Mojang Lands First Blow in Scroll Wars, Secures Interim Injunction for Trademark

Posted 10/18/2011 at 11:05pm | by Nathan Grayson

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We suppose you really can't teach an Elder Scroll new tricks. We have no idea what we actually mean by that, but it sounds nice enough when you consider that Zenimax hobbled out of the court room with a mean shiner after its first legal tussle with Minecraft creator Mojang. The tooth-and-nail battle over another word for paper is far from over, but Notch and co can now breathe a fair bit easier.

“We won the interim injunction! We can keep using the name 'Scrolls.' ZeniMax/Bethesda can still appeal the ruling, but I’m very happy,” tweeted Notch. 

As he should be. Speaking with Eurogamer, law firm Sheridans noted that this early victory may leave Zenimax reeling in the long run.

“The burden of proof on Zenimax should have been lower than with a full and final assessment of the case,” lawyer Alex Chapman explained. “It should have been easier for Zenimax to get what it wanted at this stage compared with a full trial."

Perhaps Notch was right to be so brazenly overconfident after all. It's almost like he knew this was going to happen – as though it was foretold by some kind of ancient... parchment. Hey, anything could happen. We're waiting for the fat (or skinny) lady (or man) to sing (or gangster rap) on this one before we start carelessly throwing words around.