EA counterclaims Langdell’s Mirror’s Edge lawsuit

Following Tim Langdell’s lawsuit against the name Mirror’s Edge, publisher Electronic Arts has issued a counterclaim against Langdell, asking the court to cancel his fleet of ‘Edge’ related trademarks.

Langdell has held the trademark on words and phrases like Edge, Cutting Edge and Gamer’s Edge - basically, the word 'edge' in a video game context - for decades, suing anybody who tries to use the word. iPhone game Edge, Namco's Soul Edge and British games publication Edge magazine are among his previous targets.

EA has now fought back with a counterclaim which highlights the extent of Langdell’s dodgy business trading. The publishing giant notes that Langdell “nor his alter ego companies” have made any legitimate use of the trademarks in commerce, “but they have instead used the marks to assert baseless claims against third parties and to extract undeserved settlements.”

Langdell hasn’t made any commercial video games since 1994, and saw much of his success on “long-since obsolete video game systems as the Amiga, Amstrad CPC and Atari ST.”

EA goes on to allege that Langdell "intended to deceive the USPTO”, saying that neglecting to use the trademark in commerce, and merely using it in legal contests, should void his use of the word.

EA, and its other defendants, aims to strip Langdell of his trademarks and receive just and proper compensation and legal fees.