‘Elder Scrolls’ owner settles TM dispute with sci-fi author

A sci-fi author has settled a trademark dispute with the owner of “The Elder Scrolls” video game series.

The dispute arose after ZeniMax Media, which owns the video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, applied to register ‘Redfall’ as a trademark in September last year.

Jay Falconer is the author of the 2016 novel of the same name.

In February this year, WIPR reportedthat Bookbreeze.com, which redirects to Falconer’s personal site, had opposed the trademark application, which was filed in classes 9 and 41, covering video games, novels, and film distribution.

Bethesda and its subsidiaries develop and publish “The Elder Scrolls” series. The latest instalment in the series, “Skyrim”, was released in 2011 and sold over 30 million copies.

In a post on his Facebook page last Thursday, May 23, Falconer announced that the dispute had been settled.

“ZeniMax Media and Bookbreeze.com are pleased to announce that they have amicably resolved a pending trademark dispute related to the ‘Redfall’ trademark,” the statement said.

It added: “While the specific terms of the agreement are confidential, the parties believe that resolution of the matter is mutually beneficial to both ZeniMax and Bookbreeze.com and their respective fans.”

In a statement on his website earlier this year, when Falconer first filed his opposition, Falconer stated that he was not seeking to profit from the opposition, and would be open to licensing the rights to the Redfall name.

“I need to make sure my Redfall brand remains my property so I can continue to sell my work under that brand and someday develop a major motion picture,” the author said at the time.