   Mech - trademark?
  I'm making game with mech (called Mech Tournament) and after publishing some info to whole world I saw opinions that 'mech' is trademark.I searched for a while and I found nothing.I read that trademarks can be only connected to special industries (so if trademark is to e.g. cloths you can use it to games).On this sitethe only 'mech' trademark is connected to 'magazines relating to aviation'.I'm confused now, could anybody help me and say, if calling game 'Mech Tournament' is legal? And if not - can I despite this call 'mech' inside game?   
  From what I understand, the trademark is owned by FASA (who is owned by Microsoft now). FASA has sued for trademark infringement regarding their Battletech/Mechwarrior franchise before, so you don't even want your "Mechs" to look like ones from their franchise.I'm not a lawyer, though.   ;According to wikipedia, mech is a pretty generic term. If you referred to the contestants of your tournament as mech-warriors, then you might be in some trouble ;)   ;Quote:Original post by HodgmanAccording to wikipedia, mech is a pretty generic term. If you referred to the contestants of your tournament as mech-warriors, then you might be in some trouble ;)It also says the word "Mech" came from BattleTech. I'd be weary of using that word, but "Mecha" is clearly generic enough. Would Mecha Tournament be okay?   ;  I found this where people say, that trademarks are for 'Mech (this come from BattleTech), Mechwarrior, etc. and simple 'mech' is not trademarked.@kindjie: as I read this cause was about 1st game mech looking alike mech from 2nd game, not about 'mech' word.And i think 'mech' and 'mecha' is the same.   ;  You could always call them MECKs - Massive Equipment for Crushing and Killing =D   ;  You're good dude, as long as you're not ripping off any of the Mech designs. That's what they get really pissed about as was mentioned earlier. There are plenty of games out there with Mech in their title. Just do a google search for "Mech Games" there are plenty of them living in harmony.   ;  Ask yourself this; would your use of the mark cause any kind of consumer confusion as far as other video games on the market, particularly those owned by reputedly litigious companies? That's the threshold question. And to be honest you're not the best person to answer it-- you'd be better off asking a disinterested third party or lawyer. Even descriptive terms like "mech" can obtain trademark protection if it's achieved a particular level of recognition in the market as being affiliated with another company's game/brand/series of games. There are defenses, but you can only raise those defense if you're sued. 