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NCSoft is going to err on the side of caution.
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... I think I'll go trademark "Generic Hero" just to throw a spanner in...
Oh drat! Someone beat me to it. -
That's my point exactly.
The character by Alan Moore only shared the name.
The character here was based off of the original myth, even down tot he costume elements. She did NOT share costume, or origin, or bio, or anything else. My point is, Alan Moore cannot expect to trademark "Promethea" because it is a mythological variant of Prometheus. If he does, he's wrong, and NCSoft is wrong for helping to support his so-called trademark.
The sad part is, when he told me his character got generic'd, I wasn't surprised at all. I was saddened that the GM that pulled the trigger was so unaware of the myth of Prometheus that "promethea" was the only reference he or she had.
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OK.
Let's talk about something that is a bit more insidious.
NCSoft needs to ease off the "generic" trigger when people's names are petitioned.
Case in point: A friend's character made it to late 30's with the name "Promethea", a female version of the Greek mythical character "Prometheus", who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. Sound familiar? he should - he was the demigod that Manticore tried to impress by shooting Statesman through the chest with an arrow.
We are talking GREEK MYTH here.
Which means it's PUBLIC DOMAIN. Disney notwithstanding (and trust me I've many many issues with them for copyrighting characters from folk tales as a business practice), if you base a body of work from a known myth or mythological figure, you CANNOT EXPECT TO BE THE ONLY HOLDER OF THE NAME.
These characters and stories are pervasive of the culture. Everyone knows who they are not because of your marketing efforts but because of tales passed down through generations prior to yours. They effectively cannot be trademarked, unless someone trademarks something else along WITH them (a very specific look, icon, etc.)
This means that the precedent of disallowing mythological names (or even variants) because someone else is using said name will remove entire cultures from play. Forget RP, forget concepts, forget origins. We may as well become "Hero #123456" and run around the City of Barcodes... because all the interesting 'names' will be trademarks.
OK, rant over. But I do believe NCSoft's legal department needs to give this some SERIOUS thought - the playerbase will not be pleased if they are limited to choosing names which no one ANYWHERE has used or possibly could use. -
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So Ex, did you neglect to mention the PvP forums as exempt, or will all of PWNZ be banned come tuesday?
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You say that like it's a bad thing. :P
Seriously, I'd think that the PvP section should be counted as a 'fluff-safe' area, else there's little point in even having it. -
Nurses are awesome!
When I was a Search/Rescue volunteer, I seriously thought about continuing on to medical school, but then I got caught up in the Emergency Ops portion of the gig.
You know, the one back at base, taking notes on the radio conversations on five frequencies at once, making sure all the equipment is ready to go out, making phone calls to the Red Cross, taking phone calls from the press, the subject's family and friends, and whoever else shows an interest, all on 4 hours or less of sleep and way too much coffee. All so someone who's gone missing in the mountains can be found and brought home to their loved ones.
So to nurses, EMT's, First Responders, Doctors, med-techs, cops, SAR troopers, EMS dispatchers, 911 operators... you all are the best. -
That is sooo beautifully done. Congrats on a great piece, Cyrsei.
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... and we have a winnah.
(aren't you glad I didn't ask if it was between Ackroyd or Goodman?)
I did like Erykah in that song though. -
This is why I'm staying with my bank in California. It's fairly small (only a few western states, instead of the whole US like WAMU or Chase or BofA). I've had to change accounts once due to 'check cloning' where someone got hold of a deposit slip and used the MICR numbers at the bottom (plus my preprinted name and address) to create their own checkbook based off of my checking account. That was bad. But even with an 'identity fraud' flag on my account, I've never, knock on wood, had a problem with online transactions to my check card.
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Okaaay.
Question: who sang "Funky Nassau" with better pitch, Dan Ackroyd or Joe Morton? -
I think that if you commission MMOArt Studio, you get whoever Gill has on deck for your piece, depending on the style you've requested.
But if you commission MMOArt... you get Gill. -
I'd like to submit my latest commission -- Soul Train by John Becaro
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bwahahahaha!!!!!!
This is great!!!
"Your 'yoinking' days are over, mister!!" -
Whoa!!!
That's amazing!!!
Thanks soo much Sartori!!! -
Sweet.
I really need to bring Nubian Handmaiden out more. Coss, yanno, she's the one with the tribal tattoos and... uh... not much else... -
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Heh, yet another reason I wish I lived in Austin. An active group of gamers.
Oh well....Anyone in DFW want to hang out and have fun?
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DFW eh? I'm in Irving.
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I'm in Plano.
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See? Now if only we could wrench ourselves away from PLAYING on our days off... -
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Heh, yet another reason I wish I lived in Austin. An active group of gamers.
Oh well....Anyone in DFW want to hang out and have fun?
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DFW eh? I'm in Irving. -
that's a DA function... a lot of sites do that, now. they save the icon file in the home folder of the site... and your browser will download and save it as the bookmark icon.
Note that this site has the UBB lightbulb, instead of the IE/Firefox icon.