I want to make the game that is known as battleship, I want to know what the law is on this, I presumed the game is public property, being a game that has been played for years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_(game) But I have come across this. And it seems it may be trademarked by Hasbo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.handmark.com/company/news.php?id=36 Handmark produces the Palm OS and PocketPC versions of the BATTLESHIP game under a license agreement with Atari Interactive, Inc. , formerly Infogrames Interactive, Inc., which publishes the electronic and interactive versions of Hasbro properties. BATTLESHIP, MONOPOLY and TONKA are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. About Hasbro The Hasbro Properties Group develops and expands Hasbro's core brands, such as G.I. JOE, TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY and CANDY LAND, into a wide variety of entertainment and consumer categories. Hasbro Consumer Products Worldwide is the licensing and promotions arm of Hasbro Properties Group. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.lottery.state.mn.us/numbers.html BATTLESHIP® — Our newest game in the G3 family costs $5 per ticket and offers exciting long play fun. The G3 Game version of BATTLESHIP plays like the classic naval combat game you grew up with. Just take your shots, check where they land, and when you hit all coordinates on a target – you win! You could win up to three times on a single ticket – $50,000 if you sink all five ships! BATTLESHIP is a registered trademark of Hasbro and is used with permission. © 2005 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.mobilegamesunlimited.com/trademarks.htm Battleship The HASBRO name and logo and BATTLESHIP are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission.(c) 2004 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Produced and published by iFone under license from Atari. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now I find this a little odd, its a bit like trademarking football or tennis or poker, now this leads to some quandary, where does the law stand on traditional games, what's next, someone owns the trademark on snaked and ladders, where do we stand on this and how do we find out who owns what and what we can make. My own take on battleship is that if it is trademarked then you can make the same came only change the name, like call it sea captain, or something like that, though I wonder how far one has to change a name, like if one called it battleship captain, is one still in violation.

Don't call it "Battleship" and you'll probably be fine.

If it is NOT a battleship game copy, it could be called something varied enough like "Super Battleship Commander" without problem. The less varied the name, the more risk of a problem.

If it IS a clone of Battleship the game's mechanics, then make sure you do not copy any element of its name, PERIOD.

Because what they will show in court is that a reasonable person would conclude that the 2 are related, and therefore that the second one, yours, is an endorsed product of their company ... which isn't true, and therefore economically hurts their brand identity in the market.

So "Battleship Commander" is not an acceptable battleship name ...

but "Destroyer", "Cruiser Attack", "Battle on the High Seas", "Sea Captain", etc. All are.

A corporate copyright (US) lasts for 95 years(last I checked, thanks to Sonny Bono). A trademark (again, US) is effectively immortal (needs to be renewed every 20 years, last I checked).

Do not use anything even closely resembling the name "Battleship". The mechanics as such are just fine. I've even seen the game mechanics in a mini-game in zelda.