Category: Trademarks

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News Trademarks Video Games

Zynga: On the hunt for domain names for its next big Facebook or mobile game

Zynga

As pointed out by Games.com blogger Joe Osborne, Zynga is looking for ideas on making its next game.  The survey, which can be found here, asks respondents “What games would you like to play?” 

“We want your input. We’ve got a lot of fun ideas, but we want to know which games you would be most excited to play. Please help us by rating the following game ideas on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 = I love the idea and 1 = I’m not interested at all. Thank you for your feedback!” 

Joe Osborne on Games.com wrote, “The game ideas span Hollywood acting and production to acting as a music mogul. But our favorite from the list is absolutely the idea for a pirates game in which players sail the high seas in search of treasure and–gasp!–romance aboard a massive ship.”

Zynga games and domains

If you know anything about Zynga, you know that the company buys domain names on the aftermarket. 

The social gaming giant paid only $400 on Sedo in April 2008 for YoVille.com.  But the company also spends thousands, paying $38,225 in June 2010 at Moniker for the domain name CityVille.com.  One of the company’s most recent aftermarket purchases for a developed title, was Rewardville.com for $4,500.

The company also looks for bargains, with its latest title Empires & Allies, apparently using a web address that was purchased for around $10 last summer.

On Thursday, the company registered several domains, likely as part of a brand protection strategy.  Although hidden by WHOIS privacy the domains were registered through MarkMonitor and include MafiaWarsBrazil.com and Drop7byZynga.com.

This week’s survey gives Zynga and domain enthusiasts a chance to speculate on the next game title.

“MYSTERY VILLE” “MYSTERY WORLD”

While MysteryVille.com and MysteryWorld.com are already taken, Zynga has plenty of options when it comes to thinking up new game titles.  The first question in the survey asked readers how they felt about solving mysteries with friends. 

“Every crime scene tells a story. Become the world’s most famous detective, travel to exotic locations, solve the toughest mysteries and capture the most notorious villains with the help of your friends.”

“HOLLYWOOD VILLE” “HOLLYWOOD WORLD”

You guessed it, Hollywoodville.com and Hollyworld.com are also taken. 

Zynga asked respondents for their thoughts on a game that lets you become a Hollywood VIP. 

“Be a star of the silver screen, produce the next blockbuster, run the industry’s top talent agency and more. Fame, fashion and fun await in the city of angels as you and your friends become Hollywood VIPs.”

While Zynga uses other phrases in its game titles, it’s not known for straying to far from its well recognized brands.  It’s latest take on hangman for the iOS is called Hanging with Friends, but the company also registered hangmanwithfriends.com back in early May.

There are other teasers in the survey, including one legendary tale of Robin Hood and Maid Marian as you protect the people from the King’s evil henchmen.

Do you own a domain that you think Zynga might want for its next blockbuster game?

Readers: Feel free to share your thoughts on Zynga’s next game based on what you read in the survey.

Categories
News Trademarks

United States Marine Corps files trademark for ‘Marines’

Marines

The U.S. Marine Corps, a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy, filed three trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office this past week.

The trademark applications all filed on June 9, 2011, follow trademark filings by the Department of the Navy for SEAL Team and Navy SEALs, two trademarks the Navy filed after Disney attempted (but later abandoned) to trademark SEAL Team 6.

Here’s a look at the three trademark filings by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Word Mark  MARINES
Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Providing a website featuring resources, namely, non-downloadable publications in the nature of magazines in the field of military topics, military history, and military life; Providing information, news and commentary in the field of current events relating to military topics, military history, and military life. FIRST USE: 19960301. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19960301
Standard Characters Claimed 
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85342127
Filing Date June 9, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) U.S. Marine Corps, a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy n/a agency of the united states government UNITED STATES Room 4B548 3000 Marine Corps Pentagon Washington D.C. 203503000
Attorney of Record Philip J. Greene
Prior Registrations 3844601
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Marines Khaki
Goods and Services IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Christmas stockings. FIRST USE: 20061231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20061231
Mark Drawing Code (2) DESIGN ONLY
Design Search Code 01.17.25 – Bodies of water (maps); Cities (maps); Counties (maps); Maps or outlines of other geographical areas
Serial Number 85342168
Filing Date June 9, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) U.S. Marine Corps, a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy n/a agency of the united states government UNITED STATES Room 4B548 3000 Marine Corps Pentagon Washington D.C. 203503000
Attorney of Record Philip J. Greene
Description of Mark The color(s) tan, khaki, light brown and dark brown is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of pixelated blotches of the colors tan, khaki, light brown and dark brown.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Marines Green
Goods and Services IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Christmas stockings. FIRST USE: 19961231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19961231
Mark Drawing Code (2) DESIGN ONLY
Design Search Code 01.17.25 – Bodies of water (maps); Cities (maps); Counties (maps); Maps or outlines of other geographical areas
Serial Number 85342153
Filing Date June 9, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) U.S. Marine Corps, a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy n/a agency of the united states government UNITED STATES Room 4B548 3000 Marine Corps Pentagon Washington D.C. 203503000
Attorney of Record Philip J. Greene
Description of Mark The color(s) green, black, tan, and brown is/are claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of pixelated blots of the colors green, black, tan and brown.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

(Photo of Marines practicing weapons handling maneuvers via Department of Defense)

Categories
News Trademarks

Cloud domain registrations peaked day after WWDC kickoff, tumble over 50%

Apple iCloud

As news of Apple’s unveiling of the iCloud at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6 reached the masses in the news and on the internet, the pace of domain registrations with the word “cloud” in the name picked up. 

The single day demand for ‘cloud’ domains finally peaked the day after the kickoff of WWDC on June 7, with 758 new domain registrations tallied. 

As I wrote about on June 1, the long awaited “official” confirmation that Apple had acquired iCloud.com sparked a mini internet land rush for cloud domain names, a prediction made by many in 2010.  448 cloud domains were registered on June 1 alone, with well over 100 of the names including the keyword “icloud”.  News of Apple’s iCloud has even prompted people to file new trademark applications for words lik gCloud, YouCloud, and CloudStream.

According to DomainTools‘ Trademark Alert service, the tool I used to track the numbers, June 8 recorded 720 new registrations, but by Saturday June 11, registrations had dropped to 316.

The cloud craze has seen thousands of new registrations in a couple weeks time, and there’s no shortage of questionable domains that make you ask yourself, “What was that person thinking?”, as noted by the Editor of DomainGang in a recent post.

Here’s a look at the 758 domains registered the day after WWDC, with a big chunk of registrations centered on “icloud”.

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News Trademarks

Marc Angell at it again, files trademarks for gCloud, CloudStream, YouCloud

United States Patent and Trademark Office

The trademark-happy Marc Angell is at it again, filing applications this past week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for goods and services nearly identical to other companies’ products.  

The series of trademark filings include gCloud and CloudStream on June 7, and YouCloud on June 6.  The timing comes in the same week of the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference where iCloud was officially announced.

Before you say to yourself, “What’s the big deal about the trademarks?”, you have to keep in mind that Marc Angell has a trackrecord of filing controversial trademarks like iPad which was suspended.  The goods and services noted in the applications are not only similar in name, but in services.

Here’s a look at Marc Angell’s latest applications:

Word Mark  YOUCLOUD
Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Providing a website for entertainment purposes where users can view and post photos, videos, electronic media, movies, text, audio content, and related information featuring a wide variety of subjects
Standard Characters Claimed  
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85338606
Filing Date June 6, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) MARC ANGELL INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES PO BOX 1482 VENTURA CALIFORNIA 93002
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Word Mark  CLOUDSTREAM
Goods and Services IC 038. US 100 101 104. G & S: Streaming of audio, video and multimedia material on the Internet. FIRST USE: 20110601. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20110607
Standard Characters Claimed  
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85339736
Filing Date June 7, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) MARC ANGELL INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES PO BOX 1482 VENTURA CALIFORNIA 93002
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Word Mark  GCLOUD
Goods and Services IC 038. US 100 101 104. G & S: Streaming of audio, video and multimedia material on the Internet. FIRST USE: 20110601. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20110606
Standard Characters Claimed  
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85339775
Filing Date June 7, 2011
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) MARC ANGELL INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES PO BOX 1482 VENTURA CALIFORNIA 93002
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

And if you’re wondering whether Marc owns the matching domain names, the short answer is “No”.

Categories
News Trademarks Video Games

Zynga gets smarter with trademarks and domain registrations, more secretive

Hanging with Friends

It finally looks like Zynga is getting a little bit smarter in terms of domain name registrations and trademark applications. 

Normally, a closely guarded secret by gaming companies, many of Zynga’s yet-to-be released and recently released titles are anything but secret.  But that’s now changing, as the social gaming giant has been on a buying spree of late and is planning for an IPO, it’s getting savvier with its domain name registrations and trademark filings. 

Trademark and yet-to-be released game titles

It’s European trademark filing for Rewardville pinpointed the company as the buyer of the matching domain, before the game was even launched to the public.  Other trademarks have backfired, like that of “ville” which broke here. 

For its latest launch of Empires & Allies, a combat strategy game, Zynga was patient.  The company didn’t file for trademarks in the United States until the same day it unveiled the game on June 1, 2011.  Its European trademark was filed June 2.

Before the Empires & Allies trademark filings though, the company filed other trademarks for unknown titles that news sites and blogs have yet to pick up — like the trademark applications for Mojitomo or Patentville. 

Adjusting the timing on trademark applications is one thing, but the company finally caught up on domain registrations too.

Zynga’s domain name hints

When I wrote in early May that Zynga registered the domain name hangmanwithfriends.com and I predicted a Hangman game on the iOS (which it launched a month later), the registrant information was hidden behind GoDaddy’s Private Registration service (Domains by Proxy).  However, the registrant information wasn’t so private after all — as tweeted by Domain Name news in a Twitter message, GoDaddy’s service needs some work. 

After using GoDaddy’s account retrieval system in combination with the domain, a Zynga e-mail address (Email Address:****@zynga.com) was publicly displayed.

It was the same story for farmvilleexpress.com. 

While GoDaddy might not address the issue with its Privacy service, Zynga has.  The company is sticking with GoDaddy to host many of its names, but its now using an email address with a “yahoo” extension.  If you check hangmanwithfriends.com or farmvilleexpress.com today, you’ll see this (Email Address:****@yahoo.com).

If you thought it was hard before to break a Zynga story, things just got a little harder as its more closely guarding its trademarks and domain registrations.