Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor
Hasbro also sent Facebook, which hosts Scrabulous, a notification of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Hasbro wants the social-networking site to remove the game in the U.S. and Canada as soon as possible.
"Hasbro has an obligation to act appropriately against infringement of our intellectual properties," said Barry Nagler, Hasbro's general counsel. "We view the Scrabulous application as clear and blatant infringement of our Scrabble intellectual property, and we are pursuing this legal action in accordance with the interests of our shareholders, and the integrity of the Scrabble brand."
Hasbro's Underlying Motive
The suit, filed in the Southern District of New York, names Scrabulous creators Rajat Agarwalla and Jayant Agarwalla and RJ Softwares as the defendants.
The timing of the suit is hardly coincidental. Hasbro has a strategic alliance with video-game giant Electronic Arts to create digital games based on a wide selection of Hasbro's intellectual properties. Hasbro is the company behind Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers and other well-known gaming brand names.
As part of its alliance with Hasbro, Electronic Arts launched a legitimate version of Scrabble for Facebook earlier this month. This represents the first of many Hasbro game properties slated to launch on social-networking sites later this year, according to the company.
"After playing with EA's version of Scrabble on Facebook, I have no doubt that Scrabble players in the U.S. and Canada will absolutely love the authentic game play and overall experience," said John D. Williams Jr., executive director of the National Scrabble Association. "I am particularly pleased that EA's version of Scrabble offers such a simple and intuitive interface which will allow players to jump right in and start playing."
Will Facebook Get Slapped?
While the fate of Scrabulous remains to be seen, the bigger question is whether Facebook could wind up the target of a separate lawsuit. Legal experts doubt that will happen, but it is a possibility.
Hasbro will probably not name Facebook as a defendant because the game maker doesn't want to get into the bigger question of whether Facebook's actions in enabling Scrabulous amounts to contributory infringement or whether Facebook is vicariously liable for the activity, according to Todd Hardy, a trademark attorney with Greenblum & Bernstein, P.L.C.
"On one hand, it does not appear that Facebook has assisted or contributed to the copying or infringement itself, but on the other hand they are now on notice of the claimed infringement," Hardy said. "Facebook could also be vicariously liable if it could be shown that they have the ability to control the infringing act or activity and profited from the activity."
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