Tim Langdell is man who started Edge Games. He's also the chap who saw to it that the
Edge iPhone game from mobigames was withdrawn from the App Store due to
trademark issues. He's also the guy who was on the board of the The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) until yesterday.
Following (but maybe not related to... maybe) a
petition by its own members, the IGDA has released the following
announcement (PDF):
"Tim Langdell has resigned from the IGDA Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr Langdell had served on the Board since March 2009.
"The resignation means that Dr Langdell's seat on the Board is vacated, and will be up for election in early 2010. The special meeting called for the membership in Oct. on this matter will no longer take place."
Why would the members of the association be so keen to see the back of a man who has been
called 'The Trademark Troll'? Possibly due to the fact that many members see him as someone who has not actually developed that much but seeks instead to benefit from the trademarking of the word 'Edge'?
Here in part, is Langdell's own statement on his resignation - full post is
here:
"...with the best interests of the IGDA at heart, and mindful of the unfair demand on the time of my fellow board members... I therefore announce my decision to resign as a member of the board of the IGDA, effective immediately.
"I make this decision not because I have done anything wrong -- on the contrary I am confident that all accusations against me were unfounded and purely intended to defame, and am confident that I have at all times acted in the best interest of the IGDA and its membership -- but because I must make this decision between concluding a process that will show I did no wrong, and having that process irreparably damage the IGDA, I cannot permit the latter to happen.
"This has to drive my decision today, taking priority over defending myself against these accusations to a conclusion. There are some who will take my stepping down as an admission of wrongdoing, but they are the same people who if the October 3 Special Meeting had gone ahead resulting in my remaining on the board would have refused to accept that outcome."
Politics, eh?