iPhone App Makers Get Edgy Over Bogus Edge Trademark

from the edge-edge-edge-edge dept

In the past, we've discussed how some guy named Tim Langdell seems to think that because he once had a game that had the word "edge" in the title and got a trademark for it (even though he hasn't released a game in about fifteen years) that he can go after anyone who uses the word edge in a video game title. EA is even working on getting Langdell's trademark dumped. In the meantime, he just keeps going with it, threatening plenty of folks. It appears that some game developers are getting sick of this and have decided to fight back. William Jackson alerts us to the news that game developers are now purposely adding the word "edge" to their game titles in solidarity with those threatened by Langdell. I wonder if that will get the message across?

Filed Under: edge, iphone games, tim langdell, trademark

Mafia Wars vs. Mob Wars Battle To Take Place In Court Rather Than Online

from the take-it-to-the-matresses dept

Apparently the creator behind the Facebook game Mob Wars is suing the creator of the similar game Mafia Wars for copyright infringement. Zynga, the makers of Mafia Wars have basically built a pretty good business around making copies of other (sometimes well-known, sometimes not) games for platforms like Facebook, MySpace and other sites. But that's fine. Both Mob Wars and Mafia Wars are popular -- and having the two compete with each other shouldn't be a bad thing. It drives both developers to keep improving the overall experience. Besides, both games are based on concepts that have been popular in games for ages -- since well before either came into existence. Could you imagine if only one software company could produce a Texas Hold 'Em app? Or only one company could produce a baseball video game? That would be silly. So why should only one company be able to produce a text-based game about mobsters? Just focus on competing online, rather than in the courtroom.

Filed Under: copyright, iphone games, mafia wars, mob wars
Companies: zynga