That seems to be the case for Bethesda, which is going to the mat with indie developer Markus Persson--better known as Notch--over the name "Scrolls." As in, "Elder Scrolls"; or, at least, that's how Bethesda sees it.

It's a case reminiscent of , an infamous trademark troll who sued everyone and anyone who used the word "Edge" in their title, including Edge Magazine, Mirror's Edge, and the iPhone title Edge. In fact, in responding to Bethesda's claim, Notch even said that he hopes Bethesda isn't "."

"If we're going to court, I will fight this for as long as it takes," Notch said. "It's a bogus claim, and [Bethesda has] several one-word-named games that share a noun with other games that precede [its] games."

It may well end up going to court--Bethesda seems intent on aggressively defending their trademark--but the question is, "Why?" What can Bethesda possibly gain from what Notch has masterfully made into a media circus?

The answer is "nothing." Even if Bethesda has grounds--and at least one legal expert says they do--there's no undoing the damage that would come from this public relations debacle. As it is, Bethesda is mainly coming off as a bully of a publisher that's picking on the little guy. And the more Notch writes, the worse they look.