Hi,

>
> If you created a creature called Nike then I would expect to be sued by
Nike as they will have trademarked their name in all categories.
>
> Trademark split the world into seperate categories and generally you only
register you trademark in on or a few categories that are >applicable to
your business, however large organisations liek Nike will claim that they
need to protect their name in all categories >because their brand is so big
(this BTW costs a lot of money, especially if you then do it in every
country around the world, 1 >trademark in 1 category around the world costs
about $200,000 - I have first hand experience of this).

So what you're saying is if I create a creature called "Nazi," and PI it, no
one else can use the term? I don't think that you can make that argument
hold water. Same thing for Nike. She's a Greek goddess. You can use the name
again and again and again if you like. No one owns the name, so long as you
aren't slapping it on the side of your shoes or using the "Swoosh" symbol in
conjunction with it. If Nike (the company) was able to protect the name in
such a way, they would be able to sue WotC right now for creating stats for
Nike (the goddess) in DDG.

Not to belabor the point, but if someone PIs the name "Vortigern," I find it
preposterous that I can't use it. Vortigern was a historical figure in Dark
Ages Britain. I think PI has more to do with making sure that the
"character" concept of a particular Vortigern is not knowingly reproduced.
If my Vortigern has the same lisp and crossed eyes as another Vortigern that
has been PIed previously, there is probably a case that I lifted the
character wholesale.

T


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