Nintendo applies for a trademark for the Triforce

Beerus · May 13, 2018

inb4 square enix trademarks square

Kipz · May 13, 2018

Beerus said:
inb4 square enix trademarks square

That would be COMPLETELY different.

voracious · May 13, 2018

Kind of surprised about this too, I thought they would have trademarked every important name or title representing the Zelda franchise.

MasterJ360 · May 13, 2018

Kipz said:
I think people are misunderstanding - they're not trademarking the "triforce" meaning 3 triangles in a bigger triangle, they're trademarking "triforce" as in the word triforce.

That still can be a problem triforce is usually labeled with the emblem in various games. Yeah sure they maybe going after the name, but you have to understand the symbol itself is recognized by the "Name" through other gaming franchises that use it. Which is the main reason why it exists in other games b/c Nintendo didn't do anything about it. Kinda have to look at the bigger picture than just saying it's only the name.

KazoWAR · May 13, 2018

its probably just the name, not the symbol itself since the 3 triangles is something that existed way before Nintendo used it in a nes game.

AbyssalMonkey · May 13, 2018

MasterJ360 said:
That still can be a problem triforce is usually labeled with the emblem is various games

This is where Nintendo will have to fight genericization and prove that when people see the word "Triforce" they think of Zelda and not the symbol. This is why Velcro and Kleenex are common names and can't be trademarked.

Honestly, this will be the hardest part, and will be my guess where the attempt will fail. The popularized it so much through being a massive franchise that others copied it. Nintendo never fought this, and lost the trademark before they even applied for it. They waited too fucking long.

This will be amusing to see pan out in the very least.

Kipz · May 13, 2018

AbyssalMonkey said:
This is where Nintendo will have to fight genericization and prove that when people see the word "Triforce" they think of Zelda and not the symbol. This is why Velcro and Kleenex are common names and can't be trademarked.

Honestly, this will be the hardest part, and will be my guess where the attempt will fail. The popularized it so much through being a massive franchise that others copied it. Nintendo never fought this, and lost the trademark before they even applied for it. They waited too fucking long.

This will be amusing to see pan out in the very least.

They're not worried about the symbol. This has nothing to do with the symbol - the symbol existed LONG before they did.

AbyssalMonkey · May 13, 2018

Kipz said:
They're not worried about the symbol. This has nothing to do with the symbol - the symbol existed LONG before they did.

Yes, but they may have inadvertently linked the name with the symbol through their franchise. Now, when the average gamer looks at that symbol, they call it a triforce. This is classic generalization. They have linked the item it was named after with the name.

When you look at a band-aid, you call it a band-aid. Guess what, Band-Aid is another generalized trademark. Even if they didn't create the item, they popularized the renaming of it so much that they probably can't trademark it at this late of a stage because they can't feasibly defend it.

Trademarks are by necessity linked to the items they are trading under. It is a trademark because you are trading with that mark as a symbol of integrity. You know something is a Nintendo game because it has Nintendo's logo. You know that a JIF peanut butter is JIF because it carries that trademarked name; no other company can sell peanutbutter under the JIF name because it is trademarked. JIF didn't invent peanutbutter, but named it instead.

Nintendo is under this very exact circumstance. The three triangles logo has been so deeply ingrained in gaming culture as being called the "Triforce" that even when the symbol appears elsewhere, people call it the triforce.

Nintendo didn't need to make it. They just needed to name it. And they made the name so popular that the name is now linked to the symbol rather than the franchise. As stated in the wikipedia artice: Nintendo almost lost the trademark of "Nintendo" because it became so damn popular that people would call any gaming system a "nintendo". To combat this, Nintendo created the term "console" to refer to gaming systems and managed to supplant this cultural identity and save it's trademark.

TL;DR
Bandaids are bandaids because they are bandaids. Jif is peanutbutter because it's peanutbutter. The Triforce is a triforce because it's a triforce.

The very fact that I can say this sentence and you know exactly what every word means and their parts of speech is proof enough for genericization to have taken place.

Bladexdsl · May 13, 2018

took them long enough. but it's too late now too many companies are using it

Paralel · May 13, 2018

AbyssalMonkey said:
And they realized how fucking stupid it was. (lol that fucking title and piss-poor journalism)
I don't know about other markets, but in US Nintendo would never be able to bully anyone other than the most weak minded opponents. Considering Nintendo barely notices anyone until they get big, this means this will only affect the video game industry. Any other opposition will just laugh, say "try me" and demand court remunerations from Nintendo for the court battle.

You do realize the link you posted has the applicant, as in the couple with the poop removal business, abandoning the attempted trademark, not the other way around, right? So, in the end, Activision's bullying was successful.

WhiteMaze · May 13, 2018

I'll be here, when Nintendo takes the next step and tries to register and then patent this as well.

Classic Nintendo.

mr allen · May 13, 2018

AbyssalMonkey said:
Yes, but they may have inadvertently linked the name with the symbol through their franchise. Now, when the average gamer looks at that symbol, they call it a triforce. This is classic generalization. They have linked the item it was named after with the name.

When you look at a band-aid, you call it a band-aid. Guess what, Band-Aid is another generalized trademark. Even if they didn't create the item, they popularized the renaming of it so much that they probably can't trademark it at this late of a stage because they can't feasibly defend it.

Trademarks are by necessity linked to the items they are trading under. It is a trademark because you are trading with that mark as a symbol of integrity. You know something is a Nintendo game because it has Nintendo's logo. You know that a JIF peanut butter is JIF because it carries that trademarked name; no other company can sell peanutbutter under the JIF name because it is trademarked. JIF didn't invent peanutbutter, but named it instead.

Nintendo is under this very exact circumstance. The three triangles logo has been so deeply ingrained in gaming culture as being called the "Triforce" that even when the symbol appears elsewhere, people call it the triforce.

Nintendo didn't need to make it. They just needed to name it. And they made the name so popular that the name is now linked to the symbol rather than the franchise. As stated in the wikipedia artice: Nintendo almost lost the trademark of "Nintendo" because it became so damn popular that people would call any gaming system a "nintendo". To combat this, Nintendo created the term "console" to refer to gaming systems and managed to supplant this cultural identity and save it's trademark.

TL;DR
Bandaids are bandaids because they are bandaids. Jif is peanutbutter because it's peanutbutter. The Triforce is a triforce because it's a triforce.

The very fact that I can say this sentence and you know exactly what every word means and their parts of speech is proof enough for genericization to have taken place.

But the triforce isn't generalized in this case, when people talk about the triforce they mainly refer to the one in Zelda, or they're talking about how something looks like a triforce. When someone says "oh, hey look, the triforce" i can guarantee they're referencing Zelda. It's also worth noting that they're trademarking the word within video games, which is really important to generalization. 99% of the time it is brought up it has to do with Zelda which is way to specific to be called generalization. Nintendo is trying to get get rid of that other 1%, which they should, as that 1% can cause a lot of confusion.

AbyssalMonkey · May 13, 2018

mr allen said:
But the triforce isn't generalized in this case, when people talk about the triforce they mainly refer to the one in Zelda, or they're talking about how something looks like a triforce. When someone says "oh, hey look, the triforce" i can guarantee they're referencing Zelda. It's also worth noting that they're trademarking the word within video games, which is really important to generalization. 99% of the time it is brought up it has to do with Zelda which is way to specific to be called generalization. Nintendo is trying to get get rid of that other 1%, which they should, as that 1% can cause a lot of confusion.

I realize this. You realize this. The courts may not. It probably wouldn't surprise me to see the courts rule that the general term for the symbol after having becoming so mainstream is now "Triforce" and therefore generalized. We may all be referencing the iconic symbol in Zelda, but at the same time, the fact that something else looks like it and we are calling it that is going to hamper the trademark case. If Nintendo can't sufficiently prove that the symbol is divorced from the naming, they will lose. If this happens, Nintendo will still own the trademark, they just can't defend it if someone else wants to use the name to describe the three triangles.

WhiteMaze · May 13, 2018

AbyssalMonkey said:
I realize this. You realize this. The courts may not. It probably wouldn't surprise me to see the courts rule that the general term for the symbol after having becoming so mainstream is now "Triforce" and therefore generalized. We may all be referencing the iconic symbol in Zelda, but at the same time, the fact that something else looks like it and we are calling it that is going to hamper the trademark case. If Nintendo can't sufficiently prove that the symbol is divorced from the naming, they will lose. If this happens, Nintendo will still own the trademark, they just can't defend it if someone else wants to use the name to describe the three triangles.

Very much agreed. If you have something UNIQUE, I agree that it should be trademarked or registered or even patent.

This is 3 arranged triangles. I've seen the exact same arrangement and design when I was learned 6th grade math and trying to solve for X.

As much as I love Nintendo, I'm against this one.

QCLasky · May 13, 2018

KazoWAR said:
its probably just the name, not the symbol itself since the 3 triangles is something that existed way before Nintendo used it in a nes game.

"The company registered a trademark for usage of the word Triforce in all gaming media"

It is the word, guys.. Not the triforce logo..

WhiteMaze · May 13, 2018

kbmarinha said:
"The company registered a trademark for usage of the word Triforce in all gaming media"

It is the word, guys.. Not the triforce logo..

Ah. In that case, everything's fine.

DJPlace · May 13, 2018

this is just dumb IMO....

Ryccardo · May 13, 2018

"Triforce" is already trademarked in the video game field... for that arcade platform based on the Gamecube, of which Nintendo was one of the "3" developers

QCLasky · May 13, 2018

Ryccardo said:
"Triforce" is already trademarked in the video game field... for that arcade platform based on the Gamecube, of which Nintendo was one of the "3" developers

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's the reason:

"...Nintendo of America has had a trademark on the name since 2011, but Nintendo of Japan has not."

Jimbo_Slim · May 13, 2018

*waits until Square Enix trademarks squares*

Gbatemp's God Of Destruction

Banned!

Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Banned!

Well-Known Member

fanboys triggered 9k+

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Pro cat lover

Well-Known Member

going hire Ronald McDonald To Gun Down Nintendo.

Penguin accelerator

Pro cat lover

Pun Master/Loser

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum