'The Elder Scrolls 6' Delay Rumors Sparked Over Trademark Dispute, Sci-Fi Author Responds
Bethesda's parent company filed the Redfall trademark back in September of last year, leading to [...]
Bethesda's parent company filed the Redfall trademark back in September of last year, leading to much speculation regarding this being the highly anticipated The Elder Scrolls VI. Though this initial reveal was exciting for Elder Scrolls fans, one sci-fi author has issue with the term 'Redfall' being owned by the mega company.
Author Jay Falconer is making moves to halt the use of this trademark, filing a counter to the original application that went through last year. It's important to note that the author is looking to halt the application, not looking to take the company to court for copyright infringement. Since we don't even know if Redfall is tied to the next Elder Scrolls game, and the fact that the game isn't expected to hit this generation, it wouldn't be impossible for ZeniMax to change direction.
In a response to a GamesRadar article about the trademark and how it could impact the release date of the upcoming RPG, Falconer added:
@zoe_dels Your Redfall Article. My lawyers made attempts to contact gaming company to work out a simple licensing deal for them to use my Redfall name. They ignored me every time. Shame. Left me no choice. All could have been avoided. Just call my attorneys back.
— Jay Falconer, Author (@JayJFalconer) February 20, 2019
According to Falconer, he made previous attempts to work with the company regarding his won Redfall name. Unfortunately, it seems that his attempts to reach out were ignored, leaving him with "no choice" but to try to halt the application process.
Though it's a shame he even had to make the clarification, in this day and age - and with an article with the title leading on the tone of a delay because of 'X' reason, it's very possible that the author could have seen massive backslash blaming him for the lack of a release despite Bethesda being very clear already that the new game still being "far off" from being ready to launch.
As for the original trademark filed, the code used for Redfall indicates that the game this references will most likely be a single-player experience and is in association with goods and services regarding "game software for use with computers and video game consoles."
The trademark went through on September 10th when it was first filed and fans immediately took that as signs of the next game and what could be in store.