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Didn't Marvel already sue them?
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Originally Posted by hedgehog_NA
after all, they invented arch angels. they should sue the catholic church.
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Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!
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Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
That's a bad example, because that's not a comic book character. Trademarks are market specific. Also, 'Wolverine' destroys your claim that it can't be something generic... since I guarantee you that if a small publisher came out with a comic featuring a character named 'Wolverine'... even if it was NOTHING like Marvel's character... they'd get sued, and they'd lose.
Trademark law, also, is something that the owner is REQUIRED to be proactive about... if you trademark something, and others start using that trademark (in the same market, mind you!) without your permission, and you do nothing about it for long enough... you'll lose your trademark! The standard 'solution' to this problem is to sue the hell out of anyone that goes near your name (what DC and Marvel do, and did to NC), I've seen about 1 company that did the reverse and grant them a very limited license to use their name (it was a parody website making fun of them/their product), which was an excellent move from a PR point of view, as it made them look good, instead of like a bunch of heartless [censored]s. And then, there's also copyright law. That's a whole 'nother mess altogether (oh, and then there's trade dress, which has to do with trademark). |
Try again, the image of Thor, god of thunder is restricted. The name thor cannot be restricted, due to the fact it has been in use for thousands of years. If i made a comic book with a character named GOD, i could not get a trademark on the use of the term god.
Lots of 50's yada yada. still finding fun things to do.
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Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
Didn't Marvel already sue them?
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Yes, but they didnt expect some sort of spanish inquisition.
Lots of 50's yada yada. still finding fun things to do.
Cthulhu loves you, better start running
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Actually, you can still trademark your version of Thor, but it's still in the public domain (in fact, I just did a search... and there's a huge *** load of trademarks on 'Thor' in different markets). 'Archangel' wouldn't fall into the public domain from the mythos, as it wasn't a character/person, it was a title (or position/rank/class/etc)... It's quite an important difference.
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Originally Posted by hedgehog_NA
Try again, the image of Thor, god of thunder is restricted. The name thor cannot be restricted, due to the fact it has been in use for thousands of years. If i made a comic book with a character named GOD, i could not get a trademark on the use of the term god.
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Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!
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Clearly Arc Angle should be using sets with a lot of Cone powers. Duh.
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Originally Posted by Chompie
Aaaand now I want to make Arc-Angle, a crazed geometry teacher who mutated lightning powers.
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Wavicle, Energy/Energy Blaster, dinged 50 in Issue 4, summer of 2005.
@Wavicle, mostly on the Justice server.
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Obligatory....Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
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Originally Posted by hedgehog_NA
Yes, but they didnt expect some sort of spanish inquisition.
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"Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change themselves." -Tolstoy
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And remember... old geometry teachers never die, they just go off on a tangent.|
Originally Posted by Chompie
Aaaand now I want to make Arc-Angle, a crazed geometry teacher who mutated lightning powers.
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::cough::
Anyway, back to the OP... when the "backstory" was erased, do you mean the character bio? If so, what was in that? If the only thing the GMs were possibly concerned about was the name, I doubt they'd clear the bio as well.
Forum Game: Lower the Rep
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I still don't understand how this is any different than trademarking the word wolverine, which is not only the name of an animal species that has no legal representation, but also the name of many, many high school sports teams, including one that repelled a Russian invasion of U.S. soil.|
Originally Posted by MrQuizzles
The names and likenesses of Atlas and Valkyrie cannot be trademarked as they are from mythology.
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Sadly, this sort of thing always seems to boil down to who has the scariest lawyers.
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Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
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Having Thor in your name CAN get you genericed, whether or not it's related to the comic book. Happened to me and no amount of escalation removed the generic on my (by then) demonic girl with the name "Thorsinger."|
Originally Posted by hedgehog_NA
Try again, the image of Thor, god of thunder is restricted. The name thor cannot be restricted, due to the fact it has been in use for thousands of years. If i made a comic book with a character named GOD, i could not get a trademark on the use of the term god.
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The funny thing is, she was going through an RP transformation and a few months BEFORE that, they might well have had a case, since i had one outfit that might have looked a bit like Norse Myth. But by the time (3yrs after her creation) she got genericed, she'd been going through some heavy RP transformations and had red skin, horns, and a very skimpy set of outfits.
In the end, i was basically told that just having Thor in her name was enough, in this case.
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They clear everything when they do a generic. They just don't care.
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Originally Posted by MOUT__
And remember... old geometry teachers never die, they just go off on a tangent.
::cough:: Anyway, back to the OP... when the "backstory" was erased, do you mean the character bio? If so, what was in that? If the only thing the GMs were possibly concerned about was the name, I doubt they'd clear the bio as well. |
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It's not just the name, it's the way it's depicted in mythology as well. If someone had a character named Valkyrie that didn't resemble the mythological Valkyries, then they can trademark it and have a case against anyone that copies that specific Valkyrie. They would not have a case against anyone using a Valkyrie as depicted in mythology.|
Originally Posted by AngryRedHerring
I still don't understand how this is any different than trademarking the word wolverine, which is not only the name of an animal species that has no legal representation, but also the name of many, many high school sports teams, including one that repelled a Russian invasion of U.S. soil.
Sadly, this sort of thing always seems to boil down to who has the scariest lawyers. |
A Wolverine is an animal, but Marvel's Wolverine is really nothing like that animal. Thus, it is clearly distinct. They can take you to court if you copy their specific Wolverine, but they would not have a case against you if you used the name for, really, anything else. Nobody could have a case against you if you used the animal.
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Go make two characters-- one incorporating the name Valkyrie that doesn't resemble the Marvel Valkyrie, and one incorporating the name Wolverine that doesn't resemble the Marvel Wolverine. Vicki Valkyrie and the Blue Wolverine. Watch which one gets genericed like lightning.|
Originally Posted by MrQuizzles
It's not just the name, it's the way it's depicted in mythology as well. If someone had a character named Valkyrie that didn't resemble the mythological Valkyries, then they can trademark it and have a case against anyone that copies that specific Valkyrie. They would not have a case against anyone using a Valkyrie as depicted in mythology.
A Wolverine is an animal, but Marvel's Wolverine is really nothing like that animal. Thus, it is clearly distinct. They can take you to court if you copy their specific Wolverine, but they would not have a case against you if you used the name for, really, anything else. Nobody could have a case against you if you used the animal. |
It's just sad that a name like Arc Angel, which I think is a pretty clever and evocative name that easily conjures up a different image than the Marvel character, gets genericed because it's "too close". And it boggles me that Marvel can lay claim to a name from the Bible and prevent players from making Archangel Gabriels, Archangel Michaels, etc. Heck, my first name's from the Bible. Do I need to get a lawyer and start vigorously defending my trademark?
Beware the scary lawyers.
EDIT- Oh yeah-- Marvel now has Disney lawyers...
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That could be an improvement. As far as I can recall, Disney hasn't been as much a pack of tools as many other companies.
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Originally Posted by AngryRedHerring
EDIT- Oh yeah-- Marvel now has Disney lawyers...
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I've heard just the opposite. Disney is very aggressive when it comes to trademark and copyright protection. They are especially aggresive in going after non-licensed merchandise - like all of those T-shirt shops in Orlando that are selling merchandise with Disney characters, but that haven't been licensed by Disney.
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
As far as I can recall, Disney hasn't been as much a pack of tools as many other companies.
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"Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change themselves." -Tolstoy
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No. Marvel is a bunch of *** holes that sue people for going near 'their' words. Disney changes the law (see the copyright extension acts that they've lobbied for to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain). To compare it to the game, Marvel is the Skyraiders, while Disney is Nemesis... Skyraiders just shoot you and teleport around... Nemesis flat out rewrites history, starting inter-dimensional wars.
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
That could be an improvement. As far as I can recall, Disney hasn't been as much a pack of tools as many other companies.
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Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!
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Oh yeah, NCSoft isn't going to let you have anything named wolverine at all. Like I said earlier, they take a shotgun to the issue.|
Originally Posted by AngryRedHerring
Go make two characters-- one incorporating the name Valkyrie that doesn't resemble the Marvel Valkyrie, and one incorporating the name Wolverine that doesn't resemble the Marvel Wolverine. Vicki Valkyrie and the Blue Wolverine. Watch which one gets genericed like lightning.
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The Marvel Wolverine also has reached the point of fame and being an iconic character where even just using the name in comics will bring up an infringement case on the grounds of consumer confusion. If you make a comic book about an actual wolverine, the animal, and call it "Wolverine Comics", then you'll get sued to change it. There's no question about that.
You could still probably make a comic about an actual wolverine and call it "Incredible Nature Comics" or whatnot.
I'm more worried about DC's lawyers deciding it's their turn to sue, personally.
DC?
Yes, I've noticed that almost all archery based toons wear hoods and are colored green. Good thing they haven't put any feathered caps into the game
Seen a few guys in blue spandex with red briefs on the outside too. But most other DC chars seem to be less copied
There is no such thing as an "innocent bystander"
It depends, the copyright infringements generally follow the latest movie. There was a spate of Watchmen a while ago, and you can make a pretty good Batman with the right costume pieces.
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Marvel was bought by Disney the sue everyone company.|
Originally Posted by Prof_Backfire
I'm more worried about DC's lawyers deciding it's their turn to sue, personally.
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It's a world of lawsuits, a world or tears
We will take all your hopes, We're a company to fear
When we take you to the courts
We'll take everything but your shorts
it's a lawsuit after all
CHORUS:
it's a lawsuit after all
it's a lawsuit after all
it's a lawsuit after all
it's a law, law, suit . . .
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One of the first child care centres I worked at (here in Aus) was given the order to repaint their fence as the dwarfs and like were too similar to Disney trademarks.|
Originally Posted by GATE-keeper
I've heard just the opposite. Disney is very aggressive when it comes to trademark and copyright protection. They are especially aggresive in going after non-licensed merchandise - like all of those T-shirt shops in Orlando that are selling merchandise with Disney characters, but that haven't been licensed by Disney.
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The fence had the old paintings for years. Lots of other centres told to watch was on display (eg home made decorations that infringed on trade marks).
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Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
No. Marvel is a bunch of *** holes that sue people for going near 'their' words. Disney changes the law (see the copyright extension acts that they've lobbied for to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain). To compare it to the game, Marvel is the Skyraiders, while Disney is Nemesis... Skyraiders just shoot you and teleport around... Nemesis flat out rewrites history, starting inter-dimensional wars.
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
That could be an improvement. As far as I can recall, Disney hasn't been as much a pack of tools as many other companies.
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http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Disney.html
I don't suffer from altitis, I enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you Devs & Community people for a great game.
So sad to be ending ):
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To be accurate, Disney didn't change the law. That was done by contemptible, for-sale, slimeballs in our government.
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Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight
Disney changes the law (see the copyright extension acts that they've lobbied for to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain).
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Paragon City Search And Rescue
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Archangel is also a common expression. The X-Man is also called angel, so by similar logic any name that has the word angel in it could be reported.|
Originally Posted by BrokenPrey
His name was ARC.Angle" that is what is similar. That is only one letter different from ArchAngle...and you say it the same way.
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It's a lot more annoying when the name is obscure though. I tried to use the name Trickshot at CO and it was blocked. Google says it's a super-obscure one shot marvel supporting character, and of course also a commonly used set of words.
A game is not supposed to be some kind of... place where people enjoy themselves!
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Who were bribed by Disney and others.
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
To be accurate, Disney didn't change the law. That was done by contemptible, for-sale, slimeballs in our government.
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A game is not supposed to be some kind of... place where people enjoy themselves!
No, he won't be getting the name back. He should have gotten an email about changing it... and now he can come up with a name that doesn't use inappropriate periods or apostrophes!
Lots of 50's yada yada. still finding fun things to do.
Cthulhu loves you, better start running
I�! I�! Gg�gorsch�a�bha egurtsa�ar�ug d� Dalhor! Cthluhu fthagn! Cthluhu fthagn!
You are in a maze of twisty little passages