Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 31 posts

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#21

Post by CogitoCogito »

bberenberg wrote: post #17
CogitoCogito wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From that article: > What Should Trademark Owners Do? > Trademark owners should diligently protect their trademarks from infringement and other misuse (e.g., blurring, tarnishment, unfair competition, passing off, false advertising and cybersquatting) that may harm the owner's goodwill and business reputation. A trademark owner is not required to uncover all possible uses that might conflict, or immediately commence…

Are you ignoring the entire portion above that about how the fraternity and sorority failure to enforce lost them the case?

No. I just don't find it as relevant as this:

"A trademark owner is not required to uncover all possible uses that might conflict, or immediately commence a lawsuit against every possible infringer."

That directly supports me. Interesting how you seem to be ignoring that.

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#22

Post by laumars »

zinekeller wrote: post #16
laumars wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t need to challenge every instance of vague similarities. The law actually states that but for some reason that clause gets overlooked by nearly every casual reader of HN in favour of the popular misconception that companies have to venture into the ridiculous or else they somehow instantly lose their trademark.

> You don’t need to challenge every instance of vague similarities. I would agree if Nreal were a supermarket chain or an airline, but since Nreal is (arguably) in a gaming business Epic's lawyers might decided that it's too close to their own trademark.

Using “real” in a company name making virtual reality products is entirely understandable given “real” is exactly the type of jargon people use when describing how effective and immersive a particular product in VR is.

Yes, Epic had a game called Unreal, but so many games exist using common terms. It would be ridiculous if every company went after every dictionary term like this. It’s hard enough naming things as it is and the problem is only going to get worse.

All cases like these do is harm smaller projects and start ups who don’t have the resources to fight.

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#23

Post by saurik »

grammarnazzzi wrote: post #11
cridenour wrote: post #2

Sounds like a simple case of if you don't defend it, you lose it. Epic doesn't have a choice here.

They're defending something they don't own. Nobody on the face of the Earth would confuse NReal with Unreal.

That sarcasm is some of the most subtle I have seen in a while; I applaud you, my good sir ;P.

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#24

Post by zinekeller »

CogitoCogito wrote: post #21
bberenberg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you ignoring the entire portion above that about how the fraternity and sorority failure to enforce lost them the case?

No. I just don't find it as relevant as this: "A trademark owner is not required to uncover all possible uses that might conflict, or immediately commence a lawsuit against every possible infringer." That directly supports me. Interesting how you seem to be ignoring that.

> That directly supports me. Interesting how you seem to be ignoring that.

Let's analyze the phrase carefully.

> A trademark owner is not required to uncover all possible uses that might conflict.

> and it’s developed a demo game called Nreal Tower.

You, personally, might not confuse this with Unreal but do you think that an average person can differentiate between Epic's product and Nreal's product? (I'm pretty sure though that the answer to that is "I don't care, I don't really play computer/video games.")

> or immediately commence a lawsuit against every possible infringer.

Epic knows that Nreal exists back in 2018

> Epic and Nreal have been quietly fighting over the “Unreal” trademark for years. Epic filed to block Nreal’s trademark in 2018, and the companies discussed a settlement after that. But Epic’s suit claims the discussion was “fruitless.”

In other words, it was already known to them that Nreal exists as a company and they have attempted to settle this previously. In other words, this is a continuation of a 2018 lawsuit.

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#25

Post by CogitoCogito »

zinekeller wrote: post #24
CogitoCogito wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. I just don't find it as relevant as this: "A trademark owner is not required to uncover all possible uses that might conflict, or immediately commence a lawsuit against every possible infringer." That directly supports me. Interesting how you seem to be ignoring that.

> That directly supports me. Interesting how you seem to be ignoring that. Let's analyze the phrase carefully. > A trademark owner is not required to uncover all possible uses that might conflict. > and it’s developed a demo game called Nreal Tower. You, personally, might not confuse this with Unreal but do you think that an average person can differentiate between Epic's product and Nreal's product? (I'm pretty sure…

> You, personally, might not confuse this with Unreal but do you think that an average person can differentiate between Epic's product and Nreal's product? (I'm pretty sure though that the answer to that is "I don't care, I don't really play computer/video games.")

Honestly? Yes I do.

> In other words, it was already known to them that Nreal exists as a company and they have attempted to settle this previously. In other words, this is a continuation of a 2018 lawsuit.

This doesn't imply Unreal needs to sue. They could change their mind and decide they were wrong. They could have gone through the process and realized that consumers are not really all that confused. They could decide that Nreal isn't infringing on Unreal. These are all possible outcomes. They are making the _choice_ to sue. They might lose the lawsuit and might later with the benefit of more hindsight decide that they should have dropped the whole issue from day 1.

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#26

Post by vineyardmike »

grammarnazzzi wrote: post #11
cridenour wrote: post #2

Sounds like a simple case of if you don't defend it, you lose it. Epic doesn't have a choice here.

They're defending something they don't own. Nobody on the face of the Earth would confuse NReal with Unreal.

If you hear those said outloud you could totally confuse them

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#27

Post by tmccrary55 »

grammarnazzzi wrote: post #11
cridenour wrote: post #2

Sounds like a simple case of if you don't defend it, you lose it. Epic doesn't have a choice here.

They're defending something they don't own. Nobody on the face of the Earth would confuse NReal with Unreal.

Forreal

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#29

Post by nailer »

adrianvoica wrote: post #6

It's as if Epic invented the (unheard-of - pun intended) word "unreal"... it's like saying yoga people (yogi?) should bring Lucasfilm to court for the fact that Yoda sounds a lot like Yoga... this world is more f**ed by the day...

Epic associated the word Unreal with 3D tech. UE supports VR and I imagine will probably support AR too. Seems fine to me.

Re: Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’

#30

Post by carstenhag »

loa_in_ wrote: post #28

Since EG doesn't exist in AR market they are going to lose. Or at least should.

As their Unreal Engine does allow you to create AR/VR experiences, you are imo wrong. It's not as clear as "nreal makes soda, Epic Games makes an engine and video games"
Post reply on HN