Topic: Bethesda Attacks Fallout Fan Site

[-<WillyP>-]

This year has seen Bethesda Software's legal team settle a pair of high-profile disputes with Minecraft creator Mojang and original Fallout publisher Interplay, but now the company behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 3 is turning its litigious attention to one of its fans.

In a post on his blog last week, Norwegian Fallout fan Erling Loken Andersen recapped a back-and-forth dispute he's been having with Bethesda's legal team over a Fallout poster art fan site he set up. Andersen said it started in December when he received a takedown notice from Bethesda's lawyers claiming his collection of freely downloadable Fallout-inspired posters were infringing on the company's intellectual property rights. The publisher also insisted that Andersen hand over the domain for his site, fallout-posters.com.

Irregardless of whether Bethesda has a legitimate legal case here, this is an incredibly poor public relations move.

[Kaiaatzl]

x2
Regardless of whether it is copyright infringement, why would a non-idiot take down a website that is likely going to bring many new customers to their franchise, and which was made by a person who was obviously trying to do just that.
I know the world is running short on manners but I had no idea good judgement was so hard to find too, even in proffessionals paid to have it.

[Scyphi]

Makes me glad that Bethesda doesn't have the rights to Descent.

[Kaiaatzl]

I thought Interplay may have actually made a good choice on who to sell Fallout to.  Interplay?  Making a good choice?  At least it turns out they didn't upset their own status quo.  Even more emphasis on why we need to make the choice for them of who to sell Descent to.

Wait, Bethesda is an American company right?

[Matthew]

All things evil and corporate come from America, so yes.

[Kaiaatzl]

Well then that explains their trigger-happy lawyers.

[Scyphi]

Well, I don't know about that. Nintendo and Sega are Japanese, and they are most certainly a cooperation, in addition to have their "evil" moments. With a little research, I'm sure I could come up with more from other not-US countries. Probably even one from Canada I'd bet.

Point is that cooperations generally are fairly "evil" (or to be a little more fair, most come across as that way) but they certainly aren't exclusive to America.

[Kaiaatzl]

No, I'm talking specifically about lawsuits.
I don't think most Americans realize how they look to the world (especially to those neighbors so close to them that they actually see your commercials for lawyers), and how it makes your country look so trigger-happy -- in ways that have nothing to do with guns.

[Scyphi]

Oh well, the lawsuits aspect I totally agree with.

My comment was more directed at IHateHackers anyway.

[Kaiaatzl]

But he was talking to me, so I was also talking to him and...
oh forget it.

[-<WillyP>-]

I hardly think defending copyrights is evil. In this case, I think a very poor choice. But everybody makes mistakes, some even repeatedly, it does not make them evil.

[Kaiaatzl]

...In this case, I think a very poor choice...

I agree.  That's why I'm talking about trigger-happiness.  (Because that's definitely a phrase).  I got the impression that the hater of hackers was responding sarcastically to my question about whether the company was American, where I was talking about an entirely different American stereotype than he thought.

[Matthew]

No, I'm talking specifically about lawsuits.
I don't think most Americans realize how they look to the world (especially to those neighbors so close to them that they actually see your commercials for lawyers), and how it makes your country look so trigger-happy -- in ways that have nothing to do with guns.

Believe, I know exactly how we look. I hate it, and every time I see a commercial for some law firm or get-rich-from-somebody-else scheme I die a little inside.

[Scyphi]

Yeah, a lot of these lawsuits these days in America are just so pathetic. No wonder lawyers get paid so much for them, otherwise why would they even bother with this crap?

[Kaiaatzl]

You guys are the proof that some Americans still have souls.  Don't beat yourself up for the ones who don't .  They're not worth it.