We might be watching a company eat itself here. Considering the amount of engineering types in the market for minifigs, plus the impending ubiquitization of 3D printers, customer good-will should be the most valuable asset of Gamer's Workshop.
In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
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Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#52There's some interesting discussion on Scalzi's blog, too. Here's a bit of information I found rather interesting and potentially useful (from the comments section): The mark was registered for US Class 22 – games and such – and is most specifically not the class(es) for printed books or ebooks. Here's the link to the comment in question: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/02/06/space-marines-and-the-...
It appears you are correct.
Oldest "Space Marine" trademark record in full:
1. Registration Number 2100767 (http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4004:vp...) here:
Word Mark SPACE MARINE
Goods and Services IC 028. US 022. G & S: board games, parlor games, war games, hobby games, toy models and miniatures of buildings, scenery, figures, automobiles, vehicles, planes, trains and card games and paint, sold therewith. FIRST USE: 19870900. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19871000
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 74186534
Filing Date July 19, 1991
Current Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition November 23, 1993
Registration Number 1922180
Registration Date September 26, 1995
Owner (REGISTRANT) GAMES WORKSHOP LIMITED CORPORATION UNITED KINGDOM Willow Road, Lenton Eastwood Nottingham NG7 2W5 UNITED KINGDOM
Attorney of Record Naresh Kilaru
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20051125.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20051125
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
2. Games Workshop Limited also owns "Space Marine" Registration Number 1922180 (http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4004:vp...):
"Goods and Services: IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: video computer games; computer software for playing games"
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#53In the future, all "space marines" will simply be "marines." In any plausible scenario in which we have "space marines," having a dedicated corpus of naval marines would be unnecessary.
Ergo, the solution is simply to let Games Workshop keep the silly moniker and just call your future super-soldiers what they would properly be called.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#54We might be watching a company eat itself here. Considering the amount of engineering types in the market for minifigs, plus the impending ubiquitization of 3D printers, customer good-will should be the most valuable asset of Gamer's Workshop.
I doubt it. This is not a new development. It's well known and well-established that GW are anal with regard to their IP. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has spent any time involved with the GW community.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#55Certainly in the UK, it's a defence to use a trade mark in good faith in a descriptive manner. I think this would be a solid defence in this case as the usage is merely describing the character (I assume).
Of course the problem is internet intermediaries who are not interested in the nuances of trade mark law.
In the first instance, I would look to appeal the Amazon decision on the basis of good faith descriptive usage. I'm not sure how much mileage there would be on this due to the general lack of interest mentioned above but worth a try all the same. If it is indeed Amazon UK where the complaint has been lodged I'd be happy to look into the matter further.
In terms of an obligation to defend a trade mark, this is a narrower obligation than is being cast elsewhere in the thread. My understanding is that if you do not enforce in relation to a specific use, you will be deemed to have acquiesced in that specific usage.
It is not the case that failing to take action against all allegedly infringing uses will result in revocation of the mark. You just may not be able to take action in the future against the same offender or offenders within the same bracket.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#56I wish there was a Kickstarter like non-profit organization whose focus was finding and defending worthy cases like this. People/organizations submit their situation and do the work of raising awareness and collecting pledges, the organization uses the money to oversee the actual legal case and pay the attorneys, ideally a network of folks who would be willing to consider defending said cases at a reduced or pro-bono rate when possible. Might even out the David-and-Goliath odds of corporation vs. small business/individual.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#57In the future, all "space marines" will simply be "marines." In any plausible scenario in which we have "space marines," having a dedicated corpus of naval marines would be unnecessary. Ergo, the solution is simply to let Games Workshop keep the silly moniker and just call your future super-soldiers what they would properly be called.
Wouldn't they really be called something else entirely?
The term marine implies a soldier who specialises in sea based warfare or deploying from sea.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#58Certainly in the UK, it's a defence to use a trade mark in good faith in a descriptive manner. I think this would be a solid defence in this case as the usage is merely describing the character (I assume). Of course the problem is internet intermediaries who are not interested in the nuances of trade mark law. In the first instance, I would look to appeal the Amazon decision on the basis of good faith descriptive usa…
> Certainly in the UK, it's a defence to use a trade mark in good faith in a descriptive manner.
Using it in a descriptive manner is something like:
"I have here for sale two boxes of Kleenex tissues and one box of Band-Aid bandages and one Warhammer 40K rulebook."
You are not infringing any trademarks, even though you are using the trademark in commerce, because you do in fact have those things (as created by the original maker, and resold by you). You are using the trademark to describe goods, not to indicate that you are the original producer of said goods.
The usage here is entirely different. She is not claiming anything about any actual Warhammer 40K merchandise. You're right that the trademark claim is crap, but not for this reason.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#59In the future, all "space marines" will simply be "marines." In any plausible scenario in which we have "space marines," having a dedicated corpus of naval marines would be unnecessary. Ergo, the solution is simply to let Games Workshop keep the silly moniker and just call your future super-soldiers what they would properly be called.
Wouldn't they really be called something else entirely? The term marine implies a soldier who specialises in sea based warfare or deploying from sea.
The sci fi tradition of calling a fleet of combat starships a "navy" leads to the soldiers who deploy from those ships being called "marines". It makes a certain kind of sense.
Re: In the future, all space marines will be Warhammer 40K space marines
#60I wish there was a Kickstarter like non-profit organization whose focus was finding and defending worthy cases like this. People/organizations submit their situation and do the work of raising awareness and collecting pledges, the organization uses the money to oversee the actual legal case and pay the attorneys, ideally a network of folks who would be willing to consider defending said cases at a reduced or pro-bono…
This sounds suspiciously like the EFF but exclusively/more for IP focused issues.