By Alec Meer on June 18th, 2010 at 10:56 pm.
I’ve written about this already, so I’ll just leave it as a link for you fine people and let nature take its course. But yes, the saga continues: the notorious Tim ‘Edge Games’ Langdell is trying to arrange an injunction against and damages from EA’s Mirror’s Edge.
That he’s after the biggest of all targets this time – well, it’s either proof of just how far he’s willing to take his feeling that he can lay total claim to a commonly-used English word, or it’s a last gasp in the hope of a Go Away fee. Let’s just hope it doesn’t cost us Mirror’s Edge 2.
Wow, this guy’s an asshole.
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The word doesn’t go far enough to describe Langdell. There was a game released sometime around when I was born with a hidden message in it complaining about how big a jerk Langdell is. He’s been a dick to the games industry in general for an ENTIRE GENERATION now.
Oh, and here’s the kicker, and the reason why he’s going after EA. He trademarked the word ‘Mirrors’.
Yes, he trademarked Mirrors and Edge, so he’s going after EA now.
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@Dominic White: …Seriously? That’s the reason he’s going after EA with this lawsuit? I was going to dismiss this Tim Langdell character, but anyone this foolish deserves more research.
He’s on the same level as patent trolls, if not worse!
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Trademark trolls are often the worst.
Almost typed tardemark trolls.
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Ive never heard of this guy before but he honestly personifies the word douche. I read up on him on wikipedia and apparently he does this to indie devs as well which is the lowest of the low imo. EA will eat him for breakfast though.
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More important than this ridiculous parasite is the insanity of a legal system that allows one person to claim ownership of a word in general usage. What a moronic concept. Clearly he didn’t invent the word, he wasn’t even the first to associate it with a product, he was simply the first person to associate it with a product who paid a small fee to have legal ownership of that link. So why make language a special case? Why not like Nike trademark the atomic element Oxygen? After all, you can’t use their trainers without it. Let Apple claim electricity, and Durex that fleeting sense of existential loss that follows a particularly meaningless fuck.
He doesn’t even make anything. What a farcical world.
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Turns out Edge have been back in game development – “Racers” is out now, and god it looks awful. Video on Edge Games’ site. Based on how it looks the cynical might be tempted to think the game has been released purely to give Landell a defence against Trademark Trolling accusations. This is the reviews on Amazon:
“This game is delivered on a blank recordable DVD which cannot be read in any machine, not surprising because the DVD was not recorded. The packaging is ink-jet printing and not professionally printed. The box is a cheap DVD case. There was no printed instruction booklet, just a piece of paper with more cheap ink-jet printing. The DVD label was a sticker.”
“”Racers” is just repackaged version of a (mediocre) 2 year old Russian game called “Voltage” released by a different publisher in 2008. Look it up. It has been alleged that if you buy this, you’ll just get a burned DVD-R with a sticker on it. Avoid. ”
BUT…. There is one 5 star review – does it sound a little suspicous to you?
“Edge Games®, home of the Gamers Edge®, has long been my favourite games publisher. The Edge® led the way during gaming’s golden era with standout titles such as the mind-bending Mazenture® and the captivating Activator®. Since then, the Masters Of The Game® have remained on the Cutting Edge® of game development with breakout genre busters like Mythora® (medieval AND futuristic? Can you beat that!?). Now, Edge® redefines modern gaming with this outstanding addition to the 700 strong Edge Games® catalogue: the cunningly titled Racers®.”
http://www.amazon.com/Racers-Pc/product-reviews/B002PXUZU0/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
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Yup, Racers is Voltage. It’s not great and lord knows how it ended up in his hands. It was, if I recall correctly, put together by a russian software farm (IPA?) as their first break into games. The existing publisher doesn’t exist anymore so erring on the side of niceness for a change, if it were anyone else we could safely assume Langdell simply picked up the title on the cheap from the inevitable fire sale.
Of course, because it’s Timmy boy, no-one can actually be certain of that given his willingness to lay claim to owning stuff even if he has absolutely no rights towards it whatsoever.
It’s only been retitled Racers to go after Killer Edge Racing. Because he’s nice like that.
The whole tale is 30 years of ripping people off. If nothing else, he’s been absolutely consistent. He’s just raised his game now he’s not running Edge as a going concern.
By the time he left the UK, no-one would work for him because well, he didn’t pay anyone for their work – devs, artists, whatever. Now he’s out the UK, new life, new Tim. Tim The Game Industry Veteran and compulsive liar for profit. He’s just found a different outlet to get his cash and thrills at the expense of other folks work.
EA have the weight and the body of evidence that we’ve all collected together, the gears grind slowly though especially when he’s the master of the delaying tactic, of which this latest run in is nothing more than. He doesn’t expect to win (I don’t think. You never really know considering he’s a bit of a mental) but it works to buy him more time and more airspace to once again state that he is absolutely, unequivocally in the right and look, another month of people chasing their tails and a trail of paperwork (usually lost in the post) and looking at himself in the mirror as top Tim, king of the world, owner of Edge, superior to you petty mortals etc…
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@battles: I’ve followed this crap for awhile, but that trademark symbol filled review on Amazon is one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. It’s so over the top, it has to be a parody, right? You first assume it is Langdell, but he can’t be that insane, right? Either way, win.
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“Trademark trolls are often the worst.”
No, the people that patent software stuff is worse.
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“More important than this ridiculous parasite is the insanity of a legal system that allows one person to claim ownership of a word in general usage.”
It doesn’t. Every “victory” Langdell has managed to eke out so far has been a settlement paid to him to get him to drop his lawsuit and go away. I don’t believe he’s actually won a single case.
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Well actually it does. I mean I take your point that he’s probably never been tested in court, but Apple do indeed own the word ‘apple’ when used in the context of electronic gizmos. Which I find pretty distasteful. To trademark a word a company should have to actually invent it. Would make the world a far more interesting place as well; essentially it would read like a sci-fi novel. Imainge all the ‘X’s!
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The whole point of trademarking things is to avoid some bloke coming along and blatantly trading on another company’s work / name. Obviously it has problems, but basically it’s to stop some randomer releasing the ‘Apple Phone’ or whatever. You can see where they are coming from.
However it is virtually impossible to infringe upon Tim Langdell’s rights regarding the ‘Edge’ trademark, because (a) outside of people online who think he’s a tosspot, nobody knows who he or his company are, and (b) he doesn’t actually make anything. He blatantly makes up things that coincide with existing properties in order to profit from them.
What sort of genius would bring a court action in the world’s most litigious country, against a multinational corporation, using mocked up evidence? He actually came up with a box shot for a game called ‘M I R R O R SagamebyE D G E. I realise that judges and lawyers may not be overly familiar with the world of computer games, but they are not idiots. This is clearly a man on the make. He’s been called on it, and now he’s desperate; if he doesn’t fight, he loses his trademark basically, and it is his livelihood.
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After the games industry finally got rid of Jack ‘Cancer’ Thompson, it seems Tim ‘Edge’ Langdell wants to make a name for himself as the new evil potato of this industry.
It’s a shame it’s even possible to trademark a word and then cause a havoc like this. It’s insane.
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Is this the thing that caused a frenzy of edge-based game names? I remember Canabedge.
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Oh yeah, here’s an entire blog dedicated to doing some amazing investigative journalism and exposing every little scam and scheme Tim Langdell is running.
http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/
It’s not quite up to date with this latest bout of insanity, but they’ve got a lot of dirt on him.
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… I didn’t even mean for that to be a reply! I call shenanigans.
Either that, or I’ve been drinking again and wasn’t paying attention to what I’m clicking. Oops.
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Langdell certainly caused the frenzy of edge-based game names, but that was about him throwing a strop at mobigames for their iphone game edge and not EA.
If he succeeds at this, which I doubt, I look forward to playing mirror’s boundary: threshold rather than mirror’s edge 2.
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It’ll be Near Perfect Reflective Surface’s Boundary Threshold too since he snapped up ‘Mirrors’ when the game was announced
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We can only hope he won’t succeed, as it’s a bit stupid to trademark a single word like Mirrors (which by the way is not the same as Mirror’s) and another single word like Edge and then claim you’ve got the only right on using both together like EA did.
With that in mind I’m pretty positive he will fail miserably at this lawsuit and EA is probably going to laugh in his face for his futile efforts here.
It would need a bit more for the trademark and copyright stuff to really change though… it’s pretty much insane as it is right now.
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Surely EA can turn their legal might against him?
Does this mean the enemy of my enemy is my friend?
Will Langdell bring EA to the edge of the abyss, before they edge back and force him to look over the edge?
Will EA rename Mirror’s Edge to Mirror’s Age and then replace all textures with reflective surfaces?
Does the fact I can’t read any of the CAPTCHA letters mean I’m a robot?
Why am I writing this all in questions?
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The problem with him going after EA is that EA might just not want to be bothered with it and just end up settling for an amount that would be lower than their legal costs.
EA crushing him would be nice, but I highly doubt they’d go through all that trouble when they could just give a bit of money to go away (unless he really wants to push his luck).
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I’m fairly certain I remember EA going after him previously. Hopefully, their PR department tells them they’ll get a big enough popularity boost from their investment in crushing him.
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I hear you on the captcha part. Im obvioulsy half robot, cause not only do i have to refresh alot, alot of the time it doesnt accept what i enter.
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Tim Langdell is a fucking bell-end.
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Penises are wonderful things. Tim Langdell does not deserve the comparison.
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a fetid, smega encrusted one?
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Still suggests that he was once a bright and noble being before he fell from grace, like an elf twisted into an orc by Morgoth who was Melkor.
This post bought to you by illness and medication.
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Me and my penis have many happy memories together and I don’t want to spoil them with the comparison to Langdell.
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Here’s a trademark “infringement” that Langdell REALLY ought to go after:
http://maleedgeusa.com/
I mean, that’s as open and shut a case as he’s going to get!
“Your honor, I am in fact a penis, and I own Edge magazine. The prosecution rests.”
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Grah. Joke fail.
Langdell owns Edge Magazine, like I own the edge of my toilet seat.
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Oh, I get it. He’s actually some sort of long-form performance artist. We’re supposed to be prodded into questioning our bourgeois notions of “intellectual property”.
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Good for him. Finally someone stands up against those fat cats.
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There is no problem standing up to the big boys when you have been wronged and are in the right, but this is just some fucktard trying to make a quick buck which results in the rest of us having to pay more …
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That was probably meant as a joke, but in case anyone hasn’t heard of this guy, he usually bullies much smaller targets, indie devs and the like, who sometimes can’t afford the legal expenses to fight him. If EA is serious about standing their ground on this, Langdell may finally have met his match.
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I don’t know if you’ve been following any game news for the last 20 years but here Langdell is the bad guy, He’s been after every single indie game with “Edge” in the title causnig a lot of trouble to a lot of hard working indies while that f**k didn’t do as much as sitting on his fat ass suing everyone.
I really hope EA smear him all over the wall, it’s one of those rare times when you hope those fat cats hurt people.
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It’s called sarcasm.
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Oh, isn’t he dead yet? Ah well, give it some time.
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What a dispiriting thing this (continuing) story is. I wonder what motivates Tim Langdell towards this approach. Are there any interviews with him on the subject?
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It appears that the guy threatens a lawsuit against *any* product with the word “Edge” in it (even the film “The Edge” with Anthony Hopkins). They settle out of court, and from what I can tell, Langdell lives off the money he makes this way. (He certainly isn’t making games.) He may also make money indirectly due to being falsely associated with the properties that he claims infringe his trademark. He has parlayed his fake resume into a teaching position at “National University,” and he may do some consulting, too; he positions himself as having experience he doesn’t actually have. I know he gave a number of talks at GDC last year about turning games into movies (his experience with film consists entirely of his threatened lawsuit against the makers of “The Edge”).
In other words, he’s a conman who has managed to make a living doing this crap.
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“I wonder what motivates Tim Langdell towards this approach.”
WIld guess – money for nothing.
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You tell me what motivated Hitler and I’ll tell you what motivates this douche.
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German ultranationalism and a desire for revenge against the western powers?
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Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of game litigation, is: “Do not take on Activision”. Rule 2 is: “Do not go fighting with your lawyers against EA”.
EA will worry about this for all of two seconds before deciding to crush him.
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Gotta agree with Jimbo there, Loony Langdell is probably going to regret this one.
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Good advice. They’re right up there with “Never get involved in a land war in Asia” and “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.”
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I’ve a feeling that someone’s patent applications are going to be revoked by a US Judge very very soon. …
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Inconceivable!
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Uuuhh, you have to register to read the article… What’s the point if the registration is free? Surely thats just gonna push people (like me) away and lose them ad revenue.
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Protip: Google “bug me not”.
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Scum
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Didn’t EA sue Langdell a few months ago?
Or they did something.
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Look, we’re all in agreement as to how we feel about Langdell, but let’s not have a thread full of any-old-site name-calling. You’re RPS-folk! Take him apart with smarts, not swears.
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But he’s being such a butt-head….
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We’re just angry, Alec. The whole thing has been discussed to death countless times before in any case.
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Smarts? It has already been done by ChaosEdge. We can’t really do anything more, Alec. =)
I think his intention with this is to obtain a suspension of the case EA started against him.
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He’s a big jerk face
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ok, so I didn’t read this before commenting.
Sorry!
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I read that all at first glance as
“Langdell is a dick. We will sell T-shirts!”
Which is actually a great idea. RPS needs to trademark his name, and then sell T-shirts proclaiming he is a dick.
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Nothing new. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25448
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Oh stinky plop plops. That wasn’t a reply.
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His big ugly face is a dumb as a butt.
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There usually is very little name calling at all in the comments … because y’all delete them, right? Are you deleting some in this thread? I actually do like the RPS walled garden. It would be really, really bizarre to read a comments section on Langdell not filled with personal attacks though. So weird that you’d almost assume the readers thought he was kinda’ not so bad. Hmmm ….
(I’m not disagreeing that Langdell is abusing the legal system)
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I maintain that this is just a delaying tactic for Langdell’s ongoing patent dispute; EA are trying to remove Langdell’s various claims to ‘Edge’ in all its video game incarnations, and at the same time he filed this lawsuit against them he made a motion to suspend proceedings in the patent case until this new suit is resolved. Just one way for him to keep hold of his patents for another few months during which time he will have free reign to threaten smaller companies who want to use the word ‘Edge’ in an intellectual property, companies without EA’s ability to legally defend themselves.
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I would sincerely appreciate that man being kicked in the face repeatedly.
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Go read the wikipedia entry for EDGE Games and the word loses all meaning.
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Langdell needs a chainsaw shoved up his arse. I was hoping EA’s suit against him would have worked (is it still ongoing?), but no. We get a repeat of the same crap again.
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How is he still getting away with nicking the logo from Edge the magazine? The Reserved symbol is even in the same place.
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I believe they were one of his earlier victims, actually. Word is that they folded.
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I don’t have enough popcorn to sit through this insanity. What am I going to do!?
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“The Lawsuit is a long read, but Langdell is effectively requesting all of EA’s profits from any Mirror’s Edge title or licensing as well as damages for “brand confusion”, Mark infringement, court costs, and ‘lost profits’.”
http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-92051465-CAN-22.pdf
I just picked this up from the comments thread over at Chaos Edge. I would be… surprised… if Langdell was awarded all the profits.
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I was wondering if EA would just pay him off, but now I see this I’ve fallen to wondering how long it will take before the DRM enhanced hitmen come knocking on his door.
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EA is actually in the process of suing Langdell because he has been repeatedly threatening Mirror’s Edge for a year now. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go full-throttle on this and Langdell suddenly finds himself very much in over his head.
Someone forward that ChaosEdge blog to their legal department. I’m sure they’ll appreciate having all their research done for them.
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I believe that the EA legal department knows of the Chaos Edge website and used it to get Langdell to back off from ‘Edge’ from Mobigames. If Langdell gets to court I think that their research will be used as well as other cases of Langdell bullshit. Such as the fact that he sought trademark to the name ‘Mirrors’ after the announcement of Mirrors Edge and his long history of trademark trolling. He has little to no hope of victory, which makes me worry that he’s not completely sane.
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He also trademarked racers and mirrors.
Take a look at the first review of the game.
http://www.amazon.com/Racers-PC/dp/B002PXUZU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1269821312&sr=1-1
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Seems like the man’s just sport-hunting now. I’m sure there’s more than one person hoping he gets eaten in the process.
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how the f
he trademarked hhhhhhhhhh
he trademarked hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
he trademarked the word “mirrors”
ahahfeoufadflkpf
oh wow
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He trademarked “Edge” but claims he has a game called “MIrrors,” that is, “MIRRORS by EDGE.” This is his pattern – with each lawsuit he pretends to have a game or product in development or release with a similar name to the product with “Edge” in the name. He never actually has, of course; he hasn’t been involved in game development for decades, and even then it apparently consisted of him failing to pay his actual game-making employees.
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Yes, I think this is a great idea. I’ll make a games company. Let’s call it… War Games. Ooh yes, all those horrible games, like Gears of War, God of War, World at War, Universe at War, Total War and what have you. They’re all damaging my reputation and products!
Oh wait, there’s also Darksiders. They’re seriously damaging me, the main character’s named War for chrissakes!
Also, if even one of you uses the word “War” in any for or shape here, I’ll sue each and every one of you, and also this site. I own the word, you got nothing!
Also, yes, I am insane and like to inhale sewer fumes.
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Speaking of Mirror’s Edge: It’s $5 for today only, on Steam. It’s more than worth it if anyone doesn’t have it. (Dead Space is $10 too)
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I got it on an earlier $5 sale. Aside from the idiotic storyline, the first two-thirds are sublime. Then it veers hard into Sucktown, but yeah, it’s worth it, get it. I love first-person platforming.
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Hot dog! Mirrors Edge for three pounds, thanks for the heads up and I imagine this Langdell chap is hoping EA will come to some kind of settlement instead of swatting him aside – that or he has literally gone insane that would certainly be something
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@Sigma Draconis
I say we sue whoever thought it would be a reasonable idea to give anyone the right to a common word.
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Oh yes yes YES.
I’ve been waiting for this for the last six months, ever since that brilliant Eurogamer article. I knew Langdell would sue EA over Mirror’s Edge, instinctively — it was too big a prize to give up, and he’s evidently nothing more than a greedy bastard. And of course he’s soon going to find out that he’s in waaaaaay over his head.
EA’s lawyers will crush him like the insignificant bug he is. Sometimes having an evil megacorporation in the industry has its benefits.
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Wikipedia reveals that EDGE Games and Langdell is the equivalent of Fred Phelps and his Westburo Baptist Church.
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Lol
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So… Mirror’s, a game by Edge Games isn’t coming out? I was looking forward to it. It still says ‘Coming Soon’ on their web site.
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EA, you know that you and I have had our differences in the past.
You’ve been very good to me lately, what with your DRM revocations and your microtransaction games and your Bad Company 2.
If it’s not too much to ask, I was wondering if you’d do me a favor.
CRUSH TIM LANGDELL.
Hugs and kisses,
–CH
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Yessir, right away sir.
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You know, I have this image in my head with EA’s lawyer coming up to Langdell, towering over him, and saying in a Russian accent: “I will break you.”
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For me, this story conjures the image of the Death Star’s targeting screen as it slowly creeps into firing position, except with the Sanctuary Moon of Endor replaced with Tim Langell’s face.
*wanders off humming the Imperial March*
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I think you mean Yavin IV, but I see what you’re saying ^_^
Glad to see someone getting my movie references.
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The image in my head is of EA as Chong Li and Langdell as Ray Jackson only there is no Frank Dux analog on the latter’s side.
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Tim Langdell is being doubledared to say what again.
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His trademark won’t hold up. He has no original art or demo at all to show for this ‘Mirrors’ Game. How dumb is this guy?
I remember hearing about that golden scepter story when younger. I was disconnected from it at the time, but now it’s full circle. This guy’s dicking around has been going on for most of my memorable life! Towards my favorite industry even! Oh the hate is on!
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Now that training montage is somehow blending together with this situation in my mind. What have you done?!
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How did you get the image at the very top? Did you play through the game and screencap, or did you just search for one online? Either way I think it’s terrifically fitting.
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But, jsdn, in this case we want the hulking wrestler to smash the crap out of the little girl that breaks the law and kills innocent people.
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HA! that’s like a giant middle finger from EA to Langdell as EA will sell thousands of copies of Mirror’s Edge from the steam sale.
I`m thinking that I might go out and trademark the name Langdell and sue the bastard every time he writes his name.
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That definitely was a reply to Thants. Shenanigans!
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Ah Langdell, what a loon! If he was a nice guy it would make a lovely story about an eccentric englishman taking on the might of Big Corporation and they would turn it into a film and he’d get rich that way and become a hero. Unfortunately for him he is a sphincter who bullies small indies and takes advantage of legal loopholes to make a quick buck. I hope EA Las Vegas branch are going to bury him in a shallow grave in the Nevada desert. It’s a shame his pestering could end up delaying Mirrors Edge 2, the first one was great fun and made a pleasant departure from EA’s previous games after they went a bit rubbish.
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Invetiable Downfall parody link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Tz3jwKeaM
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Yes, Invetiable. You heard me.
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Do you pronounce that “in-VESH-a-bull” or “in-VET-ee-uh-bull”? Or some other way? Just curious.
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It would be In-vet-ee-ah-bull I’d imagine.
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http://members.iinet.net.au/~ragtag/invetiable.jpg
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Flim’s corollary to the Godwin law: any internet news of note will inevitably be subtitled over Downfall
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This guy is everything but dumb. If he was dumb he wouldn’t have lasted this long doing crap like this. So then how can he possibly think he can take on EA? My first thought is this guy has either lost it or is utterly desperate. But maybe he has something up his sleeve?
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If you read up on EA’s litigation against him, he’s basically been stalling for time for almost a year: False motions to dismiss, waiting until the very last second to respond, the works. This is the third and latest iteration of that.
He doesn’t have a case, but he’s had years of experience fucking with the legal system. Basically speaking, laws against frivolous litigation are written with Tim Langdell in mind.
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Seriously, if ea settle i’m boycotting them… Until mass effect 3, and then again after that.
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Apparently David Evans, the guitarist with U2 would like his name back too
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you should rename the site rock,paper,edge just for a day :D
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@ Cliffski – I think they did, last time Langdell was being an arsehole to indies (more than usual I mean).
I like Edge, Edger, Edgegun personally.
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Edgeguns: 9/10 mathematicians and architects prefer them over the leading brand of shotgun.
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As I recall it was Redge, Pedger, Shedgegun for a couple of days. I found it far more amusing than i should have done.
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If Langdell succeeds now, Futuristic Parkour Game 2 will be about running on infinite soft planes without edges.
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Christ, what an asshole.
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Wow. I’d laugh, but this guy crossed the line from “funny because he’s delusional” to “breathtakingly stupid also delusional” some time ago.
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The gall! That this is even possible makes me speechless with rage.
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Edge you Tim Langdell,
Sweet victory wishes for EA!
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Mirror’s Edge can be bought for less than 4 euros today on Steam.
Tomorrow Dragon Age will be discounted and the day after tomorrow Mass Effect. :)
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It’s the other way round actually:
http://www.devicemag.com/2010/06/15/steams-ea-week-hot-deals-leaked/
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Ah, sorry then, my bad. ;)
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Quick, rename it to Dragons Edge!
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If EA’s lawyers are getting a fixed monthly salary…well, then Langdell is screwed
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I’m pretty sure they have their own in house lawyers given all the contractual stuff they have to deal with with various developers, so I’m sure they are good for a sustained legal rumble. Conversely I doubt Langdell has the finances necessary to duke it out with them for long.
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Dear EA,
If you use your might and Terror Lawerz ov DOOM (TM) to crush this nitwit into legal oblivion, then I will buy one of your games, at full price, even if it’s rubbish and covered in DRM.
Ta.
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Is there somewhere we could send that letter for reals? Because I would earnestly make that pledge.
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Someone should trademark the name “Tim Langdell” and have him pay royalties on it!
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Intellectual Property laws, trademarks, patents, all this government thug enforced bullshit needs to end, the sooner the better.
(note: I am not advocating downloading stuff without paying. I am advocating non government backed monopoly on non-scarce goods = ideas).
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IP laws are needed, but they are in need of vast revision, updating and reworking… What was originally created to help out creators, and inventors is now mainly used as a tool for mega-corporations to use AGAINST creators, inventors and other companies.
IP laws have moved so far away from creative protection and consumer protection (based on the idea that counterfeit goods harm consumers, which in things like drugs they certainly do) it’s not even funny.
It’s the result of 50+ years of big business lobbying, to which only now the average consumer is starting to take notice of how broken the laws are.
Maybe the whole current set of laws are beyond salvation and the law needs to start from scratch, but the chances of that are so slim as to be practically zero.
I honestly believe that IP laws stifle innovation more than they encourage it, especially in the technology industries, where patent abuse is used as a form of mutually assured destruction (see Apple vs. Palm pre).
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Yeah, you can pretty much guarantee That EA will have a dozen or so Staff lawyers + support staff, so legal fees will not be an issue as they are on salary anyway.
And they’ll almost all be Intellectual Copyright experts, with a couple maybe for business, tax, and securities (of the stock kind, not the military kind).
The only costs for them will be court fees and such if they lose (and possibly other parties legal fees) – which may be enough to have them just settle out of court, and chalk it up as a tax deductible expense, or on the company insurance (however they handle it).
Still I hope they unleash their full legal might on this cockroach, and bury him once and for all.
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It’s been linked a couple of times already in this discussion, but it cannot be restated enough that everyone should have a good look through the ChaosEdge site: http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/
Racers and the beginning of the “Mirrors” case: http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/racers-coming-with-a-blast-of-voltage/
Langdell decides that his stupid decision is one to continue with: http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/mirrors-a-new-game-from-edge/
The Mirrors debacle continues: http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/the-crying-developer/
The original release for EA’s legal machine greasing up: http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/hedge-your-bets/
The tale from September to April: http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/the-legal-story-so-far/
Repeat: Look at these. Langdell’s practice are the scummiest I’ve ever seen, and nobody that reads RPS should think there might be any mitigating factors at all. He is not trying to take the fight to big corporations, he’s just ruining other people’s lives so he doesn’t have to do any real work.
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Is “being fired into the Sun” a valid legal punishment for frivolous IP lawsuits? I do hope that it is.
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Being fired into the sun would cost BILLIONS. I vote for lashed to the side of a fridge and dropped in the Mariana Trench.
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That would not work, the person would merely use the fridge as a survival aid, they are after all nuke-proof.
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I’ve known about this guy for all of ten minutes, and I already have a seething dislike – nay, hate – for him.
I’m not usually a big EA fan (though – and it might just be my impression – they seem to have become less evil lately), but I hope their big boy lawyers crush him.
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Shooting’s too good for ‘im.
It hurts me not only that he’s been a thorn in the gaming industry’s (and computer parts industry, and movie industry) side for two decades, but that he’s been wasting court time with these frivolous lawsuits, which is costing me tax money.
That, and I have a special hatred of pathological liars.
I say we go Brothers Grimm on him and stuff him into a barrel filled with nails and roll him down into a quarry.
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And then release a youtube video of the event called “On the EDGE (of a quarry)”.
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I think Tei is just enough crazy to be convinced into doing this!
We can call it Tei: The Edge of sanity!
disclaimer: any similarities to persons living or dead is purely coincidental, “Tei” is a character devoloped for this film and not related to any member of this comments section, if there is one i mean, not that I know there is or anything.
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This is EA. The last time they did something right by themselves was… yeah, I can’t particularly think of a time. They’re going to end up just settling outside of court rather than giving him what he deserves.
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It’s times like this I’m genuinely tempted to actually learn to use Unity or something to make a game, call it something Edge-y and wait for Langdell to turn up at my door. If he doesn’t, of course, his case against EA is completely undermined as it looks like he’s only going after profitable targets, and not universally protecting his copyright claim… anyone here up for a quick troll of the copyright troll?
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You should call it “Tim Langdell”. It could be a side-scrolling platformer in which you beat up old ladies, steal ice creams from small children, stomp on puppies, steal from indie devs and file frivolous lawsuits. The ending would be when a giant Monty-Python-esque foot (with “EA” written on the side) crushes the player. And of course you would need to trademark the name “Tim Langdell” as well.
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I seriously hope that EA won’t settle and they fight this out to the bitter end, regardless of the cost. This man has been a thorn in the backside of too many people for too long. Words like Edge shouldn’t even be trademarkable unless put together with other words to create a readily identifiable new word or phrase. “Mirror’s Edge” I would see as a decent trademark example, if just barely. I just want this troll to be finally kicked to the curb so that he’ll stop preying on easy targets for his asshattery.
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Just a note: That Amazon review is actually brilliant satire. If the line “Not since Mega Race has a futuristic racing game featured such compelling visual splendour.” doesn’t give it away, “…will keep you on the edge® of your seat.” should.
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the ego clan is associated with this douche too, from the bottom of their website:
Copyright 2008 EDGEGAMERS® All rights reserved. EDGEGAMERS® is the registered trademark of Edge Games, Inc.. Used under license.
remember that if you happen upon their servers in TF2, CS, etc.
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Well actually it does. I mean I take your point that he’s probably never been tested in court, but Apple do indeed own the word ‘apple’ when used in the context of electronic gizmos. Which I find pretty distasteful. To trademark a word a company should have to actually invent it. Would make the world a far more interesting place as well; essentially it would read like a sci-fi novel. Imainge all the ‘X’s!
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He’d drown too quickly. Put him in a scuba suit as well so he can properly experience the blackness. And maybe get eaten by a hungry giant squid.
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How low can someone sink? We’ll have to see. And who knows, this lawsuit may come and end up hurting him, the bastard.
Did I mention I hate trademarks used in such a fashion?
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Man, I hope EA legal drops on this guy like a ten-ton bag of hammers. Make it happen, EA!
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“Near Perfect Reflective Surface’s Boundary Threshold 2″
Hilarious Muzman and much better than Mirrors Edge 2 :)
I guess I am lucky since this is the first I’ve heard of this wack job. Totally agree with phuzz, someone should really start an online petition with phuzz’s statement. Its such a good double jab against EA and this goofball :
Dear EA,
If you use your might and Terror Lawerz ov DOOM (TM) to crush this nitwit into legal oblivion, then I will buy one of your games, at full price, even if it’s rubbish and covered in DRM.
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How much would it cost to have this man killed?
Seriously. It happens all the time in the criminal underworld – someone must know someone who knows someone. If everyone who wanted him dead paid a bit towards it, it’d only cost a few pence each. Not only would it make all the problems associated with him disappear, it would send a message to other trademark trolls out there. It’s not even like he serves any useful purpose – he’s a parasite, not only on the computer games industry, but on the words resources.
And just to reiterate – I am genuinely advocating that Tim Langdell be murdered. I will contribute to a fund to make this happen.
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I was questioning whether to get APB, but I have a vision which must now become reality:
APB has an EA splash at the beginning, has a very good character customization module, and your character can get shot in the face.
Hmm.
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I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed that all these big companies sued Tim Langdell for, well, being a dick, basically, and then he laughed an evil Bond villain laugh and announced that because he was the 113th largest shareholder in Sun Microsystems, they’d have to sue Sun as well.
Note to self: must eat less cheese before sleep.
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A Blog dedicated to taking down Tangdell:
http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/
It has lots of info on him and his shenanigans :)
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I’m wondering when he’s going to go after “Castrol EDGE”.
I thought it was pretty funny that they even use the same font as he claims as a trademark…
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I’m wondering what he’s gonna do about all those razor commercials on TV. Will Langdell diversify his business?
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