i agree with the above post, except he doesn't even really have a genuine career, it's made of smoke and mirrors (and getting people to make games for him and then not paying them), so there's not much to ruin; it'll collapse in on itself without us having to ruin it for him
25 years is a long time to keep it up though, no? I dunno, he's evidently doing alright for himself and I think it'd take something cataclysmic to bring that down.
What matters to me is that he's not in a position to represent any other developers given his past and by all accounts current form.
i don't really think he has a case. strength of trademark is crucial.
The problem is that Edge Magazine is relatively strong, and for whatever reason they ended up licensing Langdell's trademark rather than fighting it. (or am I mislead on that point?) We might not understand or agree with that decision, but it's already done so now Langdell's trademark is non-trivial, because it is the same as the Edge Magazine trademark. I think Langdell might have a case here, technically.
Which doesn't excuse his behavior, but the trademark thing alone probably won't be his downfall.
Whatever happened with Edge evidently happened in 1993 or thereabouts when Future decided to launch the bugger. They weren't always the omnipotent powerhouse publishers they are today, although certainly by that point they were well on their way. It's a few years later down the line before we're looking at Future owning the market like they do now in the UK. Or, y'know, if Future as the behemoth they are today were dealing with the same scenario as in '93, he'd likely be on his arse.
Quick snippet from the Digital Edge case:
One of the UK’s most successful magazines, called “EDGE” and published by Future Publishing Ltd; is published under permission and by arrangement with opposer one, with the mark EDGE being used for that magazine under license from opposer one.
Now, maybe I'm a bit thick but nowhere does that say he's actually ANYTHING to do with Edge Magazine.
There's a registration for Langdell and for Future Publishing for Edge. There's definitely a grey area overlap between the two
Printed matter, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, all relating to computer games, video games, interactive media, interactive television, interactive video, hand-held games and to related devices and goods, all pertaining to entertainment and education; all included in Class 16.
Stationery, posters, packaging materials, booklets, instructional or teaching materials, all relating to computer games, video games, interactive media, interactive television, interactive video, hand-held games and to related devices and goods, all pertaining to entertainment and education; all included in Class 16.
Weirdly, both were filed on the same day and granted status on the same day. Which makes sense if you think of the context we're assuming.
In all likelihood, there was a deal on the table. I can't see any mutual branding allowances having a caveat for "you can lay claim to everything we do as your own work", y'know, such as claiming you sponsor the GDC for example. Assuming of course it is FP who sponsor the GDC, but who the fuck knows aside from Tim and Future's Legal Team!
Whatever, that's up to Future to sort though. Given the aggressive nature of their legal team, not something I'd want to be up against personally were I obfuscating the truth.
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