Bethesda Goes Corrupt Greed Once Again

[Cynical Misanthrope]

It really shows how fucked up the gaming industry has become. Claiming rights to words.... WORDS!

 

If this same thing would apply to the music industry, there wouldn't be much bands or musicians left. There is this joke (mostly on the metal side), that all guitar riffs/chords has already been written by Black Sabbath. Doesn't matter how much you try to come up with something new. it's has already been done. So, if Black Sabbath would "claim" the rights to these riffs, there wouldn't be any new music coming out what so ever.

 

There is this similar story for a game called Candy Crush something (saga?) for Iphones or something. Along comes another game that happen to have the word candy in the titles as well, and guess what? They were forced to change. It's so fucking ridiculous and it makes me mad as hell.

[RUD3DUD3]

 

It really shows how fucked up the gaming industry has become. Claiming rights to words.... WORDS!

 

If this same thing would apply to the music industry, there wouldn't be much bands or musicians left. There is this joke (mostly on the metal side), that all guitar riffs/chords has already been written by Black Sabbath. Doesn't matter how much you try to come up with something new. it's has already been done. So, if Black Sabbath would "claim" the rights to these riffs, there wouldn't be any new music coming out what so ever.

 

There is this similar story for a game called Candy Crush something (saga?) for Iphones or something. Along comes another game that happen to have the word candy in the titles as well, and guess what? They were forced to change. It's so fucking ridiculous and it makes me mad as hell.

 

you are clearly sounding like a fanboy Try reading what bruce said again with clear mind and not with any hatred towards zenimax ( note : its zenimax not bethesda in big companies there are different departments devoted to particular things BGS only are developers all legal things are handled by zenimax ) they have the only right to use name "fallout" in relation to games there is a reasonn why companies goes with these trademarks and copyright things they spent lots of efforts and money into their products not to see someone using it for their own advantage and decreasing the brand value of their product. i think this was all marketing thing to promote their indie game a lot of people does this and zenimax is right. you might not understand this right now but if you were some inventor or developer you would have understand it you would not want to see your property being used by someone else

Fallout is a protected trademark. If you don't defend your trademark, you'll lose it. There is nothing even remotely shady about this. The Scrolls case a few years back was a lot more ambiguous and scummy in this regard. What were they expecting is going to happen, if Zenimax is already throwing a hissy-fit over the common word "Scrolls" for a video game title? The indie devs probably gambled on it anyway, because they were banking on the recognition, marketing and search engine value a title with Fallout in the name would have brought. Which is coincidentally what they need the most if they want to successfully compete on the extremely overcrowded mobile games market. 

 

 

[Cynical Misanthrope]

 

-Snip

 

 

Fanboy? To who or what? I don't think you know what fanboy means. So before you toss accusations around, you should look up what it actually means.

 

I simply stated if the same thing would apply to the music world, it would quickly die out.

As long as you don't bluntly steal a riff or even a whole song, right off (unless you specifically make a cover of a song), no one will ever care.

In a few cases, permission needs to be granted, but most don't care at all.

 

Claming rights to words is just so retarded. I bet soon, you won't even be able to say specific words, due to some corrupted and greedy corporation has claimed rights to it. It sure looks like we are soon on that train, it this continues.

[prideslayer]

It really shows how fucked up the gaming industry has become. Claiming rights to words.... WORDS!

 

If this same thing would apply to the music industry, there wouldn't be much bands or musicians left. There is this joke (mostly on the metal side), that all guitar riffs/chords has already been written by Black Sabbath. Doesn't matter how much you try to come up with something new. it's has already been done. So, if Black Sabbath would "claim" the rights to these riffs, there wouldn't be any new music coming out what so ever.

They aren't just "claiming words", they're protecting a registered trademark. If they don't, they end up with something like "Kleenex" -- A trademark and a brand name that are virtually worthless. When you ask for "a kleenex" you don't care if it's Kleenex brand because the mark has been diluted to worthlessness.

[Cynical Misanthrope]

 

It really shows how fucked up the gaming industry has become. Claiming rights to words.... WORDS!

 

If this same thing would apply to the music industry, there wouldn't be much bands or musicians left. There is this joke (mostly on the metal side), that all guitar riffs/chords has already been written by Black Sabbath. Doesn't matter how much you try to come up with something new. it's has already been done. So, if Black Sabbath would "claim" the rights to these riffs, there wouldn't be any new music coming out what so ever.

They aren't just "claiming words", they're protecting a registered trademark. If they don't, they end up with something like "Kleenex" -- A trademark and a brand name that are virtually worthless. When you ask for "a kleenex" you don't care if it's Kleenex brand because the mark has been diluted to worthlessness.

 

 

If I create a game, with the title: The Elder Scrolls or: Counter-Strike, then I agree - That's wrong. Meaning, stealing already a established title.

But If I create a game with the title, the ancient scrolls of Atlantis, and gets threats, if I don't change the title, just because the word scrolls are in it, they will sue me - that I find very wrong.

[FetishSergal]

No wait, we are already there. Today, you can get a copyright strike against you, if you record yourself, standing in front of a mirror, doing some air-boxing, and use the words "Fight Club" in your tags.

Really sad, could happen, it boils down to who you're dealing with, big companies are a nope, others might be give you some slack to do what you want with their intellectual property, I don't remember what game exactly allowed to port armours into elder scrolls as long as it wasn't sold.

 

But I agree things like words shouldn't become anyones intellectual property.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

So basically people think it's greedy for companies to defend their trademarked property? Sorry folks it's not just game companies that do this that is the way of the world it's got nothing do to with greed it's about defending what is yours from people who would steal it and attempt to make money off of it.

[laz0r]

To me it makes sense, they want to protect their brand name. I have no love for Bethesda or Zenimax, but come on, you throw "Fallout" in the name of a video game title and what is the first thing people think about? Exactly, and they want to keep it that way.

[cornbreadtm]

I'd sue too. Fallout is a copyrighted name. I wouldn't make a sandwich and call it the "Mcdonalds special" and expect not to get sued just cause I'm a fan... Common sense is a magical state of mind.

[HereWeGo]

They're in their rights to protect "Fallout" for sure, and I'm sure this guy knew damn well what would happen if he attempted to use it in his own game tittle. He most likely did it for the exposure he'd get soon after, which will probably happen now. 

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

To me it makes sense, they want to protect their brand name. I have no love for Bethesda or Zenimax, but come on, you throw "Fallout" in the name of a video game title and what is the first thing people think about? Exactly, and they want to keep it that way.

Exactly, You put Fallout in the title of a game and anyone who has played the Fallout games will immediately think it's a new fallout game. Every company or individual that produces trademarked or copyrighted goods and/or materials be it movies, music, books, games, hell even firearms and industrial equipment will defend their product when the need arises.

 

You don't think Microsoft would defend their product if someone came along and made an OS and used Windows in the title or used the same layout of windows? 

[prideslayer]

 

 

It really shows how fucked up the gaming industry has become. Claiming rights to words.... WORDS!

 

If this same thing would apply to the music industry, there wouldn't be much bands or musicians left. There is this joke (mostly on the metal side), that all guitar riffs/chords has already been written by Black Sabbath. Doesn't matter how much you try to come up with something new. it's has already been done. So, if Black Sabbath would "claim" the rights to these riffs, there wouldn't be any new music coming out what so ever.

They aren't just "claiming words", they're protecting a registered trademark. If they don't, they end up with something like "Kleenex" -- A trademark and a brand name that are virtually worthless. When you ask for "a kleenex" you don't care if it's Kleenex brand because the mark has been diluted to worthlessness.

 

 

If I create a game, with the title: The Elder Scrolls or: Counter-Strike, then I agree - That's wrong. Meaning, stealing already a established title.

But If I create a game with the title, the ancient scrolls of Atlantis, and gets threats, if I don't change the title, just because the word scrolls are in it, they will sue me - that I find very wrong.

 

It is wrong, morally wrong, and technically wrong. Go search the android or apple stores for apps with either word. You'll find plenty of them that aren't being sued. This guy did something else to piss them off, and likely intentionally picked the word fallout to 'hijack' searches for actual bethesda-fallout related stuff, which pisses everyone off -- not just bethesda.

[windpl]

 

 

 

It really shows how fucked up the gaming industry has become. Claiming rights to words.... WORDS!

 

If this same thing would apply to the music industry, there wouldn't be much bands or musicians left. There is this joke (mostly on the metal side), that all guitar riffs/chords has already been written by Black Sabbath. Doesn't matter how much you try to come up with something new. it's has already been done. So, if Black Sabbath would "claim" the rights to these riffs, there wouldn't be any new music coming out what so ever.

They aren't just "claiming words", they're protecting a registered trademark. If they don't, they end up with something like "Kleenex" -- A trademark and a brand name that are virtually worthless. When you ask for "a kleenex" you don't care if it's Kleenex brand because the mark has been diluted to worthlessness.

 

 

If I create a game, with the title: The Elder Scrolls or: Counter-Strike, then I agree - That's wrong. Meaning, stealing already a established title.

But If I create a game with the title, the ancient scrolls of Atlantis, and gets threats, if I don't change the title, just because the word scrolls are in it, they will sue me - that I find very wrong.

 

It is wrong, morally wrong, and technically wrong. Go search the android or apple stores for apps with either word. You'll find plenty of them that aren't being sued. This guy did something else to piss them off, and likely intentionally picked the word fallout to 'hijack' searches for actual bethesda-fallout related stuff, which pisses everyone off -- not just bethesda.

 

 

Then he should call it call of duty.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

Least he had the common sense not to pick a Sega title. They don't even bother with cease and desist letters they go right into filing a lawsuit against you. 

[prideslayer]

He could call it tetris if he really wants to get his ass handed to him.

[bjornk]

I once wrote a novel and gave it a title "The Table", yeah, just made it up out of my ass, then somehow the novel got popular. So now, nobody's allowed to use the word "Table" in anything they create, or I'm gonna sue them, cause it's my goddamn "intellectual property"! I can sell it to you if you wish, for a hefty sum of course...

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

It doesn't exactly work that way. unless you go through the steps to have that specific title copyrighted then you have no true legal recourse if someone else uses it. The first thing any company does is to have the item in question copyrighted, trademarked, or patented.

[prideslayer]

It's not copyright, it's the trademark.

 

Copyright is automatically granted upon creation of a work, you don't have to do anything at all. If you're worried about your ownership being challenged in court some day, you can pay the copyright office $35 to register it for you "officially" but doing so doesn't grant you any extra rights -- it just makes it easier to prove. In court a registered copyright is prima facie -- meaning the burden falls to the other party to disprove that your copyright is valid.

 

A trademark on the other hand must be registered with the USPTO (in the US) to have any legal weight behind it, just like a patent, and you can't trademark or patent anything that strikes your fancy, there are rules. Patents are a lot more rigorous (or supposed to be, the patent office researchers are often lazy) and much more expensive.

[bjornk]

In the capitalist world, if you are rich enough, you can buy lawyers and more importantly politicians to protect your interests. They can arrange the laws according to your needs in order to protect your interests. If you're poor, or if there's no one around to stand for you, heh, tough luck...

[Ayn Sof]

Youtube flags cat purring as copyright infringing music

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

Youtube flags cat purring as copyright infringing music

LOL, What can I say to this other then that Youtube isn't exactly known for making logical choices when it comes to what is and isn't infringement

[joemonco]

Surprised? They slaughtered fallout online, that was actually made by original fallout creators.

Bethesda IP buyout of bankrupted interplay was worst thing ever that happened to that series.

 

No.  The interplay that signed that deal with Bethesda to make Fallout Online is not the interplay that created Fallout.  

 

Fallout is a protected trademark. If you don't defend your trademark, you'll lose it. 

 

No.  From the EFF: 

 

The circumstances under which a company could actually lose a trademark—such as abandonment and genericide—are quite limited. Genericide occurs when a trademark becomes the standard term for a type of good (‘zipper’ and ‘escalator’ being two famous examples).  Courts also set a very high bar to show abandonment (usually years of total non-use). Importantly, failure to enforce a mark against every potential infringer does not show abandonment.1 As one court explained:

 

The owner of a mark is not required to constantly monitor every nook and cranny of the entire nation and to fire both barrels of his shotgun instantly upon spotting a possible infringer.

 

 

 

Quite simply, the view that a trademark holder must trawl the internet and respond to every unauthorized use (or even every infringing use) is a myth. It’s great for lawyers, but irritating and expensive for everyone else. And when done clumsily or maliciously, it chills free expression.

 

 

[DoctaSax]

If you're gonna call a game something that has "fallout" in it, the guys currently running a successful game series called Fallout are gonna have a problem with it. You're piggybacking on that big name. Let's make a Cokey Cola and see how that plays out.

[TheOzoneHole]

Or a Kansas Fried Chicken with red and white containers where you splash KFC all over.

 

 

Fallout is a protected trademark. If you don't defend your trademark, you'll lose it. 

 

No.  From the EFF: 

 

 

Except that this is the key paragraph:

 

 

First, Canonical’s trademark “policy” does not and cannot trump the First Amendment. Imagine the impact on free speech if you needed a “grant of permission” from BP, Coca-Cola Amatil, orEFF before using one of their trademarks as part of speech criticizing their conduct. Fortunately, we don’t live in such a world. It is well-settled that the First Amendment protects non-commercial websites*—like https://fixubuntu.com—that use trademarks to comment upon corporations and products. Whatever Canonical’s policy, no one needs to seek permission for “every use” of the Ubuntu name and logo.

 

 *emphasis added

 

Non-commercial uses are one thing, and as someone who works in education I have had to correct students on what constitutes "fair use" and how it applies to education.   The problem in this case is that "Fortress Fallout" wasn't a non-commercial use, the developer clearly intended to create and sell what amounts to a competing product (i.e. a game).  Disney is well known for being highly aggressive in the protection of their copyrights and trademarks.  Try doing anything with a dwarf (as an example) with the name of Sleepy or Doc etc. for a commercial product and see how fast Disney's army of lawyers come down on your head. They have even gone after day cares that painted Disney characters on the walls without permission.

 

No, companies do not need to go after every use of trademarks or copyrights, and some are more aggressive than others, see above.  Realistically, we are hearing about all of this simply because this inde developer made a dumb choice thinking he'd get away with using the capital F Fallout in his game title and then took to the Internet to bitch when Zenimax came after him for it.  Yes, this kind of thing happens often, and usually you never hear a word about it. Most people do not try and fight simply because they know they won't win and cannot afford the legal fees even if they do think they can win. 

 

If you go out and do the work to create something (or own something that someone else created) then you are the one who should profit from that work.  Remember, you do not own the games you play; you have a license that allows you to run the software created by the developer.  Purchasing a modern game is like getting a lease on a car, you take the car home and drive it to work/school/the local 7-11 or wherever,  but the dealership or the bank actually own the car. Take the time to read some of those EULAs that most people simply just click "Accept" to, the demands that the companies can make on you for the use of their product are really very disturbing.

[joemonco]

The problem in this case is that "Fortress Fallout" wasn't a non-commercial use, the developer clearly intended to create and sell what amounts to a competing product (i.e. a game). 

 

Legitimate trademark disputes center around what a reasonable person could be confused over.  There is no way a reasonable person would confuse the free to play Fortress Fallout with Fallout.