Romier S Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Heres the link: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/mythica/new...ws_6086024.html Excerpt: "We cannot allow Microsoft to usurp our rights, confuse the public, and use the Mythic brand to gain an unfair competitive advantage," added Jacobs. "We had hoped not to have to resolve this in court, and it is truly unfortunate that Microsoft declined to respect Mythic's rights," Jacobs said. "But our name and mark are among our most valuable assets. We have no choice but to defend them, regardless of the size and power of our adversary. We would expect Microsoft to react no differently if someone launched an operating system called Microsofta, just as Microsoft did when confronted with an operating system called Lindows." Also interview with Jacobs over at IGN: http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/448/448277p1.html Excerpt: Jonric: Given Mythica was announced roughly eight months ago, what has transpired during the time period since then, leading up to the decision to file the suit? When did you first discuss the matter with Microsoft, and how often since? Mark Jacobs: Within the first few weeks of the announcement of Mythica by Microsoft, I spoke with Hal Milton [a designer on the Mythica team - Ed.] at E3. I expressed to Hal both our displeasure and concern with Microsoft's use of the name Mythica for their next game. I actually started the conversation with him by sarcastically telling him that I was thinking about calling our next game Microsofta, and asking him if he thought that would be okay with Microsoft. A lengthy discussion ensued, which ended with him telling me that he would bring it to the attention of Matt Wilson [the project's Executive Producer - Ed.] and that he was sure Microsoft would contact us. I told him that would be a good idea. Unfortunately, Microsoft did not contact us, and we were forced to bring suit against them. One does not lightly take the step of suing a giant like Microsoft, and we wanted to be sure we were correct and well prepared. We sent them a letter about the suit and the complaint, prior to actually serving them, in order to give them a chance to begin investigations and to talk to us before this thing went public. As to how often we spoke after that, we made ourselves available to them on a moment's notice to discuss the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Y'know, I thought this was dumb when I first read about it, but now I'm not so sure. Would a publisher expect to get away with calling an isometric clickfest rpg "Blizzardy"? Blizzard would be on them like a ton of bricks, and I don't blame Mythic for attempting the same here - they do need to defend their trademark legally for it to be maintained. I couldn't say that Microsoft picked that name on purpose - it's a fairly vague name that fits the content announced, but still, that's irrelevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackcalx Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 I also thought this was frivolous until I remembered Microsoft's legal storm against Lindows. It takes some cajones to take on MS and I doubt they would do it if they didn't think they had a case. An article about this elsewhere pointed out that Mythica is very similar in several key ways to Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted December 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 An article about this elsewhere pointed out that Mythica is very similar in several key ways to Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot Aren't all fantasy based MMO's? The interesting thing here is that Mythic had already lobbed complaints towards MS for the use off "Mythica" in the past. MS flat out refused to change the name of the game despite Jacobs misgivings about its use. I say go Mythic on this one. Though it will surely be an uphill battle for them I definitely see where they are coming from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Daisy Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 I agree with all of you guys. It sure seems like Mythic has good grounds to stand on. It seems as though they'll be able to show that they were trying to make efforts to resolve this without involving the courts as well. You would think that would help their case. Glen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 If I were Mythic I would have started developing a product called Microsofta. Then when MS filed yon suit against them they would have been able to point to Mythica and go "Well? Well?" This is why I am not CEO of a major corporation . Seriously though, you guys are right. At first it sounds like a stupid suit, but then when you think about it, it's not so much. And given the sometimes low grade brainpower of the average consumer, it could quite seriously injure Mythic's profit lines if the Mythica game sucked. Strange, strange world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted February 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 New news from Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/mythica/new...ws_6089326.html Mythica is now cancelled. No report on the lawsuit from Mythic however it is disheartening to see 40 people losing thier jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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