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Hasbro and Mattel after Facebook for Scrabulous
Both Hasbro and Mattel are asking Facebook to remove the Scrabulous application, a third party add-on, saying that it's too similar to Scrabble, and therefore infringing their copyright.Apparently, Hasbro has the rights to the game in the U.S. and Canada, while Mattel has the rights everywhere else. As such, Scrabulous is in a troubled spot - the AP reports that Hasbro has threatened to "close down the site [Scrabulous] and its associated distribution points" in the event that an agreement cannot be made. In a letter Hasbro is sending to those who protest their actions, the company states that Scrabulous is an "illegally copied online version of the world's most popular word game," and encourages people to switch to legal online venues to play Scrabble instead.
Even if, legally speaking, Hasbro and Mattel are in the right and their copyright is indeed being infringed upon by an application that is easier, faster, and more accessible than all other legal Scrabble incarnations, let's hope that a good agreement is reached and everyone gets to go home happy.
[via Reuters]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SteveS said 11:33AM on 1-17-2008
Maybe this wouldn't be happening right now if the founder of Facebook didn't reveal he was playing Scrabble with his grandmother this past Sunday on primetime TV (60 Minutes to be exact).
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