Dr. Langdell and The Edge

[ThreeOhFour]

Those of you who've been following Dr. Tim Langdell's (or as I like to think of him "The Enemy") infuriating activities may be interested to read the following:

http://gamepolitics.com/2010/10/07/edge-games-stripped-trademarks-could-face-fraud-charges

It seems that maybe he's finally met his match. I am sure I'm not the only one that hopes this is the absolute last stunt Tim Langdell ever tries to pull.

[GarageGothic]

Heh, I was just reading the ruling (linked to from Rock, Paper, Shotgun) - so happy that this troll finally gets what should have been coming to him for so long. It was great entertainment as long as it lasted though, especially that time the indie game makers renamed all their games to have the word Edge in the title. But much like the crazy Muggles woman suing J. K. Rowling - also with awesomely bad forgeries to prove her case - it does get old after a while. Let's hope the people who gave in to his scam get at least some compensation.

Now, what happened to that Limbo of Lost guy Steve Bovis? Did that epic piece of plagiarism ever go to court?

[Peder 🚀]

Langdell? The Edge?? Have I missed something here

[GarageGothic]

In-depth exposure of Mr. Langdell's trollish business practices on EuroGamer and coverage of the current court case courtesy of Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Edit: In brief - he's a dickhead who's trademarked the word "Edge" and threatens to sue anybody who uses it in a video game or comic book related context without licensing it from him. Several people have already been bullied into paying him instead of spending money taking him to court, but then he got greedy and sued Electronic Arts for using the title "Mirror's Edge"... Hilarity ensues.

[Peder 🚀]

Thanks, what an ass....

[SpacePirateCaine]

Tim Langdell, for those who aren't familiar with him, is one of the more high-profile "Copyright trolls" that has been a thorn in the side of the very industry he claims to be a member of for many years.

He is the CEO of a "game company" called "EDGE", and although he hasn't released anything that uses the Edge name in years (Which is necessary to maintain a copyright - intent to use), he claims rights to any game that utilizes the word 'Edge' in the title, as infringing on his company name. He really worked his way into the spotlight a few years back when he sued Electronic Arts over "Mirror's Edge", and was also involved in long term litigation with a company called Mobigame over their title, "Edge", an iPhone title that was taken down by Apple due to said claim.

In his defense of the ownership of the copyright, he has cited ongoing game development projects, but the only materials he has are years old, and don't hold up in court.

He really smacked the beehive though, recently, when he decided that he wanted to have another go at EA because they refused to back down to his attempted bullying on the Mirror's Edge name (Demanding licensing fees for the use of the name). EA bit back and recently not only were victorious in beating back Langdell's claim that they owe him money for calling their game Mirror's Edge, but the courts as of yesterday ordered that his copyrights be revoked, therefore giving him no grounds to stand on against Mobigame and other companies that have been attacked in the past.

Mobigame is possibly going to pursue litigation against Langdell, and he also faces charges of fraud.

[GarageGothic]

In his defense of the ownership of the copyright, he has cited ongoing game development projects, but the only materials he has are years old, and don't hold up in court.

Not to mention forged! I don't get how people think they can get away with photoshopping their own evidence in this day and age, the Muggles woman did the same thing to claim that a number of Harry Potter characters were plagiarized from her barely circulated kids books. One thing is making unsubstantiated claims, another to falsify evidence in a court case, which is straight out fraud and could lead to jail time. Idiots!

[Snarky]

(Which is necessary to maintain a copyright - intent to use)

No it isn't. For trademark protection it is, but a copyright remains even if you do not intend to use it (and generally even if you do not defend it, though that may make it easier for future violators to plead ignorance and good faith).

[blueskirt]

In addition to what SpacePirate said, it wasn't just games with "Edge" in their title, it was anything game related with "edge" in its title, that include UK's Edge Magazine.

And when he was bullying the guys at Mobigames, when they proposed to rename their game to Edgy, he proceeded to trademark the word "Edgy".

That guy's a cockroach. I hope they'll charge him for fraud.

[LimpingFish]

I've been following this since the Mobigames days. Langdell is a horrible, horrible parasite. And a criminal.

ChaosEdge keeps tabs on all of Langdell's shenanigans.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Now if only someone would give that inflated prick Derek Smart an uppercut, my weekend would be complete.