Games Workshop trademark bullying goes thermonuclear

[Cat]

http://boingboing.net/2013/02/06/games-workshop-trademark-bully.html

For years, there have been stories about Games Workshop being trademark bullies and sending threats to people who use the term "space marine" in connection with games. But now that they've started publishing ebooks, Games Workshop has begun to assert a trademark on the generic, widely used, very old term "space marine" in connection with science fiction literature.

I used to own a registered trademark. I understand the legal obligations of trademark holders to protect their IP. A Games Workshop trademark of the term "Adeptus Astartes" is completely understandable. But they've chosen instead to co-opt the legacy of science fiction writers who laid the groundwork for their success. Even more than I want to save Spots the Space Marine, I want someone to save all space marines for the genre I grew up reading. I want there to be a world where Heinlein and E.E. Smith's space marines can live alongside mine and everyone else's, and no one has the hubris to think that they can own a fundamental genre trope and deny it to everyone else.

How are they legally getting away with pulling this bullshit.

[Tessera]

Ummm...

Ever see the movie "Aliens..?" It came out in 1986. Nearly 27 years ago.

In that movie, the term "space marines" is used several times.

So where do these bozos get off thinking that they somehow "own" that term..?

[Schu]

Exactly, The earliest known use of the term "space marine" was by Bob Olsen in his short story "Captain Brink of the Space Marines" (Amazing Stories, Volume 7, Number 8, November 1932).   Also the original game Doom (1993) lists the protagonist as a Space Marine.  The same can be said about Unreal 2 (2003), I can go on and on with this one.

Where do these assholes get off on laying claim to that term?

[beetle]

They will keep doing it until someone stands up to them and GW gets smacked down in the courts. I think someone should start a class action lawsuit against them. This sounds similar to what Bethesda tried to do the the Mojang team that made Minecraft when they announced a new game they are working on that they have titled Scrolls.

[Tessera]

Uh huh...


GREEDY PEOPLE MUST BE KILLED.


It's getting very close to the time when we all need to storm the Bastille, folks.