Microsoft Trademark May Foil Sony's "Arc"

[Andy Chalk]

Microsoft Trademark May Foil Sony's "Arc"

Microsoft [http://www.sony.com].

The name game surrounding Sony's motion controller for the PlayStation 3 has been dragging on for almost a year now and just as it was starting to look like it might finally be all over, a bump in the road comes along and throws everything into disarray. In this case, that bump is a series of PC accessories that bear the same name, like the Arc Keyboard [http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=112], trademarked by Sony's favorite friendly cross-town rival, Microsoft.

The name of the controller hasn't officially been announced and it has also been referred to as "CVG [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96690-Sony-Motion-Controller-Gets-a-Truly-Outrageous-Name], to avoid any potential trouble with Microsoft over the name.

A Sony representative gave the standard "no comment" response when contacted. The name game, it appears, is not quite over yet.


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[hansari]

Every time I see "arc" I think Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant...

Which is why it's a terrible name for any device that doesn't melt your face off...

 

[Korten12]

wonder if they meant to or if it was just a accident. though ARC I believe isnt a bad name, a better name can be made.

 

[Hobo Joe]

Microsoft with planning and forethought have once again thrown a spanner into the works of their arch gaming nemesis Sony.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Arc sounds liek something Sony would use, they are fairly creative with product names, Microsoft on the otherhand, are now. I mean.. xbox? Its a terrible name.

 

[Premonition]

If Microsoft called their mouse the Playstation Arc, then it's Microsoft that should be worried. Plus, these are two different technologies and therefore that shouldn't matter at all. It's not like a band called 24 is going to get sued by the guys behind the TV show 24 ...

 

[The DSM]

At least it will make them pick a less generic name.

This time sony,put some effort in....

 

[Frequen-Z]

Call it what you want, I'm still not going to buy it.

 

[Sparrow]

Apparently someone in Microsoft owns a time machine...

 

[w-Jinksy]

Arc sounds liek something Sony would use, they are fairly creative with product names, Microsoft on the otherhand, are now. I mean.. xbox? Its a terrible name.

Well, at least it doesn't rhyme with GayStation. The first way you should test a product is to find things that rhyme with it's name.

sexbox much?

anyway i was never going to get this arc anyway i mean a wand? piss off and get out of it.

though i gotta say that mouse kinda looks nifty.

 

[commasplice]

Well, at least it doesn't rhyme with GayStation. The first way you should test a product is to find things that rhyme with it's name.

Cool flamebait, homes.

At least it will make them pick a less generic name.

This time sony,put some effort in....

Hm, yeah. I was kind of thinking "Arc" sounded a little too common to pass for a viable trademark. I could be wrong, though. I'm not a lawyer.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Arc mouse...Yeah. That could cause issues.

But I was thinking that it could be called the "Fairy".

NOT A GAY JOKE. But Fairies use wands...and...well.

 

[Tales of Golden Sun]

Lark sounds much, much better.

 

[Casual Shinji]

So wait, Microsoft claims ownership over actual words now?

I guess the phrase "story arc" belongs to them aswell then.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Arc sounds liek something Sony would use, they are fairly creative with product names, Microsoft on the otherhand, are now. I mean.. xbox? Its a terrible name.

Well, at least it doesn't rhyme with GayStation. The first way you should test a product is to find things that rhyme with it's name.

I liked Playstation's name, at least you could tell it played some sort of game from its name. Xbox sounds like some sort of sex toy.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Every time I see "arc" I think Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant...

Which is why it's a terrible name for any device that doesn't melt your face off...

I always think of a certain space colony...

 

[Virgil]

So wait, Microsoft claims ownership over actual words now?

It's called a trademark. It's part of the law. You can own the rights to use a particular word for a particular purpose.

This is why someone can't start up a small computer sales/repair business called "Apple Computers" or make a Linux distribution called Windows (or Lindows, for that matter). The word "Apple" and "Windows", when used in those fields, is trademarked. The fields are generally not that broad - for example, Apple had legal problems with Apple Records (the Beatles) when they expanded from selling computers into selling music.

In this case, the field would probably be something like "computing peripherals". That may or may not include what Sony has come up with - but they probably would prefer not to risk it.

 

[LeonLethality]

At least it will make them pick a less generic name.

This time sony,put some effort in....

your avatar fit that post perfectly.

OT: I think if microsoft trademarked arc and not playstation arc sony should be fine