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Scrabulous suspended on Facebook | Scrabulous suspended on Facebook |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The developers of the popular Facebook application Scrabulous have suspended the game for some users following legal action by toy maker Hasbro. | The developers of the popular Facebook application Scrabulous have suspended the game for some users following legal action by toy maker Hasbro. |
The application has been disabled for users in the US and Canada. | The application has been disabled for users in the US and Canada. |
Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble, are suing the Calcutta-based founders of Scrabulous, claiming they are infringing its copyright and trademark. | Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble, are suing the Calcutta-based founders of Scrabulous, claiming they are infringing its copyright and trademark. |
Hasbro had asked Facebook to block access following the launch of its own official version of Scrabble. | Hasbro had asked Facebook to block access following the launch of its own official version of Scrabble. |
Defence campaign | Defence campaign |
Scrabulous has been one of the most popular applications on Facebook, regularly racking up more than 500,000 users each day. | Scrabulous has been one of the most popular applications on Facebook, regularly racking up more than 500,000 users each day. |
Fans have mounted a vigorous defence campaign since the joint owners of Scrabble, Mattel and Hasbro, announced their intention to sue the Facebook developers back in January. | Fans have mounted a vigorous defence campaign since the joint owners of Scrabble, Mattel and Hasbro, announced their intention to sue the Facebook developers back in January. |
A spokeswoman for Facebook told the BBC that the decision to suspend the game was made by the developers, not the site itself. | A spokeswoman for Facebook told the BBC that the decision to suspend the game was made by the developers, not the site itself. |
She said that while Facebook monitors applications to ensure that developers abide by certain conditions, it was not responsible for the overall content of the applications. | |
Another spokesperson said that Facebook was not taking sides in the Scrabulous-Hasbro dispute. | Another spokesperson said that Facebook was not taking sides in the Scrabulous-Hasbro dispute. |
"We're trying to maintain just being a neutral platform," he said. | "We're trying to maintain just being a neutral platform," he said. |