I have a game name I’d like to use so I can move forward officially with demos but want to ensure it’s legal. Where should I check? And if it’s not taken what’s the easiest way to trademark it?
I checked here and there’s no video game with the name but there is a hat making company that uses it. Do I have to get a lawyer involved or can I just put the demo out there with the name and change it later if need be? I do intend to be making money off donations and voluntary payments on Gumroad so I definitely don’t want to be infringing because there’s money involved.
You cannot copyright the name of a game, only trademark it. Trademarks cost a fair chunk of money and a solicitor will handle these for you, as well as do the necessary checks to tell you how likely it is that someone will oppose it.
Canada isn’t the world, however, and there are numerous different places to check. It’s best to have a solicitor do this for you.
Yes, you can release a game without the trademark, but you may run into difficulties later down the line if it turns out someone actually does have a conflicting trademark and wishes to enforce it.
I did a pretty thorough check and didn’t find anything, there was the pinball game from a long time ago that was the singular version without the s and that’s my only real concern. It’s a competitive multiplayer focused space game and the name works perfect so I hope I can use it.