i own the domain www.galaxyempires.com and plan to develop a space multi player browser game out of it... there already is such a game called: starport: galacticempires lucas holds the rights to galacticempires (star wars theme i think?) i found on the net that some programmers were planning and developing a test project still in the alpha phase called galaxyempires (same as my domain) but this was in 2006 and they have not come out with it...its a space browser game just like i wanted but no game came out... so my questions are: 1) is galaxyempires infringing on galacticempires? its not the same word and its pretty generic?? 2) do the developers of galaxyempires hold common law rights to the trade mark even if their project was never up and running and never seems to have been finished? also never made a dime... is there such a thing as trade mark squatting thanks for any info its becoming increasingly difficult to do anything on the net without infringing on anything...one day games will be called f2uhf4g32h0fh42cih3f0h24gfu23dih1-h because all the names will be taken already
The other developers would have problems claiming trademark rights if they could not prove continued use. Infringement does not require that the infringement be exact. Similar, phonetic, or even foreign spellings can constitute infringement. Often it requires a court to make the determination on what is confusingly similar. If Lucas Arts "thinks" your game is infringing upon theirs, litigation would force you to spend tens of thousands of dollars (even six figures) to assert your position that it isn't. If you win, you are out attorney fees. If you are going to spend a lot of time or money on this project, you should really consult with an intellectual property rights attorney. If you develop a game, and Lucas Arts was to object, it's highly doubtful they would sue you before sending you a C&D to stop using the name.