My Return

I missed you.

Hello, it has been awhile hasn't it? Don't worry I didn't forget about you, after all only three people are following me and it's hard to forget three people. So yes I have returned, been busy with work and a new relationship and when I took the time to write I was working on some stories, one of which is complete and will be posted soon. 

Now that I have time however and am firmly seated in my chair I'm ready to post again! Now this post is going to start off rather nerdy at first, please bear with me it won't last. 

So I love video games (confession I game more than I write), and on occasion I read about gaming news. While engaging in this ritual of mine recently I came across a story about a small developer, Mojang AB, being threatened with a lawsuit by a much larger publisher, which happens to be Zenimax Media. To those who aren't in the know, and for those who have better things to do than research useless crap, Zenimax Media is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, who happens to be the developer behind The Elder Scrolls series. A series which happens to be a massive cash cow for Zenimax.

What are they suing Mojang for? The fact that the newest game they are developing right now is called Scrolls. Do you see it? The Elder Scrolls, and Scrolls! Do you see the blatant abuse of the law occurring right before our very eyes? Oh you don't? Well you must have at least a modicum of common sense then. 

That's the thing though, the law isn't always about what makes sense or works to promote good. In the above case for example Zenimax has to protect their intellectual property, there is an obvious similarity  between the title "The Elder Scrolls" and "Scrolls". In the eyes of the law this might actually have traction, regardless I can't help but feel that Zenimax is trying to steal from Mojang and using something as trivial as one word as an excuse. That is what it feels like to me, it feels like theft, like Zenimax is guilty of the very thing they are crying out about. Zenimax is being proactive of course about protecting their intellectual property, but really will any harm come from a small independent studio using one word out of three to name a game which bares absolutely no resemblance to The Elder Scrolls franchise?  The games don't even occupy the same market, the newest game in the Elder Scrolls franchise is probably going to make more in console sales (Xbox 360, PS3) than on PC. Not to mention that Scrolls will probably be exclusively digital download, which means you won't find it on store shelves. The chance of any harm coming to The Elder Scrolls franchise due to Scrolls is minimal given its fame. However very real harm will come to Mojang AB and its small team if this goes to court. It will hurt them by costing them a ton in legal expenses, and cause unknown amounts of stress. We also know that costly and lengthy legal battles can take a human toll as well, one that we can't measure. Zenimax and Bethesda will be insulated from this human toll by a crack legal team, but given Mojang's size they won't have that luxury. 

This is just one example of course of how the law, while it is always "just", isn't always humane. Perhaps a subject that I will go into more at a later date.