Hiya folks. I've got a problem, and I'd appreciate some advice. So, I've been working on this game engine now for quite a while, with the intent to go commercial with it at some unspecified point in the future. It's been named Ascendancy. Now, my documentation and source code/comments are littered with references to this, making it a pain in the arse to change names, while keeping the docs concurrent. However, to my immense chagrin, I recently discovered that a company by the name of LogicFactory gave out a game going by that name, and are working on a sequel. Now, I'm wondering what legal problems would ensue if I went commercial with my project named Ascendancy? Or would I really have to change the name? And if so, would a simple change, like naming it AscendancyFX be good enough, or would I have to change it over completely? Thanks a lot folks. Please keep in mind that I am mostly ignorant of how the legal system works in regards to this stuff, so use laymans terms and small words if at all possible [smile]

Did they register that trademark in your country?
If they didn't, you can register it yourself.
You can also look into the US trademarks site, and see if they trademarked their name (probably they did, but just look into it).

You can use the same trademark if it is in a different business (you could have McDonalds garage but not a burger joint). You might argue that middleware is a seperate business from game development and they might argue that they are both game related... at the end of the day avoiding a possible argument is always the best course. I would suggest changing it and probably by a little more than just the adition of FX.

Why not go for something like Ascension or even something completely different.

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Original post by Obscure Why not go for something like Ascension or even something completely different.

The EA guys might not like that, considering they have a game called Ultima Ascension :)

Thanks Obscure, it's a pity, but that's what I thought.. Ascension was/is my backup plan, I'll probably start changing all that junk over when I get a reply to my email to LogicFactory.

Raduprv: Screw them [grin] It's not like they called their game Ascension.. It's just a tack-on. Thanks anyway though, I'll check up on the trademarks.

[EDIT] I had a look through the patent site, and came upon this, which would seem to indicate it is not registered anymore? Could someone clear this up for me? Also, if I wished to register that trademark, how would I go about doing it? Thanks a lot folks!

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Original post by Raduprv The EA guys might not like that, considering they have a game called Ultima Ascension :)

That doesn't matter. A trademark is only the whole mark (in this case "Ultima Ascension") and not the individual parts so Ascension could be used. Obviously a trademark search would still be a good idea.