Legends Law Group

Utah and New York Patent Attorneys and Trademark Attorneys

Iron Maiden Sues “Ion Maiden” Video Game for Trademark Infringement

by Madison Vaughn

On May 28, 2019, Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd. filed a trademark infringement suit in the United States District Court, Central District of California, against 3D Realms Entertainment alleging $2 million in damages because of a new video game developed under the name “Ion Maiden.” The IRON MAIDEN mark is registered to Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd. for a variety of goods and services ranging from live musical performance to t-shirts to video games.  Trademark Attorney Nicholas Wells of Legends Law Group noted that the name of the iconic rock band Iron Maiden is likely to be viewed by a court as a famous mark under the Lanham Act.

As shown below, the distinctive font used by the band Iron Maiden was arguably mimicked by the Ion Maiden video game.

Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd complains that the video game, “Ion Maiden,” would cause a significant portion of the public to associate the game with the rock band’s previous video game, “Legacy of the Beast.” Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd alleges that “Ion Maiden” attempts to “take advantage of Iron Maiden’s worldwide recognition” in order to sell more products. Some have suggested that the video game maker 3D Realms will assert as a defense that the plaintiff’s IRON MAIDEN trademark is generic because it refers to the historical torture device called an iron maiden, and that other sellers would need to utilize this term to sell similar products.  This strikes us as a losing argument; however one feels about the music of Iron Maiden, there is little connection between the goods and services for which the IRON MAIDEN mark is currently used and the actual torture device of that name. [Read more…]

Three Things You Cannot Fix After Filing Your Trademark Application

With the videos and descriptions available at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at www.uspto.gov, it can seem that applying to register a trademark on the federal register is so straightforward that anyone can do it without much thought.  You might even wonder why a trademark lawyer is needed.  Maybe you have even considered using a service like LegalZoom that fills out the forms for a small fee.

But in truth, the seeming ease of the process is deceiving, because it is easy to make mistakes when filing a trademark application, some of which could significantly lessen your legal rights and even get your trademark cancelled.

Some things can be fixed—trademark attorneys regularly amend applications to comply with the requirements of a trademark examiner during the process of getting a registration.  But a few things cannot be changed.  If they are wrong, you’ll have to start the process over and pay another fee to the government. Watch particularly for problems with these items: [Read more…]