Bethesda’s Fallout MMO appeal denied

After taking a beating in the courts regarding the use of the word ‘Scrolls’ in a new game from Minecraft creator Mojang, Bethesda has hit another snag with Interplay and their proposed Fallout MMO.

The Fallout 3 developer was initially denied a preliminary injunction against Interplay in September, and yesterday its appeal against the court’s decision was also rejected.

According to documents released by the Unites States Court of Appeals, Bethesda sought to prove that the, “district court abused its discretion and misapplied the law in concluding that Bethesda failed to establish a likelihood of irreparable harm.”

Bethesda agreed that the rights for an online Fallout game would remain with Interplay on the condition that development would start with at least $30 million in funding within two years. Now Bethesda is claiming that Interplay has waited too long and thus rights should revert to the current owner.

The purpose of the injunction was to stop production on Interplay’s MMO until the case could be resolved in full. However, Bethesda needed to prove that the wait would be damaging to its business – a claim that the court has roundly rejected.