Bethesda's Lawyers Send Cease & Desist To Minecraft Creator

There was once a time when legal disputes between game companies and developers never got a lot of attention. It seems that nowadays if an employee brings up accusations of mistreatment, or a company feels that their trademark/brand is being infringed it will be all over the internet within minutes of the court case being filed.

Bethesda Software's lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to Notch, the developer behind the popular world building title Minecraft. They believe that the title of his next project, Scrolls, may infringe on their trademark for "The Elder Scrolls" and ultimately could cause confusion among consumers. Notch revealed the cease and desist case over twitter this afternoon.

He shared a portion of the translated letter to his fans: "It is common practice for goods and services with a common commercial origin to be marketed as characterized by are constructed from a common brand elements.. It is our opinion that Mojang's use of the sign Scrolls constitutes an infringement" Despite the seemingly harsh language in the letter (is it just us or does all legalese sound threatening?) this isn't the first time that Notch and Bethesda have crossed passed. Last month Skyrim Direct Tom Howard and Notch appeared together in an interview. Considering that the Elder Scrolls and Scrolls don't share much in common - one is a Roleplaying Game the other is a card game - it is entirely possible that both sides can come to an amicable settlement.

How do you feel about legal disputes within the gaming industry? Cases like the one against Activision brought up by Vince Zampella has received nationwide attention since it launched early last year but has yet to be resolved.