EA petitions against Edge Games trademarks

You know that term “the shoe’s on the other foot now?” I would imagine that means that your left or right shoe is now on your opposite foot and you are having trouble walking, keeping your balance and looking like a complete and utter fool. That is probably how Tim Langdell, former International Game Developers Association (IGDA) board member and litigious CEO of Edge Games, must feel right now. In case you don’t recall, Langdell is known best for using people over the use of the term “edge.”

Well according to a GamePolitics report, today Langdell’s company is facing a Consolidated Petition for Cancellation filed by Electronic Arts and its wholly-owned subsidiary EA Digital Illusions CE AB. The petition calls for the cancellation of such trademarks as “The Edge,” “Gamer’s Edge,” “Edge” and “Cutting Edge.” These - and no doubt other “edge” related trademarks - are registered to Edge Games.

EA’s argument is a solid one and its interest is mostly due to Edge Games’ attempts to sue it for Mirror’s Edge, which it has a common law trademark for. But it seems like EA wants to make a point here in its argument: that Langdell’s company doesn’t have the rights to the trademarks it owns, using an old Snoopy computer game with “The Edge” clearly on its packaging as an example. This old game was discontinued years before the filing of the application in 1996.

For those that have been sued by Edge Games, EA must seem almost saint-like.