Intellectual Property Law

Hasbro Sues Scrabulous Creators, Asks Facebook for Takedown

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One of the most popular features on Facebook could soon be gone, if the social networking site’s operators comply with a takedown request from a U.S. toymaker.

The Scrabulous game that users play online infringes on its own Scrabble game, Hasbro says in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, reports the London Times. The defendants are Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, two software developers in Calcutta, India, who created the online version. The defendants do not include Facebook.

Scrabulous is played on Facebook by some 450,000 users daily, the newspaper notes.

Additional coverage:

PC Magazine: ” Update: Facebook Keeps ‘Scrabulous’ Alive”

AppScout: “Facebook Responds to Scrabulous Request by Covering Ears, Humming”

London Times: “Is it game over for Scrabulous on Facebook?”

Technology (Guardian): “Why Hasbro won’t buy Scrabulous: because it’s cheaper to sue it”

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