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A TSR Announces a Star Frontiers Reboot
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8315632" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>A search of the US trademark registry indicates that the new TSR has registered "Star Frontiers".</p><p></p><p>A search of DriveThruRPG indicates that WotC is trading using "Star Frontiers" as a distinctive sign for their roleplaying game of space operatic hijinks.</p><p></p><p>So we have two concurrent users, one registered and one not. (Though it's not 100% clear to me what the new TSR's actual use consists in.)</p><p></p><p>As I posted upthread, (i) I don't know what the legal answer is here, but (ii) the normal effect of this sort of registration is to give priority in a contest, so I doubt that WotC can dispute new TSR's use of "Star Frontiers" as a distinctive sign for <em>their</em> roleplaying game of space operatic hijinks. EDIT: Having read your linked article on <a href="https://www.justia.com/intellectual-property/trademarks/unregistered-trademarks/" target="_blank">unregistered trademarks</a>, maybe I'm wrong at (ii). It may be if WotC can prove their use - which would date back at least to when they offered Star Frontiers for sale on DriveThruRPG - then they can contest new TSR's use.</p><p></p><p>What I'm (even) less sure about is the implications of the registration for WotC. My gut feeling is that there are none, beyond not being able to dispute new TSR's use. And this gut feeling is reinforced by reading your linked article.</p><p></p><p>Generally in common law countries trademarks don't need to be registered to be owned. But registration proves ownership of the mark. It probably also affects how liability for infringement is established, but I'm not sure.</p><p></p><p>I don't think that's right. It's about the need to prove the distinctive character of the trademark in trade in a particular geographic region. The fact that you're trading online doesn't stop you proving that. Whether it makes it easier or harder seems to me a question of fact depending on how many customers you have and where they are encountering your mark and purchasing your marked products.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8315632, member: 42582"] A search of the US trademark registry indicates that the new TSR has registered "Star Frontiers". A search of DriveThruRPG indicates that WotC is trading using "Star Frontiers" as a distinctive sign for their roleplaying game of space operatic hijinks. So we have two concurrent users, one registered and one not. (Though it's not 100% clear to me what the new TSR's actual use consists in.) As I posted upthread, (i) I don't know what the legal answer is here, but (ii) the normal effect of this sort of registration is to give priority in a contest, so I doubt that WotC can dispute new TSR's use of "Star Frontiers" as a distinctive sign for [i]their[/i] roleplaying game of space operatic hijinks. EDIT: Having read your linked article on [url=https://www.justia.com/intellectual-property/trademarks/unregistered-trademarks/]unregistered trademarks[/url], maybe I'm wrong at (ii). It may be if WotC can prove their use - which would date back at least to when they offered Star Frontiers for sale on DriveThruRPG - then they can contest new TSR's use. What I'm (even) less sure about is the implications of the registration for WotC. My gut feeling is that there are none, beyond not being able to dispute new TSR's use. And this gut feeling is reinforced by reading your linked article. Generally in common law countries trademarks don't need to be registered to be owned. But registration proves ownership of the mark. It probably also affects how liability for infringement is established, but I'm not sure. I don't think that's right. It's about the need to prove the distinctive character of the trademark in trade in a particular geographic region. The fact that you're trading online doesn't stop you proving that. Whether it makes it easier or harder seems to me a question of fact depending on how many customers you have and where they are encountering your mark and purchasing your marked products. [/QUOTE]
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