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Futuremark tries to trademark ‘Pwnage’
What’s next – LHX Attack ROFLCOPTER?
You know something has stopped being cool when the big corporations takeover, and it looks as though l33t speak is about to join words such as ‘groovy’ and ‘dishy’ in the vocabulary of big companies trying to get down with the kids. Shortly after announcing its own games studio, 3DMark creator Futuremark has now attempted to trademark the word ‘pwnage.’
You can see the full application here, and it’s clear that Futuremark means business with the trademark, wanting it to cover everything from computer games to ‘motion picture films on fictional characters.’ The latter could be a problem for the guys at Pure Pwnage, who make their own comedy videos about life as gamers.
Among the other possible uses listed are ‘cases for mobile phones’ and ‘downloadable ring tones,’ which suggests that Futuremark either has big plans for ‘Pwnage’ as a brand, or it hasn’t decided quite what it’s going to do with the trademark yet.
Futuremark has so far declined to comment on the trademark application, and it has yet to be examined by an attorney. Is it a bit rich of Futuremark to try to trademark a term that’s been used by gamers for years, and how could Futuremark attempt to crack down on its use? Let us know your thoughts.
Via Trademork
Reddit | Technorati
"Is it a bit rich of Futuremark to try to trademark a term that’s been used by gamers for years?" Is it a bit rich of Apple to trademark a term that's been used by fruit sellers for years? Is it a bit rich of Amazon to trademark a term that's been used by rainforest dwellers for years? No, it isn't. It's perfectly normal to trademark generic words, and it doesn't give them the right to crack down on anyone using them. Until we hear about Futuremark doing *that*, there's no need to get outraged. It just gives them the right to crack down on anyone else selling Pwnage brand mobile phone covers after they've invested effort into building up that brand name.
Comment by gasman at 1:51pm 12th March 2008
ROFLZ h0w c4n 7h37 7R4d3 m472k PWNAGE, wtfxzorz is 7H4T?!?!111!!one!!?11!! Fu7u72eM4Rk can 7r4d3m472k m4 b411s
Comment by tehdewd at 11:25pm 8th March 2008
ROFLZ h0w c4n 7h37 7R4d3 m472k PWNAGE, wtfxzorz is 7H4T?!?!111!!one!!?11!! Fu7u72eM4Rk can 7r4d3m472k m4 b411s
Comment by tehdewd at 11:25pm 8th March 2008
Come on, people, we can't let them do this. I, for one, am going to go give Futuremark a piece of my mind. They're trying to commercialize an underground culture... WTF!!! Also, I can't escape the feeling that they're doing this so they can grab royalties from Pure Pwnage for future episodes... Speak up about it, people! If they actually go ahead with this, i'm going to start a boycott.
Comment by jamesblond09 at 5:12am 7th March 2008
Come on, people, we can't let them do this. I, for one, am going to go give Futuremark a piece of my mind. They're trying to commercialize an underground culture... WTF!!! Also, I can't escape the feeling that they're doing this so they can grab royalties from Pure Pwnage for future episodes... Speak up about it, people! If they actually go ahead with this, i'm going to start a boycott.
Comment by jamesblond09 at 5:12am 7th March 2008
Come on, people, we can't let them do this. I, for one, am going to go give Futuremark a piece of my mind. They're trying to commercialize an underground culture... WTF!!! Also, I can't escape the feeling that they're doing this so they can grab royalties from Pure Pwnage for future episodes... Speak up about it, people! If they actually go ahead with this, i'm going to start a boycott.
Comment by jamesblond09 at 5:12am 7th March 2008
This is outrageous if it succeeds they can be sure of large gamer protests and action
Comment by drwho200 at 8:35pm 4th March 2008
Its all wrong! You can't trademark a mistake! Just like "teh" and "pron", "pwnage" has grown from chat rooms when typos were made and then they were repeated back at them as abuse. The word has been around for as long as i've been using pc's . .
Comment by Bradshort at 2:59pm 4th March 2008
CPC PWNS teh Fu7|2 M4|2 K n00bs...l33t5p|< foreva!
Comment by DudQuitter at 1:27pm 4th March 2008
They are relying on the ignorance of those in the legal system. Sure, gamers know that it's a commonplace everyday word, but those stuffy old wig-wearers don't.
Comment by RickA at 12:50pm 4th March 2008
well i think this word is TM'd too but F.. it yippeekiyea muvaforka.... i say that cuz i dont think people are going to love £DM06 and you may of noticed i didn't put 3 there well thats because they're charging rediculous prices for 3dm and i bet this next edition will cost nearly £100 due to a game being based around it
Comment by smiler_16 at 7:40am 4th March 2008
So... anyone like to recommend some other benchmark software? CPC for the new standard?
Comment by mr_nips at 1:09am 4th March 2008
Soon, we wont be able to communicate to each other using words because they'll all be taken by business ... On the other hand lets hope they dont try and be clever and ban all who don't fill their coffers with gold, and use it for something worthwhile.
Comment by CSQuake at 10:05pm 3rd March 2008
You shouldn't be allowed to trademark a word or phrase you didn't come up with, and if it's a phrase it should apply to a specific product... that would put an end to this silliness.
Comment by NewParadigm at 6:21pm 3rd March 2008
To an approximation, pwnage is a word like any other now. Wonder what happens is microsoft tries to trademark some random word and make people pay to use it? That would have the same level of credibility to be honest...
Comment by NotFred at 5:36pm 3rd March 2008
this is just another attempt at getting people giving up everything they own over a word... and i agree.... sighhh.... maybe one day all of this fighting will end... i mean that i do love a competition between hardware manufacturers but software devs and film industries game industries ect all trademarking words just makes pure trouble for everyone out there including the ''fans'' maybe all of this trademarking will come to an end by 2012... if were lucky hey
Comment by smiler_16 at 4:52pm 3rd March 2008
Insert 30.48 centimeters into orifice... or How one word can destroy a reputation.... Silly sods!
Comment by nexusdog at 4:55pm 3rd March 2008
Google Results 1 - 10 of about 1,990,000 for pwnage. (0.10 seconds)
Comment by Heliocentric at 4:52pm 3rd March 2008
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