RealNetworks, one of the many fingers dipping into the pie that is Scrabble, has released an online version of Scrabble for the social networking site Facebook. This new twist is just one of many in the saga that is Facebook-Scrabble-Scrabulous.

Scrabulous, the insanely popular, yet completely unauthorized online version of Scrabble, was a huge hit on Facebook, with over 600,000 users. Unfortunately, that popularity caught the ire of Hasbro and Mattel, the controlling parties of Scrabble, and they sent their gaggle of lawyers to shut down the application.

Public outrage was immediate, loud, and prolonged, so much so that RealNetworks, the company that controls the electronic rights to Scrabble, pledged to save Scrabulous. But now, with the introduction of a completely separate, yet authorized, version of Scrabble (aptly named "Scrabble by Mattel"), it seems as if they are headed in another direction.

So far, user response to Scrabble by Mattel hasn't been overwhelmingly negative or positive. Some say that it's slow to load, others that it's an excellent application. The main complaint was that the game does not accurately reflect the official Scrabble dictionary, and seems to miss commonly used yet not officially sanctioned words, such as "zen."

One more thing: because it was Mattel that worked this deal, and they don't own the rights to Scrabble in the U.S. (that's Hasbro's domain), it's only available to users outside US and Canada.

No word yet as to whether Scrabulous is dead on the operating table.

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]