licensing issues? company names

ok, so we've been brainstorming a few company names for some time now, want to finally make out team more official and professional BUT my god, it seems every name we think of, we can type it into google and see some idiotic wanna-be site with the same name, these sites are alll empty and all say "comming soon" so whats the deal with that, can we still use such a name or what? any advice?

is there a copyright on the site and is the site for games companies? if it isnt for games then you can technically use the name.

oh really? are you sure, does that apply for other things also, currently our game title is "SCION" but am also aware its a car company, wont that be a problem as they figure they lose reference because of that

what genre is your game, because if it is a racing game, then you can get fined.

i am 99% sure of it by the way. you can use it. if you want, tell me the names you wanted and i'll look into it for you or think one up for you.

oh and would you join my website, it has a great area in its forums where members can talk game making and other things.

You can be fined and/or legally hunted down in this manner ONLY if your product is in the same industry as another product, and you both have the same name. If you have the same name as another product, but you don't your product does not fall under the same industry, you are not breaking copyright and you are legally untouchable

For example:

A guy named Joe opens pizza shop, names it "Joe's Pizza Land"
A guy named Bill makes a game, names it "Joe's Pizza Land"

Bill cannot be sued or legally attacked by Joe because he is making a video game, not a pizza parlor.

Another example:

A guy named Jack makes a game and calls it "Mindless Adventures"
Later, another guy named Peter makes a game and calls it "Mindless Adventures"

Jack can sue Peter because Peter has made a game which has the same name as Jack's game.

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

that is basically what i said but in fewer words

Great. I'm just reinforcing your point.

thats ok. thanks for the wikipedia link. that could be stickied in the game business area of the forum.

agreed

if it was there we could let everyone know about it not just play a game of Chinese whispers with it

Hehe.

well yeh it could though couldnt it? there would be so many confused people!

Actually, in the US, a company or individual can file suit against you for anything, whether it's a legitimate claim or not. Larger or more aggressive companies may threaten you with legal action or a Cease and Desist if they're trying to protect their trademarks.

An example of this: About eight years ago, the trademark holder of a well-known brand threatened us because we were comparing our game to theirs. They wanted us to take down the entire game, so we brought out the big guns -- our lawyer shot back that our usage was completely legal, and to go piss up a rope. They did, but we took down that comparison just to be safe. Had we not shot back with a lawyer, the other company would likely not have sued -- they'd have sent over a formal cease and desist, then made trouble with our digital distributors (who would have just delisted our game). The bottom line is that they'd have made trouble for us.

> every name we think of, we can type it into google and see some idiotic wanna-be site with the same name

If you're finding these names, you don't want 'em anyway. Here's our rules for naming games:

Make it remarkable. Aaaaa!'s unusual name (www.dejobaan.com/aaaaa) gave the press an extra something to talk about. People remembered it.

It's okay if people hate it. Most people thought Aaaaa! was cool, and that it conveyed the fun we had in writing the game. Some people thought it was the stupidest name ever, and said we should stop writing games. Arguments have popped up on message boards because of this. We broke Steam because of the length. Discussion leads to buzz.

Make it visually interesting. "Halo, Doom, Hello Kitty, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!, and Mass Effect walk into a bar..."
It's okay if it's an odd name to say. I was talking to a group of students, and one of them started primal-screaming the game's name when I asked if anyone knew what we were working on. Everyone laughed. Life was good.

Make it descriptive. AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity pretty much sums up that it's action game about falling. "ooo! ooO! oOO! OOO! -- Grab a Loop and Mix a Beat" is the working title of our next game, which is clearly about growing Cheerios. (Oops. Maybe not.)

If it feels comfortable, trash it. Write the name out. Say it. Roll it around on your tongue. Savor it. Pass it back and forth amongst everyone. Does it feel like a name that can stand up there alongside the rest? Does your team find it a comfortable name? Does it really grow on you after you think about it for a while? Trash it, and go with something else.

Your mileage may vary, and you might go with different rules -- but a good, unique, notable name has helped our most recent game get press coverage.

good, read, but am more bothered about company names atm and such

You might establish different guidelines for your company name, but my point is that you have the opportunity to be creative in naming anything. It doesn't have to be long or silly, but if you pick something remarkable and interesting, the press -- and gamers -- will talk about it.

Creative naming has to be the reason for this.

Somewhat related: While trying to find the above article again, I tried several searchterms with no luck, since neither "mad3" (it's "MAED"), nor "zomb1es" (its "Z0MB1ES") worked. I had to go with "!!1" (probably one of my more unusual search-queries...)

I agree with all points Ichiro made, even though the "oo"-name might not get quite the same attention as "Aaa" did - you know, the second time won't have the same impact as the first, and all that.


And... always be careful of legal advice you get on the internet from people like us. I'm not saying that everything here is wrong - simply because I don't know (and also maybe because I didn't read it all). I'm not a lawyer, but most people here aren't. So maybe some of us miss that peculiar decision that one court ruled in 1982.
The bottom line is, if you really REALLY want to be safe, then ask a lawyer.
Law simply is no fun, unless you're playing Ace Attorney, in which case it is awesome fun (for anyone not being accused of anything, of course, in which case it sucks since you're pretty much screwed)

my game companies name is A◦ Games (A-Celcius Games) i Thought of it when i was 15 and it just stuck. I think its a pretty cool name

(they wont display the celcius charecter near the A!)

Mine is Joquan Games Studios. I thought of it back in '05 and I turned it into a tribute to Jagex.

@ichiro

good read and good advise , game names are very
important. but touched on very little in the forum

also google is your best friend when it comes to finding out if the name you want to use is taken and by who or what,
but also if your stuck thinking of a good name , something i like to do is search in an online thesaurus for certain key words in my title i dont care for to find other words with the same meaning but might sound better to me , or send my mind in new directions.

i used mikesgames productions. mike is my nickname (my name is michael) and i added the games because it is what i do. i also added the productions as it sounds much more proffesional.

Kambutarna, no one's gonna think about it (It's an Arabic word means: Our Computer )

Yeah, I started out with thinking that I was allowed to call myself Joquan Ltd, but the guys here clarified for me. I have about 3 different names. Joquan Productions (The root of my ideas and products), Joquan Games Studios (The game development part), and Joquan Games (The part that publishes the games).