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[ASnogarD]

Hi

I am nearly at the exciting part of developing my game, the finishing off and eventual release... I have even thought of a intresting 'studio' name to release my game under, however I am a bit concerned.

I am worried that someone may simply take my studio name and actually register it for themselves before I can.
I find myself wondering if I should use that name for my first release, and rather just use my own name but that would kind of defeat the purpose of developing a small game initially as practise launching a game.

I cant afford to register as a business, or copyright material as I am out of work and lacking funds. I have lots of time so I took the oppertunity to realise an old desire to make my own games, but I cant afford to throw cash into it so I am using free resources available on the internet... and doing what work I can myself.

Should I use the name, or wait till I can afford to register it ?

Thanks for reading, any advise is welcome.

(EDIT: I modified the topic as it was misleading , and not informative ... was originally All in a name.. )

[Christian Knudsen]

I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but I believe that the longer you've used a name, the more right you have to that name. Registering a name or trademark is just an extra protection. So I'd say go for it! Use the name!

[benbradley]

I'm no expert either but I'd imagine it'll be much harder to protect the name if you are not using it as part of a business. And if you really want to protect that name you need a trademark.

[superflat]

Make a copy of your game, titled clearly, and send it to yourself by registered post, but don't open it.  This proves the date from which you've been using the name... AFAIK - I'm no expert on legal matters though.  But with the digital realm, proving the date of something's creation can be trickier I think.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Make a copy of your game, titled clearly, and send it to yourself by registered post, but don't open it.  This proves the date from which you've been using the name... AFAIK - I'm no expert on legal matters though.  But with the digital realm, proving the date of something's creation can be trickier I think.

that's an urban myth actually, doing that provides no protection and would be laughed at in court

anyway, the answer is yes, just use the name, no need to register. you're being a fraidy-cat if you think someone is just going to use your name and register it. nobody does that. if there's something you have to worry about it's people cloning your game and marketing it better than you market yours, but you don't have to worry about them taking your name, no, it's just not something that happens.

[superflat]

Ah really?

My dad swore by it (he was a scriptwriter who posted every script he ever made to himself...)  Made me do the same for my records... What a waste of time in that case!

Although perhaps it's different for creative works, rather than a simple name?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

more details here:

http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp

the copyright office explicitly denies that this works, and there are no records of court cases where the poor man's copyright (as it's called) has held up in court

[ASnogarD]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll use the name when I release my game.
Not too worried about the game being cloned as it is a derived game of a tutorial game, basically a advanced version.

[moi]

Anteriority of use should be sufficient as a legel protection. But first thing to do is to chck if the domain name is available and snatch it up, because domain-squatters are hard to evict.

[Evan Balster]

Anteriority of use should be sufficient as a legel protection. But first thing to do is to chck if the domain name is available and snatch it up, because domain-squatters are hard to evict.

This.

It's $10.  And if the desired domain name is taken, you might as well think of a different one.

[Christian Knudsen]

And don't just check the domain name by typing in the URL in a browser and hoping for a "Server not found". The domain name can still be registered. Use whois.org instead.

[obscure]

The names of companies and products are covered by Trademark law. A trademark is a mark used in trade - in other words it only becomes a trademark if you actually use it to trade. If you do it automatically starts to benefit from trademark protection. You don't need to register the trademark but it is easier to defend if you do so. 

[floatstarpx]

Just tell me what the name is, and I promise not to steal it.

[Skofo]

Nobody will steal your name, dude.

[Rob Lach]

Ah really?

My dad swore by it (he was a scriptwriter who posted every script he ever made to himself...)  Made me do the same for my records... What a waste of time in that case!

Although perhaps it's different for creative works, rather than a simple name?

Eh? why didn't he just send them in into the writer's guild archives. Then you get both trademark and plot outline protection.

[Vino]

What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

What I mean to say is, I would worry about more important things for the time being. You won't have to worry about someone taking your name until you're actually making enough money to be a target. Work on your game design and your business plan first and then worry about not having your cool company name stolen.

Also, if you're asking this question it means that you should be contacting a lawyer.

[krasimir]

Get the domain, period. Go through GoDaddy or another service that won't charge you more that $10. The date is clearly visible and frankly, no one will bother stealing a name, if the domain is also taken.

For some perspective, go to any serious web directory and check "game studios". There's literally hundreds, if not thousands of them. I doubt your NAME is that unique, attractive, etc.

Last, a studio with no game is no game studio. So buy the domain, and focus on the game.

[guille]

Don't be too worried about a name either. One thinks you need the perfect company /game name and that it is very important as it will give you an edge on players' perceptions, etc. But that's just BS, I've seen many companies with crappy names making awesome games and vice-versa.

The games you make are the ones that are gonna give your studio name a value not the other way around. So let it flow, don't be over-protective, if that name is mean to be yours it will be, else you will come up with something else...