Before naming my space shooter, I did plenty of searching for something no-one else was using, and came up with novaWARS - one word with specific capitalisation. That’s been the name of my game publicly since the first mention on my old website on 20th March, and is the name I’ve reserved on the App Store, Steam, and am using on Google Play for my current closed Beta, soon to be public, along with various game databases like MadeWithUnity and IndieDB.
I got an email today from Apple saying a company (Nexon) says I’m infringing their trademark and that my app under that name is blocking their intention to use the name. They have no game with that IP listed anywhere.
So seeing as I’m the only one using the name, what’s my position regards the use of the trademark and someone else’s ability to take it from me?
Can’t help you legally, but the IP you are looking for is MapleStory, they have a major expansion called Nova which they announced a couple weeks ago which is going to be released this summer.
I’m not an IP lawyer, but as far as I know a trademark that covers part of your word means you infringe. So novaWARS looks like it infringes Nova, especially as you differentiate the nova with capitalisation.
Always search the trademark databases as well as the game markets.
There’s nothing trademarked in the databases AFAICS. Lots of ‘Nova’ things including nova, not trademarked by game developers, and no ‘Novawars’.
‘Edge’ trademark finally rescinded:
Advice on difference between bullying and appropriate policing:
Suggestion that use of a word predating a trademark has senior use, and as long as consumers aren’t going to be confused it shouldn’t matter:
We’ll see what happens. Possibly not as cut and dry as they can own it and control it.