[cowboyhero]

No, trademarks began and continue as a way to protect creators and commercial operators. It's a way to put your stamp on something and say "This is mine, I created it, I own it." It began, and remains, very closely tied to branding.

It's not about individual words. This is a red herring on Notch's part. Bethesda never claimed they owned "scrolls." They don't.

It's about Notch releasing a product in the same commercial space with a very similar sounding name to a product that Bethesda already owns.

As I said elsewhere, Bethesda must take action. They have no choice.

[barrkel]

You're way off base here. The artificial construction of intellectual property exists solely because the state has created it as a monopoly, and a democratic state has no interest in doing such unless it benefits the public, not private operators. Private operators are protected in so far as the overall public interest is served (not being confused, sufficient reward for invention, etc.). If people aren't going to be confused, then there should not and ought not be a conflict.