Redditch Tabletop Gamers Forum

Quote:UK toymaker Games Workshop has been criticised for asserting a trademark claim to the phrase 'space marines'.

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21380003

More on the story from El Reg: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/07/...nes_claim/

But it does have a trade mark on the term right? it mentions it in the article that its had it since 1995, so what they're doing is actually just enforcing it.

they're within their rights to do that surely? (I know very very little about copyright.)

I am going to put a trade mark on the term flying car and make a fortune.....

I think what the lady thats trying to get her book back on amazon is saying that the term "space marine" means so much to the syfy fans and authors that it should be to popular to copyright and that she should be able to sell her books? (please correct me if I'm wrong..)

but it's already copyrighted, so I don't think she has a case...

Yeah, the people who control copyright shouldn't have allowed it to be copyrighted, but it was so sounds like it's tough and she needs to change it to space farer or something

The point they are making is that the term "space marine" is a description of what something is, should never have been allowed to be copyrighted in any other media other than tabletop Wargaming. GW are not the first to use it in sci-Fi an wont be the last.

Statement from Games Workshop on their Facebook page:

Quote:Games Workshop owns and protects many valuable trademarks in a number of territories and classes across the world. For example, 'Warhammer' and 'Space Marine' are registered trademarks in a number of classes and territories. In some other territories and classes they are unregistered trademarks protected by commercial use. Whenever we are informed of, or otherwise discover, a commercially available product whose title is or uses a Games Workshop trademark without our consent, we have no choice but to take reasonable action. We would be failing in our duty to our shareholders if we did not protect our property.

To be clear, Games Workshop has never claimed to own words or phrases such as 'warhammer' or 'space marine' as regards their general use in everyday life, for example within a body of prose. By illustration, although Games Workshop clearly owns many registered trademarks for the Warhammer brand, we do not claim to own the word 'warhammer' in common use as a hand weapon.

Trademarks as opposed to use of a word in prose or everyday language are two very different things. Games Workshop is always vigilant in protecting the former, but never makes any claim to owning the latter.

The book in question is also now back on sale apparently: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21409490