Aug 8, 2011 12:30 GMT  ·  By

Video game publisher Bethesda Softworks has sent a letter to Mojang, the indie developer behind Minecraft, accusing the company of breaching the trademark protection for The Elder Scrolls franchise by naming their next project Scrolls.

Marcus Persson, who is known to his fans as Notch, has Twitted: “Just got a letter from Bethesta's lawyers. They claim 'Scrolls' infringes on their trademark and everyone will confuse it with Skyrim.”

It seems that the letter is accusing the indie developer of creating a game that has “significant visual, audio and conceptual similarities with The Elder Scrolls” which might have an impact on video game buyers and make them believe that the two titles are sharing “the same commercial origin.”

Notch has added on his blog that, “I assume this is all some more or less automated response to us applying for the trademark. I sincerely hope Bethesda isn’t pulling a Tim Langdell.”

Mojang is currently preparing to launch the final version of Minecraft and to hold a two day conference in Las Vegas to celebrate the event.

Their indie hit has managed to go over 3 million units sold.

Scrolls is the second game that Mojang is planning to create and they have announced earlier during the year that they are planning to create a mix between a video board game and some real world card trading, although no actual mechanics have yet been detailed.

During the fall of this year Bethesda is preparing to launch The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a mix between action and role playing that will deal with dragons and norsemen.

It's pretty clear that the two video games are not sharing a lot beyond the name and public reaction to the threat of a lawsuit will probably lead Bethesda to back down so that it does not diminish its public image.