Part 2 in a new series of quick legal lessons for indie game devs. TODAY’S TOPIC: CHECK YOUR GAME NAME BEFORE YOU COMMIT! Boring Disclaimer: Cmon, I’m a guy on the internet – I’m not your lawyer (unless I actually am, in which case hi!) – this is not legal advice – legal issues are very fact specific =) Who should read this? Anyone making any game at all – seriously. The potential problem Game names have been the source of a lot of problems in the past - 2 examples illustrate why: Mojang – Zenimax - Scrolls In 2011, Mojang (Minecraft) filed a trade mark for the name “Scrolls” for their new collectible card game of the same name. Bethesda (or more accurately their parent company, Zenimax) who make the epic fantasy RPG Elder Scrolls series, didn’t like this. Regardless of the clear differences between the actual content and gameplay of the 2 games, Zenimax sued Mojang for trade mark infringement. In the end the case settled and Mojang was granted a licence to use the name Scrolls for its new game (without the need for a Quake-off as suggested by Notch at one point), so it wasn’t all doom and gloom, but it was by no means an easy ‘win’ for Mojang and wouldn’t have turned out this way if Mojang didn’t have the ability and funds to fight the case. Black Forest Games – Diesel Clothing - Dieselstormers In 2015, Black Forest Games (The Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams) was about to release its new game, then called Dieselstormers. And in order to protect this it wisely filed for a trade mark. The only problem was that during that process, BFG's application was objected to by Diesel (the clothing company) who it turns out had also registered its trade mark “Diesel” for video games, as well as clothing. OHIM (the EU trade mark body) decided to reject BFG’s application in the end – I’ve written about exactly why here. BFG renamed Dieselstormers to Roguestormers prior to final version release, even though the game had been out in early access and promoted as Dieselstormers for more than a year already. Take-aways from the above?
So how do you check for pre-existing names / trade marks? Step 1: I know it sounds obvious, but once you have a game name in mind, do a really thorough Google search. Also remember to check the app stores, Steam, industry news sites, flash game sites, iTunes, Amazon and anywhere else you can think of. Remember that you’re also looking for similar game names, not just identical ones. Step 2: If step 1 doesn’t reveal any time bombs, the next thing you can do is check the trade mark registries. This is a fairly complicated process since the databases are understandably huge, so I’d normally recommend getting some professional help with this, but if you’re patient and willing to spend some time getting used to the systems, you can make a start yourself. Two things to bear in mind if going solo:
Step 3: If in doubt, get some professional assistance. How close to an existing registered trade mark can you get? This is a really interesting question, but unfortunately the answer is more complicated than this 5 minute piece allows me to explain. Generally speaking though it would involve asking: (i) are the 2 game names identical or very similar; (ii) are the 2 games identical or similar, and (iii) could there be public confusion (i.e. due to the name, could people mistakenly think your game literally is the original game or possibly a new game made by the same people)? If the answer to all 3 of these questions is maybe / yes, you could have a problem. As shown by Mojang/Zenimax though, you may still be challenged in practice even where the answer to these is arguably no. I’ve written a bit more on this topic over here. If you want to be completely safe, obviously steer clear from names which are identical or very similar to pre-existing games. If you’re intentionally picking a name though which skates the fine line between okay and not okay, be prepared to fight your corner (which would probably require legal assistance) or potentially change your game name. A good tip here is the ‘gut-feel’ test – if you feel something’s slightly off about the name you’ve chosen, someone else will probably think so too. What happens if you accidentally / intentionally pick an existing game’s name? Whether accidental or intentional, there are several things that could happen, including (in no particular order):
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4/12/2023 08:13:56 am
When you start a new business, there’s a lot you don’t know. But worse than that, there’s often a lot you’re scared to ask – because you feel silly and think you should already know the answers. So we’re taking a look at which questions new businesses ask ANNA the most.
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