The Hindu : Front Page : Hasbro withdraws case

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Friday, Dec 19, 2008
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Hasbro withdraws case

Raktima Bose

RJ Software agrees to make changes in word games

Hasbro has U.S., Canadian rights to Scrabble
Kolkata firm faces a case from Mattel Inc.

Kolkata: The row over the former add-on application “Scrabulous,” on the social networking site Facebook, seems to be over as the U.S.-based Hasbro Inc. settled the litigation brought over RJ Software, a city-based web design and technology company, last week.

Hasbro Inc., which owns the U.S. and Canadian rights to the popular Scrabble word game, had previously served a lawsuit on RJ Software for violating its copyright and trademark. RJ Software, which is owned by brothers Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, had designed the Scrabulous game that was available on Facebook.

A press release from RJ Software said that the company had agreed not to use the term “Scrabulous” and to make changes to the Lexulous and Wordscraper games (also designed by the Agarwalla brothers) in the U.S. and Canada to distinguish them from the Scrabble.

“Based on these modifications, Hasbro has agreed to withdraw the litigation filed against us at a New York federal court,” Jayant Agarwalla told The Hindu. The modified version of Wordscraper would be available on Facebook while Lexulous would be available on the Lexulous.com website, he said.

Trademark violation

The web designer brothers are, however, still entangled in the lawsuit filed by Mattel Inc. against them in the Delhi High Court over trademark and copyright violation issue. Mattel owns the rights to the Scrabble word game outside the U.S. and Canada.

“Mattel Inc. has filed an appeal before the division bench as it was unhappy with the judgment of the Delhi High Court,” Mr. Jayant Agarwalla said.

Last October, the Delhi High Court declined to issue any restraining order against the Agarwalla brothers and held that Mattel had no copyright over the Scrabble game.

“Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi will appear on behalf of us when the case comes up for hearing on January 12, 2009. Mattel will be represented by Arun Jaitley,” Mr. Jayant Agarwalla added.

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