Comments on: Gay gamers strike back at "Gaymers" trademark

By: Roger Little

Roger Little — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:47:00 +0000

These guys may have something to say about names.
http://www.gaymers.co.uk/age

By: That_Anonymous_Coward

That_Anonymous_Coward — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 05:49:00 +0000

All these other people were using it and having fun, and I want to be the only one allowed to.

Oh and Christ what an asshole.

By: bumblebeeeeeee

bumblebeeeeeee — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:05:00 +0000

that trademark wouldn’t actually cover the action against reddit.
the gaymer trademark is for the icon with text, not text word alone.

By: Robert Drop

Robert Drop — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Ugh. I’ve heard this one before:
“I don’t want someone else opening a site with the word X in it”
Easy solution to that issue – don’t use a word in common usage that’s already being used in identical contexts. But of course, you’re right – he’s co-opting the term for exclusive use in order to cannibalize the existing communities.
He’s also self-servingly confusing what was obviously a lack of public awareness of his trademark registration with a lack of opposition to it.

By: Tim H

Tim H — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:35:00 +0000

I had to run and see if this Kickstarter had anything to do with the guy: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gaymercon/gaymercon-everybody-games

I’d hate to have backed a project by a guy who makes such bad decisions.

By: Steve Olsen

Steve Olsen — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:54:00 +0000

I’m curious about the number of identifiable gay gamers world wide. The number of reddit users posting to gaymers vs the number of active members on gaymers.org.

It just seems REALLY FUCKING STUPID to alienate yourself in what may be, no clue, a pretty small niche compared to the number of gamers total.

By: SomeGuyNamedMark

SomeGuyNamedMark — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:34:00 +0000

The owners of the show Jackass should sue Chris Vizzini for trademark infringement.

By: Andrew Molloy

Andrew Molloy — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:33:00 +0000

The only legitimate reason I can see in trademarking it is simply to stop someone else trademarking and using that to bully others. If he were going after new site set ups as he claimed then his justification would hold water, whether or not it’s agreeable. But going after prior uses of it makes no sense whatsoever other than trademark trolling.

By: oasisob1

oasisob1 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:31:00 +0000

In the comments to that post…

Unlike the egomaniacs I’ve run into at other “nameless” places, Chris at least won’t be lord it around and threaten people with it.

By: wylkyn

wylkyn — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:25:00 +0000

He surely is a meanie.

By: Supernumerary

Supernumerary — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:12:00 +0000

You are describing the cyberpunk novel I wish someone would write.

By: Roose_Bolton

Roose_Bolton — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:52:00 +0000

LANbians, Gaymers, Bitsexuals, Transplatforms

By: Rob Beschizza

Rob Beschizza — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:52:00 +0000

http://www.gaymer.org/forum/topic/20358-trademark-went-through/

Here he explains his motives very straightforwardly: “I don’t want someone else opening a site with the word Gaymer in it” — and so registered a trademark on a word that was already in wide use by the community. Looks like a textbook attempt to co-opt a generic term as intellectual property, thereby capturing its social capital.

He seems not to understand why this is wrong, and mocks the “crusading opposition” to the trademark by those who were already using it.

It’ll be a tragedy if he finds himself excluded from the process at this point by the expense of defending the mark, but I can’t muster much sympathy given his attitude.

As always, the root problem is the USPTO’s mindless promiscuity and legislators’ disinterest in fixing it.

By: Rob Beschizza

Rob Beschizza — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:32:00 +0000

Trademarks can coexist, and Gaymer Cider Company has registered trademarks in the relevant areas of booze and boozey stuff. The problem here seems to be that Vizzini’s mark applies to a generic term within its applicable field (online gaming communities) and he’s inappropriately threatened others who use it.

By: almostwitty

almostwitty — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:26:00 +0000

Never mind the fact that the Gaymer Cider Company has been around since 1875. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaymer_Cider_Company

By: Rob Beschizza

Rob Beschizza — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:22:00 +0000

inb4 “that word you keep using…”

By: qandnotp

qandnotp — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:21:00 +0000

That someone would be such a jerk… it’s just inconceivable.