Skyblock is one of the most popular Minecraft maps but its creators have been locked in a legal battle with Microsoft for years.
Skyblock Seems Under Threat
Long before Minecraft had an End dimension where you fight the dragon, or late-game fully enchanted netherite gear, players invented other challenges to beat. One of these was surviving on arguably the most popular custom map ever – Skyblock.
The map has been around since 2011 and has been played by millions of players worldwide. It essentially boils down to players having to achieve certain goals with the use of limited resources. The map spawns you in an almost empty world, save for a floating island of dirt and grass with a tree and a chest with some basic resources. Players have to make a cobblestone generator, expand their sky island, and conserve resources, all in an attempt to attain certain set goals.
As Minecraft was updated throughout the years, so was Skyblock and its various tasks. Its success spawned numerous clones and imitators, all trying to recreate the feel and mechanics of the original map. However, it seems that this popularity might
What Exactly Is the Problem?
The issue boils down to Minecraft’s in-launcher store, aptly named Minecraft Marketplace, and a copyright battle. In the Marketplace, players can buy and sell various community-made things, such as skins, texture packs, and maps. Skyblock and its many clones and imitators are also there, making quite a bit of money for their creators, as well as Microsoft.
However, the creators of the original map, Noobcrew and the Mineverse team, recently shared their experience in trying to protect what they see as their intellectual property. “For nearly four years, I have been engaged in a legal conflict with Microsoft and eleven other Minecraft related companies who aim to invalidate my intellectual property and exclusive trademark rights to Skyblock,” an official statement by the creators reads. They have failed a trademark application for the word “Skyblock” in an attempt to limit the copying of the original map’s concept. However, Microsoft, and several other companies, are disputing the application.
“The companies involved include: Microsoft, Razzleberries AB, Sapphire Studios LLC, Aurrora Limited, Easy Games, Inc., Jigarbov Productions Inc., King Cube LTD, Ziax Ltd, ReWrite Media, Inc., Mineplex LLC, Hydreon Corporation, and Spark Squared GmbH.
These companies collaboratively insist that “Skyblock” is now considered a generic term, used to describe any virtual game featuring a “block in the sky” or “floating island” environment. As a result, they argue that I should lose all intellectual property and exclusive U.S trademark rights to the name.”
According to the Mineverse team, these claims are a “deliberate attempt” to undermine the originality of the first Skyblock. The aim is so that the involved companies can continue to profit from their own Skyblock content currently provided on the Minecraft Marketplace.
There Are Some Complications on Both Sides of the Argument
Technically, the issue here is not one regarding copyright infringement, but one of trademarking and the actual term of Skyblock. Popular Minecraft YouTuber and streamer Phoenix SC, who also has a background in law, made a video explaining the peculiar situation.
According to Microsoft, and the other companies that failed a dispute against Mineverse’s claim. The word “Skyblock” has become a “generic” term, so it is not considered to be able to be trademarked. While this can be argued, the fact remains that a lot of other creators use the term to market their own maps, clones of the original, or heavily inspired by it.
This allows them to make money off the initial idea while Mineverse does not receive anything from those profits. The situation is complicated by the fact that there are many maps that feature the word “Skyblock” in their names. This effectively buries the original map in the Minecraft Marketplace’s latter pages, making it less visible. One egregious example that Phoenix SC gave is that of a map called “Original Skyblock”, even though it is not the original map. Needless to say, there was also no credit given to the original creators.
It should also be noted that according to Microsoft’s rules, any content made by players and fans, technically belongs to them, not the company. So Skyblock, the map itself, is technically owned by Mineverse. This should probably come to Mineverse’s advantage in the trademark dispute, but this still remains to be seen.
What can Minecraft players and Skyblock Fans Do?
As Phoenix SC explained, this is a David versus Goliath situation. The Mineverse team has been locked in a legal battle over the issue for the past four years. If you’re interested in helping the creators of the original Skyblock map, you can go to Skyblock Forums and support Noobcrew and Mineverse by leaving a comment.
“As human beings, we are necessarily encoded to be selfish. But it also doesn’t take much to just do a tiny bit better. And I think one such situation exists here,” Phoenix SC concluded his video.
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