Scrabble-Scrabulous standoff spells L-A-W-S-U-I-T

So they let the app slide for two years until they launch their own competing version that proves to be a fraction as popular, THEN they go after these guys cuz their own app can't cut it?

I call bullspit!

If it was a rights infringement, they should have went after them to shut it down two years ago when the app launched. To wait until their own competing product can't cut the mustard isn't exactly trying to "mitigate damages".

Seriously, why do you want them to spend money when the infringement was just a nuisance that was making no money??

They had to wait until they were making money before they could sue.

I understand that everybody thinks that waiting 2 years is a long time (it is not ... if they waited 10 years, then maybe). But sometimes the legal work alone can take that long to be effective.

Instead of bitching about their lawsuit, what about looking at the fact of the case.

- The game is an exact copy of Scrabble. They even brag about it in the website.
- Even their name is a ripoff of the original.
- They were warned multiple times. This is not the 1st article about it you know.
- They are making tons of money with the game (ad revenue and game licensing). Although it is software, it is the same illegal concept as if they were making a clone of the board game and selling them a Wal-Mart.

"The game is an exact copy of Scrabble."

No, it's not. An exact copy of Scrabble would have a star in the middle square, "TRIPLE LETTER SCORE" in the blue squares with three little points along the sides, and "SCRABBLE" along the left side of the board.

You can't copyright a set of rules; only the wording and layout of those rules. Scrabulous is not an "exact copy", and it's not a copyright infringement.

"Even their name is a ripoff of the original."

That's a trademark concern, not a copyright concern. I don't really think a trademark lawsuit would have any validity, either.

"They are making tons of money with the game"

Good for them.

The game is CLEARLY a total knock-off of Scrabble, right down to the exact same scoring rules, look and feel, and even name. This is an open & shut case. Hasbro is 100% in the right.

Was it a good idea to create a Scabble game for Facebook? Sure it was, but the creators needed to get a working copy going and then take it to Hasbro and attempt to get it licensed. By releasing it without licensing, they were doing something illegal. Honestly, they are lucky that Hasbro is simply telling them to cease and desist and isn't going after them for the money they have made.

and that's all that matters in a copyright case.

There are laws against copying creative works and there are laws against misleading trademarks.

There's no law against making knock-offs of a game.

It doesn't have to be an "exact" copy to violate the copyright. Copyright law extends to "derivative works" as well. A "derivative work" is "an expressive creation that includes major, basic copyrighted aspects of an original, previously created first work."

I think it is pretty obvious that Scrabulous is a "derivative work" of Scrabble, and therefore Hasbro is 100% in the right on this issue. Apparently Facebook sees this too, as they have pulled Scrabulous off of their system.

It applies to creative works.

A pattern of colored squares used to play a game is not copyrightable. It's for utility, not a creative work.

"Apparently Facebook sees this too, as they have pulled Scrabulous off of their system."

Why don't you do your research before being snarky. It wasn't Facebook that pulled it, it was the creators of Scrabulous.

Since when, the 30's, so ummmm, hasn't their copyright expired by now?

No, it hasn't expired. Copyrights can be renewed over and over again in perpetuity.

Copyright is 70 years plus the life of the author. The reason it lasts so long is because corporations buy government officials and have the laws changed to extend copyright for everyone, not because of renewals.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf

"What Is Copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of ?original works of authorship,? including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
? To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
? To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
? To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
? To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual
works;
? To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
? In the case of sound recordings,* to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. For further information, see Circular 40, Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in
scope. Sections 107 through 121 of the 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from
copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of ?fair use,? which is given a statutory basis in section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In other instances, the limitation takes the form of a ?compulsory license? under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of
specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions. For further information about the limitations of any of these rights, consult the copyright law or write to the Copyright Office."

"How Long Copyright Protection Endures
Works Originally Created on or after January 1, 1978
A work that was created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author?s life plus an additional 70 years after the author?s death. In the case of ?a joint work
prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire,? the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author?s death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author?s identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

Works Originally Created Before January 1, 1978,
But Not Published or Registered by That Date
These works have been automatically brought under the
statute and are now given federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed in the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: the life-plus-70 or 95/120-year terms apply to them as well. The law provides that in no case would the term of copyright
for works in this category expire before December
31, 2002, and for works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.

Works Originally Created and Published or Registered
before January 1, 1978
Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976
extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years.

Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the renewal term of copyrights
still subsisting on that date by an additional 20 years, providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total term of protection of 95 years.

Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended
the 1976 Copyright Act to provide for automatic renewal of the term of copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. Although the renewal term is automatically provided, the Copyright Office does not issue a renewal certificate for these works unless a renewal application and fee are received and registered in the Copyright Office.
Public Law 102-307 makes renewal registration optional.

Thus, filing for renewal registration is no longer required to extend the original 28-year copyright term to the full 95 years. However, some benefits accrue to renewal registrations that were made during the 28th year.

For more detailed information on renewal of copyright
and the copyright term, see Circular 15, Renewal of Copyright; Circular 15a, Duration of Copyright; and Circular 15t, Extension of Copyright Terms."

You're thinking of patents.

First, how does copyright even apply? Did they copy the instructions word-for-word? Nope. Did they copy the visual appearance of the board? Nope. Since when did copyright apply to the placement of some colored squares in a grid? You can't copyright an idea or a set of rules, only the specific, creative way that it is depicted.

Second, Scrabble was invented SEVENTY YEARS AGO. If it were patented, the patent would have expired decades ago. Why does copyright last so much longer? Copyright was created to encourage the creation of creative works by giving a monopoly on their creation for a LIMITED TIME.

The guy who invented it is dead. Why does a company completely unrelated to the inventor still get an exclusive right to make money off of something decades after his death?

Good point. So.... how long should copyright last? Gone With the Wind ought to be public domain by now, maybe.