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Langdell's 'Edge' trademark canceled by court order
The "Edge" trademark belonging to Edge Games founder Tim Langdell has been canceled by a court order, stripping Langdell of the ability to file suit against every other game developer and publisher who used the word "Edge" in any context.Following a petition by DICE and EA (Mirror's Edge), the US Patent and Trademark Office officially issued notice of the cancelled registration on April 17, a process that has been ongoing since 2010. Two Tribes, publisher of Mobigame's Edge (pictured), celebrated by discounting all versions of the puzzle game 50%. Edge was taken down from the App Store repeatedly due to issues with the "Edge" trademark.
Future wins in UK 'Edge' trademark case against Tim Langdell
Another blow has been struck against Tim Langdell's crumbling Edge Games trademark empire, with Future publishing winning a UK court case against him. Thanks to its Edge magazine, Future has had a long (and unwanted) association with Langdell for nearly two decades. The company took Langdell to court last year over breach of contract, breach of copyright and passing off (essentially misrepresenting one's products as belonging to someone else). Future, which long ago reached a deal with Langdell to use the Edge name, took exception to Langdell's claims that his company Edge Games had any association with Edge magazine. Future also sought to stop Langdell's repeated and persistent use of a logo very similar to that of Edge magazine to promote Edge Games and its (largely nonexistent) products. The proceedings of the case, excellently summarized by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, read like a television sitcom. The ruling of presiding Justice Proudman provides a litany of shenanigans and chicanery on Langdell's part, a list too long to reproduce here. The highlight -- if you can call it that -- is probably Langdell's attempt to prove that he actually designed the Edge logo two years prior to the magazine's existence. As evidence he presented a file on a 5.25" floppy disc he claimed was from 1991. The only problem: The file contained on the disc was made using Windows 95. Head over to RPS for the full (and bizarre) story.
Final Justice: Strip Langdell of 'Edge' trademarks, court proposes
In a followup to EA's legal victory against declared trademark "troll" Tim Langdell earlier this week, a U.S. district judge has proposed the cancellation of Langdell's trademarks filed with the Patent and Trademark Office. The trademarks are for various phrase combinations using the word "Edge" (e.g., "Cutting Edge"), confirms GamesIndustry.biz, and have been used by Langdell for years to force companies to change their game titles or pay settlements to him -- until EA stood up over the "Mirror's Edge" dispute. Evidence provided by EA in its counterclaim showed that Langdell used doctored Edge magazine covers and box art to support his claim to the trademarks. The court's judgment to strip Langdell of his trademarks is currently pending agreement from EA and Langdell's legal teams (which is expected), but does not address possible criminal penalties that Langdell could be subject to through further litigation.
EA wins 'Edge' trademark suit; court cites Langdell for 'trolling'
Edge Games founder Tim Langdell may have picked on someone a little too big. According to court documents obtained by IndustryGamers, EA has won a crucial legal decision over Langdell, following a court's denial to grant his motion for an injunction that would have taken away the publisher's rights to the "Mirror's Edge" game title. Since 2001, when he sought legal action against Namco for its "Soul Edge" game, Langdell has been filing lawsuits that target companies, including indie developer Mobigame, that incorporate the word "Edge" in their game titles. Langdell claims trademark rights to the word "Edge," staking his case against EA on the existence of his studio's fishy, "forthcoming" release, "MIRRORS a game by EDGE." (Prior to the release of Racers this year for PC, Edge Games had not published a game since 1994.) The court, however, believes that Langdell lied to the US Patent and Trademark Office and has been "trolling" the industry for opportunities to license his dubious trademark. The court also suggests that these actions could warrant "criminal penalties."
App Store devs get "edge"-y as a reaction to trademark threats
App Store developers can be a rebellious kind -- we've already covered the story of a company shooting their price up to $40 just to show their customers how much they could be charging, and now, in response to an overly defensive trademark owner, developers on the store are putting the word "Edge" in their titles. Even high profile releases like the sequel to Eliss and the popular Canabalt are becoming Edgeliss and Canabedge. Critter Crunch becomes Critter Edge on their main page, and so on. The story starts with a guy named Tim Langdell, who started a company a while back named Edge Games. Since he founded that company, he has mercilessly gone after any other game company who dares to use the word "edge" in their title, claiming that he has the trademark to any and all "edge"-related gaming. He's gone after EA's Mirror's Edge and a few other titles, but the App Store has been a prime target, where he simply contacts Apple, claims the app is in violation of his trademarks, and gets apps pulled without a problem. The latest target is a title called Killer Edge Racing by a company named PuzzleKings, and reportedly Langdell has gone so far as to trademark that name, despite the fact that the game using it has been around for years. Hence the indie game developers' "edge-volution." They aren't actually renaming their games in the store, just showing off solidarity with other developers against what they see as Langdell's wrongdoing, and getting the word out about his actions against "edge" on the App Store.
