What Tetris Company can do?

[itero]

Dear indies,

Does anybody interacts with Tetris Company, LLC? I see that instead of "tetris" word many developers use "tetrix", "...brix" or "...blox" for game name. What this company can do if I will use "tetris" word in game name?

Their site still in "check back soon..." state.

[soniCron]

What this company can do if I will use "tetris" word in game name? Sue your pants off.

[Anthony Flack]

The Tetris Company can't do anything to you.

Providing, of course, you don't go and do something stupid like make a blatant Tetris rip-off. But why would anyone do that?

[Bad Sector]

Dear indies,

Does anybody interacts with Tetris Company, LLC? I see that instead of "tetris" word many developers use "tetrix", "...brix" or "...blox" for game name. What this company can do if I will use "tetris" word in game name?

Their site still in "check back soon..." state.

They have trademarked "Tetris" so you can't use that name (or anything similar - see "Windows" vs "Lindows"). Use "Lines" or something similar. Lines is a common game title synonym for Tetris.

[Robert Cummings]

Well, you can use Tetra. Tetris is derived from Tetra, which means 'four'.

Alternatively: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=meat+tetris&defid=1354044 :D

[itero]

Hey, Bad Sector, Lines and Tetris is a two absolutely different games. I mean Lines, where player must place 5 balls with same color in row or column. Do you mean something else? :confused:

If you right and similar names can’t be used too, then it’s very sad. But what about Fantasy Tetrix? If I not mistaken, Realapex change “tetris” on “tetrix” after letter from Tetris Co.

Tetris – is a classic genre. Whenever possible, name must be associated with it to attract more genre lovers. Robert has suggested good idea - Tetra. Thanks. ;)

[Hiro_Antagonist]

Tetris – is a classic genre.
No it is most certainly not. Tetris is a trademarked brand name. People who use variants of "Tetris" to try to fool customers, or at least make money from Tetris's success, are shamelessly riding off the coattails of someone else's work.

*Puzzle games* are a classic genre. Tetris is a trademarked name of a really good puzzle game. Tetris *is not* a genre.

'Kleenex' is a trademarked name. Facial tissue is the 'genre'.

'Coke' is a trademarked name. Cola is the 'genre'.

'Frisbee' is the trademarked name. Flying disc is the 'genre'.

Get it?

Every company that's ever called anything Tetrix or Tetra or any other blatent rip-off is trying to ride on someone else's success, pure and simple. The Tetris folk did the investment and marketing and innovation to turn Tetris into a popular game. By making a tetris rip-off and naming it virtually the same thing, you may be legal, but you certainly have no tact or class. You become a leech.

My words may seem harsh, but I just don't respect people who have to make money from *someone else's* work, without giving them compensation at all. At least when most of the people here copy other game mechanics (quite common in the casual space), they try to create a unique identity for their product. Building on and evolving mechanics is what the games industry as a whole is about. But stealing other game's identities is a different thing entirely.

Calling a tetris-like game 'Tetra' is like making a match-3 game and calling it 'Begemmed' or 'Jeweled'.

-Hiro_Antagonist

[Robert Cummings]

Tetra is an actual word, not a brand name, from which Tetris got it's name in the first place.

I think the main danger is making a puzzle game that *is* tetris. Since it is a concept that can only be made one way it can be protected, unlike an FPS which is a genre that can be interpreted in many different ways.

The very fact that there was no prior work to tetris, and that it single handedly made the tetris game phenomenon (I don't call it a genre because tetris itsself falls under the puzzle game genre) means that they have legal powers to threaten you if you make a tetris clone for sale.

[soniCron]

The Tetris folk did the investment and marketing and innovation to turn Tetris into a popular game. That's debatable. According to Vadim Gerasimov (http://vadim.www.media.mit.edu/Tetris.htm), one of the co-creators of the first Tetris, the development was full of backstabbing and deceit!

[electronicStar]

I remember reading the "tetris story" somewhere once.
IIRC there was a lot of legal battles going on with deceit, backstabbing and some entrepreneurs with few scrupules.
As a result there must be several companies holding some rights to the "tetris" brand and each one of them can sue you and try to rip you off your hard earned fortune.

[itero]

soniCron, thanks for link. Very interesting...