I think I'm gonna chip in and buy this game, not just because I like retro story-driven first person shooters but also because I want to flip the bird at Iron Maiden over their frivolous lawsuit....
I think I'm gonna chip in and buy this game, not just because I like retro story-driven first person shooters but also because I want to flip the bird at Iron Maiden over their frivolous lawsuit.
People call Metallica a bunch of sellouts for suing Napster but what Iron Maiden are doing is worse. They're waving their corporate dick around like they think they solely own the rights to use the term "iron maiden" when their own band was named after a fictional torture device invented two centuries prior.
The further claims they're making show how much they're grasping at straws to claim that 3DRealms infringed upon their IP. The Ion Maiden and Iron Maiden logos look nothing alike. The skull-bomb in the intro looks nothing like Eddie. Then there's the band claiming that the game's female protagonist is based on the likeness of their former bassist, Steve Harris.
Are they, personally, being dicks, or are thier lawyers being dicks? The unfortunate thing about copyright trademark is that if you encounter an instance of copyright trademark infringement and...
Are they, personally, being dicks, or are thier lawyers being dicks?
The unfortunate thing about copyright trademark is that if you encounter an instance of copyright trademark infringement and sue, and the other party can demonstrate to the judge that there where previous instances of possible infringement that you did not defend against, the judge can rule that holding the copyright trademark is no longer essential to you and deny your suit.
Which is why you get seemingly asinine things like this. Was this game actually a threat again the bands brand? No probably not, but the team of highly paid lawyers is defending it to maintain precedent.
You're thinking of trademark law. Filed trademarks have to be consistently defended; copyright is much more creator-friendly (cf. Happy Birthday song which was, up until recently, copyrighted).
You're thinking of trademark law. Filed trademarks have to be consistently defended; copyright is much more creator-friendly (cf. Happy Birthday song which was, up until recently, copyrighted).
Iron Maiden's accusations against the game were about trademark infringement, not copyright. And I actually kind of side with the band here. When I saw the first promotional materials for the...
Iron Maiden's accusations against the game were about trademark infringement, not copyright.
And I actually kind of side with the band here. When I saw the first promotional materials for the game, the aesthetics and name had me thinking it was an Iron Maiden game. It wasn't until I realized that the title was missing an R that I realized that it probably wasn't affiliated.
The game was definitely trying to walk a fine line.
I didn't. The font of the logo was entirely different, the colour scheme didn't match that of Iron Maiden's branding, the skull was clearly shaped like a bomb and bears no resemblance to Eddie...
When I saw the first promotional materials for the game, the aesthetics and name had me thinking it was an Iron Maiden game.
I didn't.
The font of the logo was entirely different, the colour scheme didn't match that of Iron Maiden's branding, the skull was clearly shaped like a bomb and bears no resemblance to Eddie whatsoever, and it's at worst a pun on the term 'iron maiden.' Iron Maiden's lawyers even had the cheek to compare Ion Maiden to the shitty Iron Maiden mobile RPG that was pushed out three years back, when both games have entirely different aesthetic styles and don't even share the same genre.
Then the argument that Shelley Harrison is infringing upon Steve Harris's name and likeness is asinine as fuck and really does show how much they're grasping at straws to try and build a case. It's a follow up to a game 3DRealms published 3 years ago about the same protagonist!
If anything this lawsuit could have set a dangerous precedent if 3DRealms had actually gone to court and lost. It would mean that any parodies, puns or references to pop culture could become grounds for a lawsuit. Imagine if following Iron Maiden's victory, you saw the Coca Cola Company target Bethesda because Nuka Cola in their Fallout series is a 'clear violation' of their trademark. Or if a cavalcade of companies began targeting Blizzard because any in-game achievements or items the devs gave parodical names to were deemed trademark violations. Just from this page alone, a lot of companies could have a case against Blizzard if Iron Maiden were allowed to have their way.
I was half expecting this dumb lawsuit to sink 3DRealms again, but I'm glad it didn't. I still prefer the Ion Maiden name. It's a great time to be a fan of 90's FPS! I loved Dusk, liked Strafe,...
I was half expecting this dumb lawsuit to sink 3DRealms again, but I'm glad it didn't. I still prefer the Ion Maiden name.
It's a great time to be a fan of 90's FPS! I loved Dusk, liked Strafe, and I still need to finish Sigil before this and Wrath: Aeon of Ruin come out.
Direct link to the release date trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjnhRz_GP3c And more info about the lawsuit over the name, if you're interested in that:...
I think I'm gonna chip in and buy this game, not just because I like retro story-driven first person shooters but also because I want to flip the bird at Iron Maiden over their frivolous lawsuit.
People call Metallica a bunch of sellouts for suing Napster but what Iron Maiden are doing is worse. They're waving their corporate dick around like they think they solely own the rights to use the term "iron maiden" when their own band was named after a fictional torture device invented two centuries prior.
The further claims they're making show how much they're grasping at straws to claim that 3DRealms infringed upon their IP. The Ion Maiden and Iron Maiden logos look nothing alike. The skull-bomb in the intro looks nothing like Eddie. Then there's the band claiming that the game's female protagonist is based on the likeness of their former bassist, Steve Harris.
Are they, personally, being dicks, or are thier lawyers being dicks?
The unfortunate thing about
copyrighttrademark is that if you encounter an instance ofcopyrighttrademark infringement and sue, and the other party can demonstrate to the judge that there where previous instances of possible infringement that you did not defend against, the judge can rule that holding thecopyrighttrademark is no longer essential to you and deny your suit.Which is why you get seemingly asinine things like this. Was this game actually a threat again the bands brand? No probably not, but the team of highly paid lawyers is defending it to maintain precedent.
Edit: changed copyright © to trademark ™, thanks @adys
You're thinking of trademark law. Filed trademarks have to be consistently defended; copyright is much more creator-friendly (cf. Happy Birthday song which was, up until recently, copyrighted).
Iron Maiden's accusations against the game were about trademark infringement, not copyright.
And I actually kind of side with the band here. When I saw the first promotional materials for the game, the aesthetics and name had me thinking it was an Iron Maiden game. It wasn't until I realized that the title was missing an R that I realized that it probably wasn't affiliated.
The game was definitely trying to walk a fine line.
I didn't.
The font of the logo was entirely different, the colour scheme didn't match that of Iron Maiden's branding, the skull was clearly shaped like a bomb and bears no resemblance to Eddie whatsoever, and it's at worst a pun on the term 'iron maiden.' Iron Maiden's lawyers even had the cheek to compare Ion Maiden to the shitty Iron Maiden mobile RPG that was pushed out three years back, when both games have entirely different aesthetic styles and don't even share the same genre.
Then the argument that Shelley Harrison is infringing upon Steve Harris's name and likeness is asinine as fuck and really does show how much they're grasping at straws to try and build a case. It's a follow up to a game 3DRealms published 3 years ago about the same protagonist!
If anything this lawsuit could have set a dangerous precedent if 3DRealms had actually gone to court and lost. It would mean that any parodies, puns or references to pop culture could become grounds for a lawsuit. Imagine if following Iron Maiden's victory, you saw the Coca Cola Company target Bethesda because Nuka Cola in their Fallout series is a 'clear violation' of their trademark. Or if a cavalcade of companies began targeting Blizzard because any in-game achievements or items the devs gave parodical names to were deemed trademark violations. Just from this page alone, a lot of companies could have a case against Blizzard if Iron Maiden were allowed to have their way.
You're right I got those mixed up, thanks for the correction ™.
Not to nitpick, but isn't Harris like, the only member who's consistently been on every record they've put out?
Haha, yep. Founding member of the band. Without 'Arry, there is no Maiden.
I was half expecting this dumb lawsuit to sink 3DRealms again, but I'm glad it didn't. I still prefer the Ion Maiden name.
It's a great time to be a fan of 90's FPS! I loved Dusk, liked Strafe, and I still need to finish Sigil before this and Wrath: Aeon of Ruin come out.
Don't miss Amid Evil too!
Direct link to the release date trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjnhRz_GP3c
And more info about the lawsuit over the name, if you're interested in that: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-05-30-3d-realms-faces-usd2m-lawsuit-from-iron-maiden