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IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

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Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#121

Post by chorizo »

srdjanr wrote: post #53
Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

My (very) naive take: Was it important part of the game that the store looks just like IKEA? If yes, that probably makes it more likely that it was a trademark infringement and that IKEA was justified. If no, it shouldn't be a big deal to change the colors, just to avoid potential confusion.

Yes it unfortunately was. Because the SCP lore this game recreates refers to a horror scenario set inside an infinite inescapable ikea store.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#122

Post by chorizo »

gmueckl wrote: post #51
Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

This is a tough one. The main culprit here is that trademwark law forces the trademark owner into an active defense posture to avoid losing the trademwark. This is very different from patents or copyright. So, in a way, IKEA was forced to write that nasty letter to the developer. Still, it's obvious fromo the published game footage that the developer was trying to walk a line between referencing IKEA and calling them…

Ah, but this clearly falls under parody. No reasonable person would assume this depicts a genuine ikea store. That said, ikea could’ve just granted permission to use their trademark in a horror parody game. That would’ve been a fun ikea promotion rather than stoke animosity

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#123

Post by acheron »

SXX wrote: post #54
post-it wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe in intellectual property, but to the extent that we live in a world where IP exists, the original game as described is pretty clearly using IKEA's trade dress.

It's still bad when mega-corporations attack small guy. Its certainly worth to shame companies for doing this kind of stuff. And almost as comical as Nintendo buying rights to a porn movie to prevent their distribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Hornio_Brothers

> It's still bad when mega-corporations attack small guy.

No, actually, we decide things based on the law, not based on which side you like more.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#124

Post by zugi »

post-it wrote: post #48
Hackbraten wrote: post #46

IKEA bullied the developer of the indie game The Store is Closed into gutting the whole game. [0] It’s a shame how people can even acknowledge, let alone applaud IKEA’s “funny” gaming-related ad after their successful meddling with SCP folklore, not to speak of the chilling effect their actions may have had on indie gaming. [0]: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-store-is-closed-indie-s...

I don't believe in intellectual property, but to the extent that we live in a world where IP exists, the original game as described is pretty clearly using IKEA's trade dress.

I too am skeptical of government-granted intellectual monopolies, as Richard Stallman correctly names them. Trademarks are the least offensive of them because they expire relatively quickly and are designed to prevent genuine consumer confusion. Trade dress rules help prevent consumers from unwittingly buying products from Company A while thinking it's Company B.

This video game creates zero risk that a consumer will buy furniture from the wrong store, so trade dress should be inapplicable. IKEA would likely even lose in court. But as the article points out: legal proceedings ... get really expensive.

This move was pure bullying by IKEA lawyers.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#126

Post by t2r3121 »

aidenn0 wrote: post #117
boredpudding wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah sorry man, that's clearly IKEA so it's obvious they had to act on it. Can't sell IKEA-branded games without their permission. Even on their Steam trailer, the first second is clearly IKEA. Just changing the name is not enough. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593010/The_Store_is_Clos... Sometimes it's not that deep. Sometimes the cute little indie dev just made a mistake. The game is also not out yet, even th…

No reasonable person would have been confused into thinking it was an official IKEA game; IANAL, but it seems unlikely to me that IKEA would have ultimately prevailed in court, though a simple change to the color of the logo would probably have been helpful to the devs of the game.

It's a direct ripoff of https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3008, a popular sci-fi horror story set in an IKEA. At the time the game was also using IKEA's brand colors.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#128

Post by setopt »

aidenn0 wrote: post #117
boredpudding wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah sorry man, that's clearly IKEA so it's obvious they had to act on it. Can't sell IKEA-branded games without their permission. Even on their Steam trailer, the first second is clearly IKEA. Just changing the name is not enough. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593010/The_Store_is_Clos... Sometimes it's not that deep. Sometimes the cute little indie dev just made a mistake. The game is also not out yet, even th…

No reasonable person would have been confused into thinking it was an official IKEA game; IANAL, but it seems unlikely to me that IKEA would have ultimately prevailed in court, though a simple change to the color of the logo would probably have been helpful to the devs of the game.

IANAL either, but could this be a trademark issue? My understanding is that if you don’t defend your trademarks you risk legally losing them.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#129

Post by setopt »

Crunchified wrote: post #115
PeterHolzwarth wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always been curious - what are some examples of trademarks being lost due to not being defended?

There's lots and lots of them. Have you ridden an escalator® lately? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize...

Very interesting link. I am now confused and intrigued that the trademark for "heroin" is listed as being revoked as part of the Treaty of Versailles after WWI.

Re: IKEA made a mod for Skyrim [video]

#130

Post by david-gpu »

wavemode wrote: post #87
david-gpu wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trademarks are lost when they are not defended. That is entirely separate from fair use in copyright law.

No, tradmarks can be parodied too. It's a first amendment protection, and extremely common in movies, TV and video games. If the developer worked with a lawyer they could've gotten any suit by IKEA (this wasn't a suit yet, just a cease and desist letter) quickly dismissed.

> It's a first amendment protection

FWIW: Ziggy, the developer, is based in the UK.

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