Skip ads and navigation
Advertising
Our network sites seattlepi.comHelp
The Big Blog
Print thisE-mail this
Curt Milton
Oh, oh! Hasbro is ticked about Scrabulous

Picture

Scrabulous has to be the most popular application on Facebook. But Hasbro, the makers of the board game Scrabble, are ticked off: Scrabulous is too similar to their product and they didn't authorize it and they aren't making any money from it (two brothers from India created it in 2006 as a web site and later marketed it to Facebook). There's a possibility that Hasbro might seek to shut Scrabulous down.

Ouch!

NPR reported on the controversy this morning.

CNET reported on it last week.

What do you think, Scrabulous fanatics? What will you do if Scrabulous shuts down? Should Hasbro and Scrabulous make a deal? Where will you get your Scrabble fix?

Update: Hasbro and Mattel (Mattel holds the rights to Scrabble outside of the U.S. and Canada) have asked Facebook to remove Scrabulous, Reuters reports.

Posted by at January 15, 2008 11:02 a.m.
Categories: ,
Comments
#85843

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 11:50 a.m.

That's clearly a blatant rip-off. Hasbro has a case. They should cut a deal.

#85871

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 12:45 p.m.

I love scrabulous! I hope that something can be worked out so we can still play! I am playing 4 games online right now!

#85881

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 12:59 p.m.

I play this game constantly. Frankly, Hasbro should be ashamed they didn't come up with this themselves ages ago.

#85884

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 1:02 p.m.

I'd be ticked off at Hasbro if they do this. Shouldn't they just hire these guys who made the application and everyone will be happy. Including me because I love Scrabulous.

#85893

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 1:16 p.m.

Do yourself a favour Hasbro... recognize that these guys have done the dirty work for you and cut them a deal... consider it programming time!

#85919

Posted by Will in Seattle at 1/15/08 1:46 p.m.

I thought patents ran out after 17 years?

I remember playing Scrabble a lot longer than that ...

#85939

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 2:16 p.m.

I would certainly love to sell a license to put WildWords up on Facebook.I may be biased, but I think the game is far superior, since it does not rely on those silly, short, nerdy words. It's about real English and creative thinking.

I hope some of you will take a look.

http://www.wildwords.us

#86181

Posted by unregistered user at 1/15/08 11:56 p.m.

Surely all parties will see sense and strike a deal, rather than alienate half a millions users.

There must be a compromise from which all parties will benefit.

! Login below to post a comment.

Registered users, log in here
E-mail 
Password 
Remember me
 HELP! I forget my password

Unregistered users, sign up now

Or post anonymously (About this feature)

Your comment (No HTML allowed, use these special codes instead)
Violating our Terms of Service may result in your post being removed.

Special codes
  • [b]selected text[/b] -- Display the selected text in bold.
  • [i]selected text[/i] -- Display the selected text in italics.
  • [link]www.seattlepi.com[/link] -- Creates a link to the url between the link tags.
  • [link title="Seattle Post-Intelligencer"]www.seattlepi.com[/link] -- Creates a link to the url between the link tags, uses title as link text.
  • [mail]newmedia@seattlepi.com[/mail] -- Creates a link to an email address.
Enter the code shown:
What is this?
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
photo
Monica Guzman: Online reporter
photo
Moises Mendoza: P-I reporter
photo
Molly Mullen: P-I reporter
photo
Lino Fernandez: Staff blogger and band member
photo
Athima Chansanchai: P-I reporter
JOIN IN

· Got a tip or post idea?
· Join our Facebook group
· Become a Big Blog fan

ARCHIVES
August 2008
SMTWTFS
          12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31           
Browse by month
Browse by category
Browse by author

Recent entries
· Pagliacci isn't laughing at postcard pizza prank
· What's next for toilets: Public access to existing facilities
· Should Washington mandate paid sick days?
· Free Sheryl Crow album for voters
· Denver panel urges cops to ignore pot smokers at DNC
· Try on Sanjaya's Hair!
· Catchy condom ringtone funded by Gates Foundation
· Hot for Jason Mesnick? Apply for 'The Bachelor'

Search this blog

RSS/Web feeds (help)
RSS 2.0RSS 1.0Atom
Headlines for your site

Add to Technorati Favorites

LINKS

Seattle City Blogs
· Citizen Rain
· Metroblogging Seattle
· Seattlest
· Capitol Hill Seattle
· West Seattle Blog
· Seattle Daily Photo
· Hillku
· Urbnlivn
· Slog

ON THE WEB

Metroblogging Seattle
· Perhaps it’s the city again?
· Savvy Girls of Summer Mariners Event

Seattlest
· New Microsoft Ads, Seinfeld vs. Mac?
· Next Stage's Ten-Minute Play Fest

Slog
· Obama's Made His Choice
· Green Bike Lanes

Citizen Rain
· Screw ice cream
· 'Best of' designations can be bought

ADVERTISING

Most recent posts
· Eastside Uptown Girl: Hottest Bachelor Gets Ripped at Bellevue's Elite Fitness for ABC's Bachelorette
· The Big Blog: Pagliacci isn't laughing at postcard pizza prank
· Seattle 911: Police give their list of outstanding and heroic locals

*Would you like to blog for us?

The Life Sciences Blog
Joe Tartakoff on the region's biotechnology and life sciences industry
· OncoGenex lays off 21 employees here
· Another Seattle biotech faces delisting

MySeattlePix
Advertising

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000

Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 1.7 million unique visitors
and 30 million page views each month.

Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy

Hearst Newspapers