Facebook’s decision to pull the plug on the popular Scrabble clone known as Scrabulous is now final, as the game can only be accessed in India, where its developers have their headquarters.

As soon as Scrabble’s rights owners, Mattel Inc., demanded that the game should immediately disappear, the social networking Web site removed it from its pages in the United States and Canada. At the time the move was considered sufficient but a few days ago Facebook announced that the game will no longer be played on its pages, no matter the location.

Still, as Mattel’s lawsuit in India against the two developers is still in the works, Facebook will allow users in the country to access it until a final court decision will be reached. Mattel filed the lawsuit accusing Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, the two brothers responsible for the game, on violation of intellectual property.

Facebook took the decision to stop hosting the game in order to make sure that it will not be accused of any copyright and trademark infringement.

The two brothers recently addressed the issue, saying that they are astonished by Facebook’s actions, as the Web site claims to be a fair and neutral party.

"It surprises us that Mattel chose to direct Facebook to take down Scrabulous without waiting for the (Indian court's) decision," Agarwalla said. "Mattel's action speaks volumes about their business practices and respect for the judiciary."

The game’s rights are shared by two companies: Hasbro inc. owns the rights in North America and Mattel Inc. owns Scrabble’s rights elsewhere.