I wanna report a trademark violation.

[Kerry]

The names "Draconia" and "Draconia City" are trademarked to me, Kerry Freeman.

How do I go about reporting these thieves to Steam?

EDIT: DMCA report filed.

[Cathulhu]

Where did you file the trademark?

[Kerry]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Start_Running:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Kerry Freeman:

True... except I already have. My name is part of the lore, therefore it's already copyrighted/trademarked as part of the Draconia/Draconia City lore.

You do realize you can't copyright a name like that right? Like I can name a character ina book clark kent and dc can't do jack about it. You can copyright a character with the name. Meaning the name, the appearance, backstory, etc. But you can't copyright just the name.

Sounds to me like you just described exactly what I did with Kerry Freeman the character.

[Kerry]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Cathulhu:

Where did you file the trademark?

Self-filed. You don't need to file anything with the office, so long as you have a notice.

[Cathulhu]

That's not how a trademark works and you were told that multiple times.
If you have no legal documents, you have no trademark and no legal weight behind your claim.

[Kerry]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Cathulhu:

That's not how a trademark works and you were told that multiple times.
If you have no legal documents, you have no trademark and no legal weight behind your claim.

We'll see. I filed for a DMCA takedown with Steam already.

[davidb11]

That's literally not how it works.
Why are you claiming you don't need to file it with an office?
Without it being registered, it is literally invalid.
Every lawyer will tell you this.

Some will tell you it for free!

[El poco nuez del muerte]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Kerry Freeman:

True... except I already have. My name is part of the lore, therefore it's already copyrighted/trademarked as part of the Draconia/Draconia City lore.

Alright, this is getting jumbled, let's get to the heart of things.

Are you actually engaged in trade? Are you selling anything under the name "Draconia" oder "Draconia City"?

If not it is going to be excedingly difficult to make the argument that the trademark has reached a level of establishment sufficient to not necessitate actual registration. Not that that would not be really difficult anyway.

It is true that not all jurisdictions require actual registration of a trademark, but you'd have to be a brand as well known as mercedes benz or porsche in order to make that argument.

[Leonardo Da Pinchi]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Kerry Freeman:

Diposting pertama kali oleh <Insert Kazoo Circus Music Here>:

All I need to do is register a product as the name. Toss together a RPG maker game name it Kerry Freeman, make a goofy OC named Kerry Freeman inside the game. Then I can both copyright the character, AND trademark the name.

True... except I already have. My name is part of the lore, therefore it's already copyrighted/trademarked as part of the Draconia/Draconia City lore.

Except, I'll be sure to file it.

[Brian9824]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Kerry Freeman:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Chompman:

Draconian as been around since the 1700's and draconia is a term used to describe it so your belief you own it since you have "used" in discord since 2012 has no merit.

But Draconia as a name hasn't existed until 2012.

It was a band back in 1998 - https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Draconia/60121

So false.

Also again, you can't trademark something like Draconia....

[Brian9824]

Also Marvel/Transformers had it first - https://marvelanimated.fandom.com/wiki/Draconia

Not to mention Buck Rogers had it before that - http://www.universalhartland.com/code/buck001d.shtml

Etc.

Lots of people have used the word before you. You own no trademark on it, and its a generic term that CANNOT be trademarked.

It's like trying to trademark Cyborg.....

[Cathulhu]

No to mention the name of a planet in a US TV show from 1979.
Or the name of a planet in a UK TV show, the episode was aired in 1973.

[davidb11]

Yep. Cannot be trademarked.
Heck, even Wizards of the Coast can claim they trademarked it first. :P

[Yzal]

Trademarking a word? that's really scummy, the kind of of ♥♥♥♥ Bethesda would try to do...
oh wait.

[ShelLuser]

I can't help be convinced that OP is in for a heap of trouble. Of course assuming this whole story is true and not some fabricated dramatized story (which is what I personally believe).

Other than all the arguments above there's also this thing called "fair use" which runs pretty deeply. For example... there are YouTube videos out there which used Disney characters in the video despite being monetized. Nothing Disney can do because of fair use.

So if we have a name or word which has been often used in the past (also for commercial activities) and no one filed it as a an trademark then you obviously have no legal rights over the word at all. It would also imply that other parties have a right to use it under fair use.

Which then brings us to DMCA takedown requests... misuse is a thing, and filing a request over the use of a single word? I hope OP realizes that this isn't just some simple request, you're taking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ legal action against someone and if you abuse said system then the tide can quickly turn against you.

At a bare minimum you'd be looking at having to cover all the legal fees for the company you filed a complaint against, and that's assuming they don't file a counter claim for damages and such. Which of course also doesn't account for the risks of the hefty fines which can be filed for DMCA abuse.

And solely going on what I've read so far on this thread I cannot help be convinced that this is exactly the case here: DMCA abuse. Good luck to OP, you're going to need it.

[davidb11]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Lazy Dog:

Trademarking a word? that's really scummy, the kind of of ♥♥♥♥ Bethesda would do...
oh wait.

Hehe.
To be fair, Bethesda's lawyers did that to keep copyright.
Not that anyone at Bethesda stopped them. :P

Still, Bethesda, better than Activision. :P