Trademarked / copyrighted names

How can you find out if the (potential) name for your game is copyrighted / trademarked or someone has some sort of rights on it?

Say for example "Thrust" - I'm assuming you can't use that, but what if I wanted to call my game "Thrust Super Turbo Edition" or "Super Thrust"?

If "Thrust" is copyrighted / trademarked (no idea if it is) then you won't be able to use the others.

It'd be like calling your game "Superman Turbo Edition", or "Super Superman" :)

You're still using the name Thrust, so it won't matter.

Names cannot be copyrighted. Trademarks can be used to protect the names of things but they have to be quite prominent and used in such a way as to brand something.

Trademarks are also meant to be exclusive to the industry that they are used in, which is why Apple Computers didn't have any problems with Apple Music until they released the iPod.

I would be very surprised if something like Thrust was trademarked. Something like Bubble Bobble or even Quake makes more sense as a Trademark because these are names used as part of a series.

Thanks

Ok - so how would I go about verifying what names are trademarked or not? (I'm not writing a thrust clone btw ;) )

Googleing the names would be my best bet.
(yes, I use google as a verb :P)

I'm in the US, not the UK, so I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I use:
http://www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/acadres.htm
to search for registered trademarks.

I did a little research on the subject a while back. There are registered trademarks ("R in a circle") which, as the name suggests, requires registering with the government. This takes time (for a search to make sure no one else has the same trademark) and money (regardless of how the search turns out) but provides the best protection.

Then there are unregistered trademarks ("TM"). Anyone can use this protection, either on its own or while waiting to get a registered trademark in effect. It's not as protective, however. Its main use seems to be protecting local business at the state level, so that no one else in your state can have the same sort of walk-in business with the same name as yours. On the national level, about all it does is establish "prior use" so that if you've been selling a product for years with a given name and someone new starts selling the same sort of product with the same name, you can take them to court to force a change (though that naturally costs money and isn't a sure thing).

One other thing to consider is that different products can legally share the same trademarked names if they're different kinds of products. For example, a search of the database above shows live, registered trademarks for "Harpoon" soft drink, "Harpoon" aquatic herbicide, and "Harpoon" orthopedic implant among others. So, even if the name that you want is trademarked, if its not trademarked for a game then you'll likely be able to use it for yours (as GDW did for their naval wargame).

I say "likely" because I've read the story of an Avalon Hill trivia boardgame that was named "Shakespeare." They were contacted by the holders of the Shakespeare fishing gear trademark and told to change the name (one of the legal requirements of a trademark is that you must challenge any potential infringer or you risk losing the rights to the name). It was resolved, and the game kept the name, when Avalon Hill agreed not to make any fishing gear with that name, and the fishing gear company agreed not to make any games.

Anyway, I agree with chaotic's google suggestion as well. That should be a first step to make sure that no one else is selling a game with the same name.

But there's always a chance that someone is quietly registering it, in which case they'll likely get the rights to it and force you to change the name even with your prior use of "TM" unless you can afford to take them to court. Or maybe you'll get lucky, and they'll buy the name from you. That happened to a local BBS way back, which was named "America Online": when AOL started, they paid the sysop some moderate amount to change his board's name since he'd been using it for years.

Craig Kiesau is right. Re-read what he stated. Lets take for example, Football. And their has to be thousands of games with this. What makes them different, is what its followed by. Football madness, Football 06, Football 1984 (all examples) So for your word thrust,it can not be copyrighted. Its like people using the word Football or Fire Department, would All be in trouble. The movie Star Wars. Two seperate words, yet when put together, make a movie we all know about. To make a game name diffent, you could do "Wars in the Stars".Or Star(s)have Wars. You see the point? And to see if your game name is copyrighted, do what chaotic sayed. Get on Google (as a noun :P) And exact search your name. See what you come up with.

update: and check WendellM topic (we both replied at the same time)

It costs about $300 to register a trademark, and it takes about 18 months for the process to complete. After you file, you get something that looks like this:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=od6v1s.4.1

You can place the little tm on anything you own. Once your trademark is registered, you can use the R with a circle around it. Even if you don't register your trademark, your work is always copyrighted, of course.

Thrust is a generic word/name, 'superman' is specific to the character.

Thanks for the replies - hmm ok back to the names drawing board!

They certainly might be, if a single entity (like Microsoft) owned the word (like Windows).

The quickest and cheapest way would be to release it, and see if you get sued. People who own a trademarked brand (like Pacman, FIFA, NFL, Apple, Microsoft) must defend their trademark vigoriously, or lose it forever, which is why you occasionally hear of completely absurb lawsuits, like the ones against Lindows and Mike Rowe Soft.

So is Windows. Just because something is generic, doesn't mean it can't be trademarked.

Trademark is about context. You couldn't for example, maintain a trademark on a name that relates to the industry it applies to.

For example. You can't call your bakery 'Cookie' and expect to hold a trademark on it.

Thrust is a very common word, and if you are talking about a game where you use thrust, it is perfectly viable to use it.

Apple, and Windows, have nothing to do with computers. So when you see a computer with an apple on it, it can only mean one thing.

That is how trademarks work. It is about maintaining your uniqueness.

If you aren't unique to begin with. Such as. Super Alpha Turbo Thrust... Then anyone can come alone and make Super Alpha Turbo Squared to the 5th Power.

Can't use the entire same name, however.

If something is truely generic or common, then it can't be trademarked, but it has to relate to the product.

If I wanted to make a music store called "Cookie" then I could trademark it.

The idea is that the name is distinct enough and not in common use in the sector it's intended for. With a trademark, you should be able to use it to uniquely identify a particular product over another.

Taking my previous example, you couldn't trademark "Headache pill" because loads of other pharmaceuticals make them.

This is a pretty good explanation of what I'm trying to say.

But if you had a game called "Headache Pill" you likely could trademark it.

See: Painkiller.

windows only has copyright in software. otherwise it would be impossible for glaziers to sell windows...which would be insanity.

But aren't things automatically copyrighted without you registering them and paying money?

Trademarks are different than copyright.

Trademarks are different than copyright... AND in certina countries you have to include specific language in the copyright or tm notice of it is not protected...

In short, it's a mess. Trademark and copyright give you certain advantages in a legal sense, but to truly enforce them you have to have deeeeeeeeep pockets.

I developed a RPG (the old kind paper and dice)called Wizards and Warriors. Publication led to serious hassles with a game developer that had a lame product. I saw a ripoff system published about a year later in the UK that was complete BS... I never had the money to sue or even get a lawyer to write a cease and desist letter.

What can I do? I am not Microsoft and Apple suing over the trash can idea in a GUI they both copied from XParc!

Do you mean the NES game by Rare from 1987?

> But aren't things automatically copyrighted without you registering them and paying money?

Technically, maybe. Realistically, without doing the paperwork you have no proof that you came up with it first. The old mailing yourself a copy bit doesn't count either.

The one caveat is that you can be blatant about reference material if the game is a parodoy. There's been quite a few games that have been piss takes of lord of the rings and the hobbit. Lord of the bling etc.

I hereby copyright the name "THE" as that is the title of my latest game... anyone using the word "THE" in the title of their games owes me 1,000,000,000.00 or more... And I will sue for this money in Caslifornia where every tree hugger weirdo has a shot at a lawsuit like this!!!
{{{ The preceeding was sarcasm }}}

The above is an example of what you can't do.

However. you might be able to get away with "Thee" or "Thine" or things like "Ours" or some-such. "The" has already been used in other game titles.