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- NinoM11
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100+ posts
Trademarks on scratch
Many have already faced this problem: some studios seeking to obtain a truly registered trademark (for Europeans), realized that this service with EUIPO is paid, and even very expensive.
That’s why I had an idea: And why not create a system in the same genre on scratch, totally free, thus allowing studios to create their own identity and preventing the copy of their name (to some extent).
What do you think ? Would it be technically possible ? Could the scratch team agree ?
That’s why I had an idea: And why not create a system in the same genre on scratch, totally free, thus allowing studios to create their own identity and preventing the copy of their name (to some extent).
What do you think ? Would it be technically possible ? Could the scratch team agree ?
- cheddargirl
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1000+ posts
Trademarks on scratch
This sound like something that would be possibly out of line with Scratch's values - we allow remixing and such a thing could put remixes into jeopardy based on name (remixes keep the original seed project name by default).
On a related note, actual legal trademark requires the trademark holder to be proactive - in other words, the holder has to consistently search and take action (if necessary), so it's not really a one-time shield that prevents it from being used elsewhere. If we equate this to Scratch, then a project or studio owner may just as well be using the report functions or “Contact Us”/“Help Center” to report this issues to the Scratch Team, so it's kind of silly to be dedicating resources to build a pseudo-trademark system on top of this.
At the end of the day, just simply report the copy as normal. If it's a genuine case of copying or title being misleading, it will be taken down as per norm; otherwise, just keep in mind that sometimes people might have the same idea for naming something, and it's not necessarily malicious every time that happens.
On a related note, actual legal trademark requires the trademark holder to be proactive - in other words, the holder has to consistently search and take action (if necessary), so it's not really a one-time shield that prevents it from being used elsewhere. If we equate this to Scratch, then a project or studio owner may just as well be using the report functions or “Contact Us”/“Help Center” to report this issues to the Scratch Team, so it's kind of silly to be dedicating resources to build a pseudo-trademark system on top of this.
At the end of the day, just simply report the copy as normal. If it's a genuine case of copying or title being misleading, it will be taken down as per norm; otherwise, just keep in mind that sometimes people might have the same idea for naming something, and it's not necessarily malicious every time that happens.
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