Fuck you Tim Langdell

[Angrycoder]

This is awesome:

A lot of indie games have just changed their names. Remember Fez? It’s now Fedge. Tyler Glaiel’s Closure is now named Closure: on the EDGE of reality™. The forthcoming iPhone game Critter Crunch is henceforth referred to as Critter Credge. And the enormously enjoyed Canabalt is now called Canabedge. Although Atomic Edge Games aren’t too pleased about it all. Other new games have been announced including Ted Marten’s Edgeward McEdgington, Secret Exit promises to bring us LEDGE, Steph Thirion’s Eliss declares a sequel, Edgeliss, Tyler Glaiel is back with a new game, Edgeform: On The Edge Of Insanity, and there’s rumours of a new game from Dejobaan, EeeeeEEeeeEEEeeEEEEeEEEEEdge! A Feckless Disregard For Poopieheads…

Going Over The Edge: Indie Mass Protest

[Pogo]

I just read Eurogamer’s writeup linked in that post and uhhh… Tim Langdell is a fucking douche bag.

[Tyjenks]

I cannot remember if we had a thread here or if I read a previous article at RPS or maybe an Indie-centric website, but all I have read leads me to believe he easily beats the distraught game pirate for Douchiest Douchebag.

I think it was some website and they were so sick of his shit they had pages and pages of exhaustive detail relating his shenannigins over the years.

[kerzain]

It sounds like he hired the two legal teams that represent both Monster Cable and Monster Energy Swill for tips on how to piss off the world.

[Ben_Sones]

Wow.

@Eurogamer

He offered Papazian two ways out: “One: change the name of your game to something that does not contain the word EDGE in it within the next 7 calendar days. Two: License the right to use the trademark ‘EDGE’ from us.”

But what appeared to be a straightforward offer turned out to be a more complex settlement as Langdell continued: “If you decide to take option 1, then we would need payment for your use of the trademark to the day you change the name. We propose 25 per cent of the revenues you have received from the game to the day you stop using our mark. If you decide to take option 2, then [you would need to add] a subtitle such as “EDGE: An Homage to Bobby Bearing” and to add our company name (EDGE Games Inc) immediately below yours in the opening screen.”

“Also you will give us a pony, and any two of your children.”

[Pogo]

Shouldn’t there be a separation here between Edge the gaming company and Edge the game, in the same way that Monster Cables and Monster Energy Drink are unrelated? It seems like the most rational way to apply the trademarks of common English words.

[Tyjenks]

Here is the tigsource collection of looninessto which I was referring above.

[Rorschach]

I’m sorry but that’s fucking awesome. Good for them. Please I hope some kick-ass lawyer sees this and throws them some pro-bono work.

[Ben_Sones]

@Pogo

Shouldn’t there be a separation here between Edge the gaming company and Edge the game, in the same way that Monster Cables and Monster Energy Drink are unrelated?

IANAL, but I thought that was generally the case. I suspect that Langdell gets mileage out of threatening small companies that lack the resources to mount a legal defense.

Edge’s list of “756 games” is pretty funny. Not only do they count releases of the same game on different platform as separate games, they count releases in different languages as separate games. So Bobby Bearing counts as five games because they released five localized versions for the ZX Spectrum–English, French, German, Italian and… what the hell is Es? Spanish? Esperanto? And then it counts as another five games because there were five localized versions for the C64, and so on. I’m not making this shit up.

[Coca_Cola_Zero]

Aw...Edge mag is evil

I hope wasting precious threads makes you happy! You’ll be sorry when we are out of threads.

[Ben_Sones]

I’m surprised he hasn’t gone after Mirror’s Edge. Doesn’t he want to see how deep EA’s pockets are?

Edit: or perhaps EA should be going after him? Here’s a screengrab of Edge Games’ website from this July (courtesy of CCZ’s link, above):

Wow. Just, wow.

[garin]

@Ben Sones

Edit: or perhaps EA should be going after him?

They are.

[kerzain]

I allege I wedged a fledge of Reds in a sedge hedge when I pledged to dredge the sludge at the edge I never sledged.

[Houngan]

@Ben Sones

I’m surprised he hasn’t gone after Mirror’s Edge. Doesn’t he want to see how deep EA’s pockets are?

Edit: or perhaps EA should be going after him? Here’s a screengrab of Edge Games’ website from this July (courtesy of CCZ’s link, above):

Wow. Just, wow.

Yowza. I was still giving him a 3% chance of not being as bad as he seems, until that. He’s the DNS squatter of the videogame world.

H.

[triggercut]

It takes a true douche among douches to make you root for the success of EA and their legal team.

[Ben_Sones]

Yeah, that’s a little like having the Eye of Sauron turn and look your way. Still, best of luck to them.

[rei]

Check out the inkjet-printed game he ships.

ChaosEdge

[rei]

I hope this man is brought to severe financial and emotional ruin. This man is more evil than Derek Smart.

[Ben_Sones]

The inkjet-printed game doesn’t hold a candle to thebox art for Mirrors and Fire Birds, both stolen from user galleries on DeviantArt. The Fire Birds one he ripped off from a fifteen year old girl. For someone so up in arms to protect his intellectual property rights, he sure doesn’t give a shit about the intellectual property of others.

[Pogo]

I hope this guy dies. The world really wouldn’t care if he died.

Also, this is the greatest thing since Limbo of the Lost.