6 ms·
Epic Games sues AR company Nreal for sounding too much like ‘Unreal’
- cridenour 5y agoSounds like a simple case of if you don't defend it, you lose it. Epic doesn't have a choice here.
- CogitoCogito 5y agoOf course Epic has a choice.
- kahrl 5y agoThey can chose to lose their own trademark?
- grammarnazzzi 5y agoNo. They are choosing to steal someone else's trademark
- zinekeller 5y agoUS laws and case precedents says otherwise. If it's in another country, especially in EU, this is frivolous but US IP laws and case precedents are messy as hell. They could lose this case, but the legal bill is worth it as it allows them to allow future lawsuits which misuses trademark homonyms in a genuinely damaging manner to them (like for example a game engine that sounds like "Unreal") since the defendants can't use Nreal's trademark as something they have deliberately left undefended and argue that the "Unreal" has genericised enough that they should use a similar homonym. Similarly, Epic haven't defended their "Unreal" trademark in China against Nreal because trademark laws there are actually sensible: sure, if someone counterfeit their engine it is unlikely that there would be a case against it (which contrary to first impressions counterfeiters tends to be a small operation and can quickly shut down when there's signs a legal trouble) but if a Chinese company flagrantly displayed the Unreal trademarks against Epic's wishes, they can sue it (and it happened already and prevailed a couple of times there).
- laumars 5y agoYou don’t need to challenge every instance of vague similarities. The law actually states that but for some reason that clause gets overlooked by nearly every casual reader of HN in favour of the popular misconception that companies have to venture into the ridiculous or else they somehow instantly lose their trademark.
- zinekeller 5y ago> You don’t need to challenge every instance of vague similarities. I would agree if Nreal were a supermarket chain or an airline, but since Nreal is (arguably) in a gaming business Epic's lawyers might decided that it's too close to their own trademark.
- CogitoCogito 5y ago> I would agree if Nreal were a supermarket chain or an airline, but since Nreal is (arguably) in a gaming business Epic's lawyers might decided that it's too close to their own trademark. "arguable" "might decide" So...they have a choice? There is nuance to all legal cases. There is nothing in trademark law that says you have to sue anyone who arguably might be infringing on your trademarks. Everything is a balance. Everything is a choice. This case is no different. Unreal absolutely did not need to do this. I understand why lawyers who might want your billings might tell you otherwise. I don't understand why random uninterested parties on the internet would though.
- laumars 5y agoUsing “real” in a company name making virtual reality products is entirely understandable given “real” is exactly the type of jargon people use when describing how effective and immersive a particular product in VR is. Yes, Epic had a game called Unreal, but so many games exist using common terms. It would be ridiculous if every company went after every dictionary term like this. It’s hard enough naming things as it is and the problem is only going to get worse. All cases like these do is harm smaller projects and start ups who don’t have the resources to fight.
- 5y ago
- grammarnazzzi 5y agoThey're defending something they don't own. Nobody on the face of the Earth would confuse NReal with Unreal.
- saurik 5y agoThat sarcasm is some of the most subtle I have seen in a while; I applaud you, my good sir ;P.
- vineyardmike 5y agoIf you hear those said outloud you could totally confuse them
- tmccrary55 5y agoForreal
- pelagicAustral 5y agoAH! Epic.
- adrianvoica 5y agoIt's as if Epic invented the (unheard-of - pun intended) word "unreal"... it's like saying yoga people (yogi?) should bring Lucasfilm to court for the fact that Yoda sounds a lot like Yoga... this world is more f**ed by the day...
- nix23 5y agoIt's unreal how f*ck'd this world is. I Grill now my self-made and better BigMac (EU Citizen BTW)
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- nailer 5y agoEpic associated the word Unreal with 3D tech. UE supports VR and I imagine will probably support AR too. Seems fine to me.
- Doxin 5y agoExcept that unreal and nreal have significant overlap in their target audience.
- loa_in_ 5y agoSince EG doesn't exist in AR market they are going to lose. Or at least should.
- carstenhag 5y agoAs their Unreal Engine does allow you to create AR/VR experiences, you are imo wrong. It's not as clear as "nreal makes soda, Epic Games makes an engine and video games"