MadOnion Pwns U!

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
Staff member
Joined
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This is in reference to a story that Terry posted this weekend about MadOnion, er Futuremark and it applying for a trademark on the word “Pwnage.” Futuremark let us know that Futuremark Games Studio’s Jukka Makinen had made a post in regards to this.

Fellow gamers,

Our purpose in filing for trademark on the name "Pwnage" is not to charge money or stop people from using the expression. That's not what a trademark is for. Instead, we want to protect ourselves from squatters (or what I call campers) - people looking to trademark the name on false pretenses, just to make a claim against Futuremark Games Studio for its use.

Jukka Mäkinen, Executive Producer, Futuremark Games Studio
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THose guys are a bunch of assholes. Trying to trademark a phrase we use everyday in gaming.
 
L33t Masta said:
THose guys are a bunch of assholes. Trying to trademark a phrase we use everyday in gaming.
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Well.

They say they're trademarking it so that no one else can trademark it and sue them for using it.
 
LOL, that comment from the Futuremark idiots really does smell of bull. In fact, I think it benchs about 20,000 BullShizMarkz (TM that ya bastards!)...
 
As a self-professed "fellow gamer", Futuremark's Jukka Mäkinen would surely be familiar with the term "epic fail" as well :rolleyes:...
 
AmberClad said:
As a self-professed "fellow gamer", Futuremark's Jukka Mäkinen would surely be familiar with the term "epic fail" as well :rolleyes:...
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ROFL. :p

What's next? I guarantee you they'll be trademarking the phrase "e-penis" next. :rolleyes:
 
the only thing futuremarks products are good for is seeing if a system is stable, mainly after trying to squeeze out the best OC. Other than that, FUCK EM!
 
Kyle,

Are there any legal recourse or amicus briefs type of filings that we as a community can do to let the trade mark office know that this is just plain stupid?
 
Those pesky Fins... They struck the USS Cole, the WTC twice, embassies, US interests around the world.. Grrrr.

O wait... Where's Finland again?
 
Pwnage!!!

.... Oh wait..... Can I say that???? ROFLMAO HAHAHAHAH
 
The sad part is Futuremark seems oblivious to why they have lost all respect from the hardware and gaming communities.
 
Can they claim a trademark on something that has copious proof of prior art?
 
GilmourD said:
Can they claim a trademark on something that has copious proof of prior art?
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I don't know that it's art as much as a typo. ;)

Why don't they just apply for frag while they're at it? Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between MadOnion, and The Onion. :D
 
Oldie said:
I don't know that it's art as much as a typo. ;)

Why don't they just apply for frag while they're at it? Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between MadOnion, and The Onion. :D
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Well, it may have begun as a typo, but it's now part of the vernacular. It's not really any different than a good portion of the words in the English language. It has to have been used prior to Futuremark's first use of it, therefore they're SOL.
 
GilmourD said:
Can they claim a trademark on something that has copious proof of prior art?
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It's a trademark, not a copyright. A trademark's purpose is to identify the source of a product or service.

This isn't a copyright or a patent. There's no such thing as "prior art" with trademarks.
 
kumquat said:
Well.

They say they're trademarking it so that no one else can trademark it and sue them for using it.
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Do you honestly believe that though? I'd put money down that if anyone else came out with a product that had the word Pwnage in it, that they'd get the pants sued off of them (should this crap actually make it through the TM office.)
 
wfalcon said:
Do you honestly believe that though? I'd put money down that if anyone else came out with a product that had the word Pwnage in it, that they'd get the pants sued off of them (should this crap actually make it through the TM office.)
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It doesn't matter what I believe. It's the law.

I could start a clothing line called Craptastic Clothing and trademark it no problem because no one else is using "Craptastic Clothing" to sell products. No one is out there using the word "Craptastic " as an identifying mark on their products or services.

Therefore, no one could sue me for it. It doesn't matter that "craptastic" is a common word. There's no "prior art" on trademarks.
 
I was surprised when Futuremark sent me that link directly. Spin control FTL!
 
That's funny. There's a game store I passed on a road trip called 'Pwnage'. I wonder how that battle would go down....
 
kumquat said:
It doesn't matter what I believe. It's the law.

I could start a clothing line called Craptastic Clothing and trademark it no problem because no one else is using "Craptastic Clothing" to sell products. No one is out there using the word "Craptastic " as an identifying mark on their products or services.

Therefore, no one could sue me for it. It doesn't matter that "craptastic" is a common word. There's no "prior art" on trademarks.
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Correct. But once you've started Craptastic Clothing and trademarked it, what happens if I come along and create Craptastic Computers, Inc?
 
wfalcon said:
Correct. But once you've started Craptastic Clothing and trademarked it, what happens if I come along and create Craptastic Computers, Inc?
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Then you trademark that.

The trademark application contains the industries and services to which it applies.

Basically, as long as the trademark does not cause confusion about the source of the goods or service, it's OK to use.
 
I think its bad enough for one to use that phrase in their game let alone trademark it. What are they gonna have that pop up on screen when you kill or do something cool in their games? Or are they sad enough to name the actual game that:confused::eek:
 
kumquat said:
Then you trademark that.

The trademark application contains the industries and services to which it applies.

Basically, as long as the trademark does not cause confusion about the source of the goods or service, it's OK to use.
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I think therein lies the problem. Given our litigious society, how many people have been sued/forced into not using a name despite offering goods and services that are completely unrelated?
 
Kyle's kicking them on the mark and disrupting their future. :p
 
Well, Paris Hilton trademarked (or tried to) the phrase "That's Hot", and Donald Trump trademarked the phrase "You're Fired"...so why not?
 
I see outrage over the trademark of a silly word like "Pwnage" but where was Kyle to protect "the community" when "3D Gamers" was trademarked, or when "PC Gamer" was trademarked", or "hardcore gamer" was trademarked, or "gamer" or "gamers"? Has Kyle sued to bring these terms back to "the community"? Did anyone mention "ROFL", "OMG", "WTF", "FTW", "LOL", and "noob" are also trademarked? It appears some people are confusing trademarks with copyrights. Not surprisingly it appears Kyle's rant was meant generate controversy and therefore page hits, rather that bring any enlightenment at all to the issue.

Find more of your favorite words and/or phrases that are trademarked here: Trademark Electronic Search System.
 
There's even a magazine called PC Gamer. Obviously that's trademarked.

I agree with you, eRacer. This is much ado about nothing. PC Gamer doesn't sue people who say the phrase, because they can't. You can only protect your trademark insofar as it protects the use of the trademark to identify products. Having a trademark on a word or phrase doesn't remove anyone's ability to use that word or phrase in speech.
 
eRacer said:
I see outrage over the trademark of a silly word like "Pwnage" but where was Kyle to protect "the community" when "3D Gamers" was trademarked, or when "PC Gamer" was trademarked", or "hardcore gamer" was trademarked, or "gamer" or "gamers"? Has Kyle sued to bring these terms back to "the community"? Did anyone mention "ROFL", "OMG", "WTF", "FTW", "LOL", and "noob" are also trademarked? It appears some people are confusing trademarks with copyrights. Not surprisingly it appears Kyle's rant was meant generate controversy and therefore page hits, rather that bring any enlightenment at all to the issue.

Find more of your favorite words and/or phrases that are trademarked here: Trademark Electronic Search System.
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I guess Kyle hit your cornflakes with his pee afterall!!
 
eRacer said:
I see outrage over the trademark of a silly word like "Pwnage" but where was Kyle to protect "the community" when "3D Gamers" was trademarked, or when "PC Gamer" was trademarked", or "hardcore gamer" was trademarked, or "gamer" or "gamers"? Has Kyle sued to bring these terms back to "the community"? Did anyone mention "ROFL", "OMG", "WTF", "FTW", "LOL", and "noob" are also trademarked? It appears some people are confusing trademarks with copyrights. Not surprisingly it appears Kyle's rant was meant generate controversy and therefore page hits, rather that bring any enlightenment at all to the issue.

Find more of your favorite words and/or phrases that are trademarked here: Trademark Electronic Search System.
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Actually I would have never commented on the matter had Jukka not come out with that bullshit explanation. Just tell us the truth and get over it. 3DMark sent the comment over to the simple news post we made this weekend.

As for my "rant," and generating controversy, guess it worked on you eh? ;)
 
Is there anyway we can switch their trademark app to "n00btard" instead?
 
Interestingly enough, when I bashed Futuremark and Tero Sarkkinen for its letter back in the day, I got banned from the forums. Here, years later, they do something stupid again, and the main page has a public bashing by Kyle.

Ironic, but I guess just goes to show how this is Kyle-Country.

I'm not bitter or anything. :rolleyes:
 
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