EFF Joins Reddit in "Gaymer" Trademark Battle

[Andy Chalk]

EFF Joins Reddit in "Gaymer" Trademark Battle

The Gaymers sub-reddit and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are seeking to have Chris Vizzini's "gaymer" trademark canceled.

The /r/gaymers sub-reddit Gaymer.org [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119543-Gaymer-Sub-Reddit-Faces-Legal-Threat] website and, as it turned out, holder of a trademark on the term "gaymer." Vizzini claimed that he wasn't trying to make money on the mark but said, "The Gaymer name is something I worked hard on, way before Reddit was even an idea." A cease-and-desist letter was sent but members of the sub-reddit, noting that the term had been in use long before Vizzini's 2007 copyright, have decided to fight it. And they're not messing around.

"Many people have pointed out that 'gaymer' was in common use well before it was registered with the Trademark Office; from Yahoo Groups, to USENET forum posts, to academic studies on our little community -- heck, my own Match.com profile is gaymer77. Claiming ownership of the word gaymer is like claiming to own 'soccer mom,' 'baby boomer,' or 'computer geek'," Gaymer sub-reddit mod "Ozuri" wrote in a message posted yesterday. "And so, on behalf of the reddit gaymer community, we have engaged the law firm of Perkins Coie to pursue this matter on our behalf and they are representing us pro bono. Yesterday afternoon we filed a petition with the Trademark Office to cancel the 'Gaymer' trademark registration."

The petition claims that the term "gaymer" is "a generic term for members of the LGBT community who have an interested in videogames and the online videogame community," and that "petitioner and numerous third parties have used the term gaymer as a descriptive or generic term since before Registrant used or sought registration for the term." Vizzini, on the other hand, has not "acquired distinctiveness" in his use of the term, it says.

"Continued registration of the term gaymer for Registrant's Services is a source of injury to both Petitioner and to numerous third parties who currently use, and are entitled to continue to use, the term gaymer, as it confers upon Registrant the presumptions that gaymer is distinctive for Registrant's Services and that Registrant enjoys the exclusive right to use the term gaymer in association with such services," the petition states.

The EFF has also joined the effort and will serve as co-counsel in the matter. "This registration should never have been granted," said EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry. "Gaymer is a common term that refers to members of this vibrant gaming community, and we are happy to help them fight back and make sure the term goes back to the public domain where it belongs."

The full petition to cancel the "Gaymer" trademark is available at eff.org [https://www.eff.org/cases/petition-cancel-gaymer-trademark].

Sources: Electronic Frontier Foundation [http://www.reddit.com/r/gaymers/comments/174ooy/update_rgaymers_is_fighting_back_the_trademark/]


Permalink

 

[Elate]

Honestly I hate the term and as a gay gamer myself, wish to god everyone would stop using it. But yeah, he didn't create the word, and it was already in use to describe a community, it would be like if someone tried to trade mark the term "emo" and went around sending cease and desists to every "emo" group in existence.

 

[ritchards]

Yeah, it's about as silly as trying to trademark the name Bob. No-one would ever do anything like that...

 

[Deathfish15]

I'd actually like to see the word "gay" generally stripped of it's modern-day meaning and be returned to it's olden day meaning of 'to be happy'. Homosexual was usable for a time, but not until is slung up the slurs of "homo" in a horrific way. I really cannot see any way to make a good term other than to not use one at all. I mean, really a person's sexual preference isn't the business of anyone else other than themselves and their partner. That's it. Same goes for their lifestyle. Social decay is to blame for the judgmental way that people treat each other, and it's quite shameful.

 

[-Dragmire-]

"The Gaymer name is something I worked hard on, way before Reddit was even an idea."

Come on guy, you(Vizzini) missed a golden opportunity for a penis joke there. Though I suppose if he had, there would have been a small shitstorm rising from the dust.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

Can I start a counter-petition? If I can keep something out of the hands of the Reddit crowd I'll gladly do so.

But seriously though, how would you say you're a "gaymer" in casual conversation? If people know you're gay already they think you're just saying "gamer" in your native dialect or something if you try and stress the "y". Heck, the word "Gamer" practically sounds like "Gaymer" in certain accents and dialects. Plus I always felt that games were something that could unite people, don't separate us again by pigeon-holing us into various artificial (sub)categories.

So yes, I agree with Tenmar.

 

[Madmanonfire]

We went through this crap before. It was called EDGE! The result? He lost. For a guy who promotes homosexuals playing games he certainly isn't knowledgeable about video game industry history.

^from the first news thread.

This is NOT the same as the EDGE trademark case at all. Not by a mile. You know what you call a person who has an interest in video games? You call them just like any other person who has a hobby, a hobbyist.

Soo... which is it?

OT: While Gaymer not a term I see commonly used, it's silly for someone to want to trademark that kind of term and prevent others from making a name with it. The EFF chose the right side.

 

[Jamous]

I'm actually reasonably convinced that the Gaymer are going to be a new elf race in the Elder Scrolls. I mean, you've got your Altmer, Dunmer, Orsimer, Bosmer, Dwemer, Falmer, and now Gaymer. MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

 

[Pebkio]

"The Gaymer name is something I worked hard on, way before Reddit was even an idea." -Chris Vizzini

Bwahaha... I can just imagine. A lot of late nights... tons and tons of crumple up loose leaf paper... thousands of whittled-down #2 pencils. Empty bottles of Advil and cough medicine... leading to a lack of sleep. After 14 years of tireless delvings into foreign languages and Latin roots... he finally settled on "Gaymer" in 2007 and was immediately disappointed that Reddit had been using the term since 2005. Obviously they stole it from him before he even filed for the copyright.

I understand your pain, Chris. When a community beats you to a clever pun, there's nothing left to do but to sue the lot of them. At least that'll make you feel better about working so very very hard on a retarded name like "Gaymer".

...what a putz...

 

[Pebkio]

...the occasional long night when Chris turns to his spouse and says "I don't know if I can keep doing this to myself". His home life falls apart as he bases his loved-ones' futures on this one term. Debtors calls are starting to get too numerous to ignore, and he's just about to lose the house when inspiration strikes!

An uplifting swell of music has he races to CafePress.

A few small scenes of hope as the business of selling "Gaymer" as a brand is established... but then disaster srikes as the evil Reddit, and his band of misfits, ruins everything. This, now, is obviously the final climactic battle to overcome before Chris Vizzini can live happily ever after.

 

[Max Botten]

Gaymer is also a cider brand that has been trading for over 300 years

 

[redknightalex]

I don't really care for the word "gaymer" one way or the other. At first, a few years ago when I first heard the term, I liked it. Gave a better sense of belonging when, at the time, I had none. Now, I'm not sure what the point of it is. There is the allure of being able to identify yourself with two potentially important ideas meshed together, where identity can give you a lot of peace of mind, while on the other hand you have a word that isn't the greatest one to use.

In regards to the trademark, I think it's stupid and has little merit. Might as well trademark the word "gay" for what it's worth.

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

I don't really care for the word "gaymer" one way or the other. At first, a few years ago when I first heard the term, I liked it. Gave a better sense of belonging when, at the time, I had none. Now, I'm not sure what the point of it is. There is the allure of being able to identify yourself with two potentially important ideas meshed together, where identity can give you a lot of peace of mind, while on the other hand you have a word that isn't the greatest one to use.

Even a small solace can be a critically important one. I'm bisexual, a gamer, and occasional visitor of /r/Gaymers. While I wouldn't identify myself as a "gaymer" it's a good name for the community and it acts as a nice haven of two larger communities - the "gay community", of which many gay guys don't consider themselves a member for varied reasons, and the gaming community, which can be utterly homophobic in language (frequently) and attitude (less often, but it does happen). Enforcing the trademark will lead to the dissolution of the existing subreddit and force the creation of a new one, disrupting and potentially splitting the community as well as breaking archived links and resources online. Life is fucking awful enough as a gay teenager or twentysomething if you're not in a good and supporting community, so why break up one just to mandate the existence of another with a different name? It's bloody obvious they're two different communities even at a glance, despite sharing the same name and subject matter.

 

[omega 616]

This annoys me, people trying to be special unique snowflakes.

"I'm a gaymer" fuck off, you're a gamer! Who you are attracted to has no effect on gaming. It's like me trying to come up with a shitty play on words cos I have a tattoo or like to wear black and I play games.

If you're trying to be viewed as equal don't try to make a separation from others. Like the whole girl gamer thing, so what if you're female and enjoy gaming? You shouldn't get special attention for that.

I'm not saying either group shouldn't be catered for but they shouldn't try to separate themselves like they're something special.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

"The Gaymer name is something I worked hard on, way before Reddit was even an idea." -Chris Vizzini

Bwahaha... I can just imagine. A lot of late nights... tons and tons of crumple up loose leaf paper... thousands of whittled-down #2 pencils. Empty bottles of Advil and cough medicine... leading to a lack of sleep. After 14 years of tireless delvings into foreign languages and Latin roots... he finally settled on "Gaymer" in 2007 and was immediately disappointed that Reddit had been using the term since 2005. Obviously they stole it from him before he even filed for the copyright.

And to think it only took Frank one night to do it:


This is incredibly silly, especially since most people seem to agree that the phrase "gaymer" is pretty awful as pun names go.