wombat_socho

Originally posted by haikujaguar at In Which Games Workshop Accuses Me Falsely of Trademark Infringement

Today I got an email from Amazon telling me they have stopped selling Spots the Space Marine because Games Workshop has accused me of infringement on their trademark of the word ‘space marine’.

If you go to the Trademarks Database and look up the word “space marine” you’ll find the Games Workshop owns a trademark on the term “space marine,” but it only covers the follow goods and services: IC 028. US 022. G & S: board games, parlor games, war games, hobby games, toy models and miniatures of buildings, scenery, figures, automobiles, vehicles, planes, trains and card games and paint, sold therewith.

Fiction isn’t included in that list, which means Games Workshop has no grounds on which to accuse me of trademark infringement.

I didn’t get my use of that term from Games Workshop. I got it from Robert Heinlein. Apparently the first use of the term was in 1932. E.E. Smith used it, among others. Also there are other novels on Amazon being sold that have “space marine” in the title. I don’t know why Games Workshop decided to complain about Spots in particular, but my guess is because the Kickstarter made it a little higher-profile than the average indie offering.

I’ve sent a polite email to Amazon pointing out the trademark filing and the fact that fiction isn’t covered by it, in the hopes that Amazon and I can work out their issue with the book. If you’re waiting to buy it, hopefully all this will be cleared up soon.

Edit: Thanks for the comments, folks. I’m going to close them for now while I have a discussion with the people involved.

Mirrored from MCAH Online.

If you know any IP lawyers who might be interested in helping with this, please aim them in haikujaguar's direction.

Well, it's not going to be ALL day, but I have an appointment with my primary care physician, Dr. B, at Ft. Belvoir this morning in about an hour, and another with Doc Laredo the Cutter of Veins this afternoon at 1. I'll get a couple of sets of test results and see how the tests turned out. Lots of driving ahead.

Just about everything is now rolling with Plan C. I am registered with the City of Alexandria, have opened an account at Suntrust for Foxchase Accounting Services, have picked up business cards and have more on order, the domain and website are in process with Windstream, and tomorrow morning I'll be going to Springfield for a First Friday networking breakfast. I am optimistic and trying hard not to be manic about this, which is a bit hard when everyone who sees the business plan or who has heard the (developing) elevator pitch thinks I have a Million Dollar Idea.

The less said about the Nationals' recent travails against the "depleted" Phillies, the better.

The old second-hand plasma monitor died Tuesday night, so I wound up going down to Staples (where I had to pick up some cards for Friday anyway) and picking up an HP 20" LCD for cheap, even before the $5 coupon. It's a little scary; at the recommended 1600x900 resolution, I can almost see into the future, or maybe as far as Russia. The built-in speakers suck, unfortunately, and there's no room left on the desk's shelf to put the old Gateway speakers. I'll figure something out, or just wear the headphones a lot.

Thanks to gohanvox for tipping me to a sweet deal on Amazon: Rush's Clockwork Angels for $0.99. It's sounding pretty good so far, and not just because of the price.

And now I need to get cleaned up, dressed, and head down I-95.