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Question by shopguy · Apr 25, 2014 at 03:09 PM · namelegalcopyrighttrademark

Duplicate video game names, legal?

Trying to pick a name for my game and it seems like every possible name is already used. Am I correct to assume it is ok if I pick a name of a game that already exists as long as my game isn't just a copy of that game? I mean, chances are the two games could be similar.. like, if I made a game about balls, I might name it 'Crazy Balls' and of course if another game uses that name it might also be similar, but not an exact duplicate (I'd hope).

I do know about marketing related issues, like best if domain name is available and not too many established Google search results, etc.

I was thinking about "DropZone" as one option. I see there is an old game with that name, not like my game though. There is also a game company with that name.

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avatar image will_c · Apr 25, 2014 at 03:17 PM 1
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No, it is a legal issue if the name is trademarked or copyrighted by a company.

avatar image Eric5h5 · Apr 25, 2014 at 04:14 PM 1
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Titles can't be copyrighted. There are a number of unrelated games with the same name, and it's perfectly legal, as long as there are no trademarks involved.

avatar image shopguy · Apr 25, 2014 at 09:42 PM 0
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Thanks all, and from what I understand of a trademark, it usually has to be a very unique word or a special version of a word. For example, "phoneslips" or "phone slips" couldn't be trademarked, but "PHONEslips" (the exact case) could be.

avatar image Eric5h5 · Apr 25, 2014 at 10:40 PM 0
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You can trademark pretty much anything. Look at generic words like Apple, Windows, Word, etc., which are all trademarked.

avatar image getyour411 · Apr 25, 2014 at 10:43 PM 0
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http://www.lawyers.com/ask-a-lawyer/ask-a-question.html

To the OP: Don't ask legal questions here and act on them without due dilligence

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Answer by GrnDyRx · Apr 25, 2014 at 03:35 PM

DropZone would have a unregistered trademark on their own company name, however, if its not too close its fine.

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