How do I know if a game title is legal for me to use or not ? Currently, I'm hoping that i can name my game 'Carnage !', but I'm seeing potential problems : -Carnage is the name of a villain in the spiderman storyline (completely unrelated to my game) -Total Carnage is an arcade/snes game with some minor relations to my game. Relations are that in both games you control a soldier and the control scheme is the same, but other then that, everything is different (types of enemies, setting, scrolling vs non scrolling, hp vs 1 hit kill and many other differences) My current thought is that i can release my game under the name 'Carnage !', but i know nothing about laws that decide whether a title is legal or not. my biggest fear would be concerning the spiderman villain because i would bet that they trademarked the name, but my thought on the subject is that carnage is a word and fits really well to describe the gameplay of my game. it's not the name of a character, it's the name of the game. I'd appreciate if someone with knowledge about those issues can confirm my thoughts or tell me where i went wrong with my logic, because i don't really expect that the laws are shaped by my logic o_O.

AFAIK it's hard to enforce a Patent or Copyright on a lone word from the English language.
Extreme (the website / corporation) tried to sue me once for the name of my web site, which used the word Extreme in it and covered similar subject matter. I laughed at them, and they went away.

If you were to produce a game called 'Halo', which was a FPS based in space then you might hit problems, but there are a lot of other factors involved there. Not just the name.

If you produced a game called 'Halo' which was about a horse called 'Halo' who visited magical lands to collect jelly beans, you would have less problems.. And if you modified the game name to 'Halo the magical horse', you'd be in the clear.

So look at the context of your name and how that and the content of your game clashes with the ones with similar names.

Another story..
I was developing a game called TechWar for Sega many moons ago, and we fell foul of Bill Shatner's books also of the same name.. We changed the name of our game in the end, because of that clash, but personally I was happy to do it anyway 'cos Bill's da Man!

This is neither a patent, nor a copyright issue. It's a trademark issue. What you need to do is to check whether somebody has registered "Carnage" for a "video game" (or whatever category this is) in the countries you wish to publish it.

It would be best to ask your lawyer (or even better, your publishers, if applicable) about that for more detailed information. If you do not have a lawyer, but intend to make money with the game, get a lawyer. If you intend to publish the game for free, change the name if you are unsure.

If you don't intend to publish the game (or are unsure when and how to publish it), don't worry about it now.

Hope that helps!

Thank you !

i searched the us trademark database and found a trademark in the game department, even though i've never heard of the game itself :(

Typed Drawing
Word Mark CARNAGE
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Computer game software for use by individuals and multiple players; downloadable computer game software. FIRST USE: 20051207. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20051207
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 76224953
Filing Date March 15, 2001
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition March 30, 2004
Registration Number 3159251
Registration Date October 17, 2006
Owner (REGISTRANT) Masterson, William Edwin INDIVIDUAL UNITED KINGDOM 21 Rathview Park Mullybrit, Lisbellaw Enniskillen NORTHERN IRELAND
Attorney of Record Robert O. Lindefjeld
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

that means i'm forced to change name i guess

Quote:

Original post by RamboPowPowthat means i'm forced to change name i guess

Pretty much. I guess you could try to contact the trademark owner and work out an arrangement, if you really feel attached to that name.

Otherwise find a new name or add a word or two. I suggest "Bloody Carnage"! ;)