Hasbro sues over Scrabulous

Hasbro has filed suit against the creators of Facebook's Scrabulous game application, which the board game manufacturer says infringes on its Scrabble IP rights.

The suit names the Scrabulous creators, Rajat Agarwalla and Jayant Agarwalla, and RJ Softwares as the defendants. Facebook has also been served a notification of copyright infringement requesting that they remove the application in the US and Canada, following an unheeded request earlier this year.

"Hasbro has an obligation to act appropriately against infringement of our intellectual properties," said Barry Nagler, Hasbro's general counsel.

"We view the Scrabulous application as clear and blatant infringement of our Scrabble intellectual property, and we are pursuing this legal action in accordance with the interests of our shareholders, and the integrity of the Scrabble brand."

Hasbro partnered with Electronic Arts to create digital versions of its IP, thanks to a licensing agreement last year, which has resulted in a legitimate version of Scrabble for Facebook being released earlier this month.

"Hasbro and Electronic Arts are very pleased to offer fans an authentic Scrabble experience on Facebook, which is complementary to EA's full-range of Scrabble offerings - from the cell phone, to the iPod, and now, social networking," said Mark Blecher, general manager, Hasbro Digital Media and Gaming.

"Hasbro and EA have worked diligently to provide a great game play experience on Facebook, and we are confident that fans of the game will welcome a genuine experience highlighted by top of the line graphics, strong technical support, and of course, classic Srabble gameplay."