Gamasutra
follows up on
previous indications that a legal battle is brewing
over the Fallout IP. This is not actually over
the rights to
create a Fallout MMOG that
Interplay retained when they
sold the Fallout rights to Bethesda, but rather over recent
bundles and other deals concerning the original Fallout games. Bethesda is
seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions against manufacture, sale, and
distribution of the Fallout Trilogy, which includes the classic PC games
Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics, saying "while Interplay was permitted to
sell pre-existing Fallout games, it was required to submit to Bethesda all
relevant packaging, advertising, and promotional material prior to bringing the
catalog titles to market." Word is:
But Bethesda claimed that Interplay
never sought pre-approval for those materials. The plaintiff said because of the
alleged trademark infringement, consumers have become confused between the
makers of the pre-existing Fallout games and Bethesda's more recent Fallout 3 --
a situation that Bethesda wanted to avoid.
Bethesda also accused Interplay of breaching the trademark agreement by signing
licensing agreements with digital distribution sites like Steam, GOG.com, and
GameTap to sell older Fallout games. The company claimed Interplay's alleged
actions have caused the studio "immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm."
Bethesda is also asking the court for a declaration stating a trademark
licensing agreement between the two companies is terminated. In 2007, Bethesda
purchased the Fallout franchise from Interplay in full for $5.75 million. Within
that purchase agreement was a trademark licensing agreement, the complaint said,
that allowed Interplay to license back the rights to develop an MMO based on the
Fallout series.