   Copyright of a game title.
  If you announce the name of your game before it's complete, (according to the copyright laws nowadays), is the name safe? So long as I've done my research to make sure the name isn't already used somewhere?   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark;  As Hodgeman points out game names are covered by Trademark law, not Copyright.If you are using the name to promote the game prior to completion/launch then it would be protected as an unregistered Trademark - at least that is the idea. Unfortunately the reality is that you get the protection you can afford. If someone starts using the name you can write and ask them to stop, making clear that you started using the name before them. If they don't then your only recourse is to start legal action to stop them using it - this is very expensive. You could register the Trademark but even that costs several hundreds of pounds for each territory you register in. Put simply, unless you have a big bag of cash, it probably isn't worth worrying about it at this stage. Use the name, hopefully no one else will. If your game earns any money then the Trademark is worth protecting. If it doesn't then it isn't.   ;  I have a question about that... if you use a name, lets say "Stink Joe Bob" for your game and it does good. Can someone else trademark it and mess you up? I'd like to say no, but I remember the WWF fiasco, and I wasn't sure if the Wildlife foundation or whoever, had used it first or if they just trademarked it after.   ;  In the US, trademark owners that file their mark first have a presumptive rights to use that mark in commerce and exclude others from using similar marks.  If you are already selling a game but did not register with the USPTO and the is subsequently trademarked, then it would be up to you to either oppose the mark (prior to publication) or file a petition to cancel the mark (after publication).  Both these options are more expensive then the cost of simply registering the mark.  The USPTO allows you to file on an "intent to use" basis prior to release of the game, but I'd encourage you to look into hiring an experienced TM attorney and doing a complete search on the name prior to filing as there are a few databases (state and foreign) that may have previously filed marks.  Good luck!   ;Quote:Original post by pothbI have a question about that... if you use a name, lets say "Stink Joe Bob" for your game and it does good. Can someone else trademark it and mess you up? I'd like to say no, but I remember the WWF fiasco, and I wasn't sure if the Wildlife foundation or whoever, had used it first or if they just trademarked it after.It depends.There are various things that affect the 'strength' of a mark.  One of the biggest is the distinctiveness of the mark.  The ranks of distinctiveness are:* fanciful  (The only one that is really strong)* arbitrary  (strong, but requires association with the products)* suggestive (weaker)* descriptive (weakest, requires a lot of work)* generic  (no protection)A fanciful mark is something completely made up.  Examples are Exxon, Xerox, iPod.  These are the strongest types of marks.Everything else is weak until it gets a secondary meaning.Arbitrary marks are just plain words that aren't associated with anything.  Apple, Gray Whale, Target.  Suggestive marks are creatively applied words that suggest (but not describe) the brand.  Microsoft, Coppertone, Visa.Descriptive marks describe the products, and include names.  Holiday Inn, Bank of City, Berkshire-Hathaway, Hewlett Packard.Finally there are generic marks.  These are not protected.  "Apple" applied to computers is arbitrary, but "Apple" applied to a species of apple is generic.  "Target" applied to a shopping center is arbitrary, but "Target" applied to a bulls-eye design is generic.  "Subway" applied to food is arbitrary, but "Subway" applied to underground trains is generic.In addition to the distinctiveness, there are other factors.Each mark is dependent on the scope and location of the product (local vs international), the industry or field of the product (music vs computers vs auto parts), the time it was used, the visibility of the mark, the first use in an area, and so on.Registration is an important factor.  Names and marks are automatically granted protection, but registering them grants additional protections because it expressly qualifies the visibility, time, scope, industry, and so on.Finally, market recognition is an important factor.  Microsoft's product names "Windows" and "Word" were successfully challenged several times.  It took a lot of market recognition before those generic terms themselves become separately protected.In order to protect your name, you must enforce it in the courts.  Unless you came up with something that is completely fanciful ("Exxon"), it can be very difficult to protect.   ;  So I guess the size of my "company" would dictate that i just use a unique name that doesn't really exist in the english language and enforce it should we make enough to defend it. But since it's unique, it'll be a lot easier to defend than something that is just two english words together.   ;  It's really not going to make a difference unless the game makes money. At which point the brand will develop value and you will have the incentive to enforce your use of the mark. Whether a name is "safe" depends on whether you're infringing on someone else's mark, not whether someone else uses your original mark. Concentrate on getting your game released and developing buzz.   