Using the name "Scrabble" for a game is a clear trademark violation;
using something *remotely* similar to "Scrabble" is *not* a "clear"
trademark violation. The standard in the US, and I believe in Europe as
well, is that you must not use *confusingly* similar names.
I'm renaming it to "Scribble". Since that's a real English word, you
can't use it as a trademark.
Hasbro also claims rights on the rules, I have no idea whether that is
valid,
It is not valid. In the US and Europe, game authors have no ownership
rights on game rules.
Oh well; my rules are slightly different anyway. Obviously, you can't
challenge the computer (it's always right) and it won't make you lose
your turn if you try a bad word.
but it seems like a very good idea to have the rules be nonequal to
Hasbro's, by changing the bonus layout or something.
I think it's a bad idea to cave to pressure from unethical corporations
trying to throw their weight around.
It is. Unfortunately, it can be costly to stand up to them, especially
when they are right on at least one case (using the name "Scrabble").
I don't think it's good for Debian to be the one to have to face them,
either. My code has been released in the public domain, so there is
nothing they can do to stop it.
Brian
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