good iDea
(characters from Bethesda and Mojang)
While ultimately intellectual property should not be such a hard-fought battle since its purpose is to foster creativity rather than stifle it, this certainly does have good publicity potential. I hope that regardless of this glove-slap’s outcome that Bethesda comes to its senses and realizes that they cannot own that breadth of the trademark and lets Mojang innovate in their indie corner. Failing that, BFG.
