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Iron Maiden Is Suing The Game Ion Maiden

Ageing British metal band Iron Maiden (or at least the band’s holding company) are suing video game publisher 3D Realms over retro shooter Ion Maiden, claiming the game’s logo and marketing is “an effort to confuse consumers into believing Defendant’s products and services are somehow affiliated with or approved by Iron Maiden”.

The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California court on May 28, includes claims such as the “Defendant’s misappropriation and use of a virtually identical imitation of the Iron Maiden trademark creates a likelihood of confusion among consumers. Customers who view Defendant’s video game and merchandise are likely to believe that Iron Maiden is somehow affiliated with Defendant.”

The game—which I played last year and which is pretty good!—also stands accused of ripping off Iron Maiden’s trademark “steelcut” logo.

The lawsuit goes on to claim “there have been numerous instances of actual confusion with Iron Maiden fans believing that Defendants’ Ion Maiden products are related to Iron Maiden”, including these absolutely wonderful examples of online naivety, with fans of the band apparently:

• “...commenting that they were misled into believing that the Ion Maiden game was an Iron Maiden game.”
• “...clicking on an Ion Maiden online thread thinking that the thread was related to Iron Maiden.”
• “...reading an article about the Ion Maiden video game waiting for an explained connection to Iron Maiden.”
• “...wondering the whole time, while reading an article about the Ion Maiden video game, how they (Defendant) got the license to use the Ion Maiden name (from Iron Maiden).”
• “...expressing genuine excitement for an Iron Maiden video game.”
• “...and commenting that ‘all that’s missing is an … Iron Maiden soundtrack’ and that the Iron Maiden song ‘Can I Play with Madness’ would fit right in.”

The band’s holding company, Iron Maiden Holdings, is looking for $2 million in damages, and also either wants the game’s website (ionmaiden.com) taken down or handed over.



Source: Kotaku

 

[Tarkus98]

Should be an easy settlement. Don’t think they’ll get $2mil but a name change / identifier isn’t out of the realm of possible outcomes.

 

[DiscoJer]

Eh, the problem with this is that an iron maiden is a real thing (if not actually ever used in medieval times), and the game stars a lady (a maiden) while all the people in the band are dudes, as far as I know, so you have a completely different imagery.

If the band was fronted by a woman wearing armor, they might have a case.

 

[Ar¢tos]

The "I" looks exactly the same!
SUE them!!

 

[Three]

They will get nothing

 

[gspat]

They"ll settle and change the name to Ion Blaster

 

[MayauMiao]

3D Reams can always say this was their inspiration for a woman with a killer armor.

 

[Chittagong]

This has probably to do with the fact that Iron Maiden are releasing games themselves, and would have little protection if they let this slide.

The best outcome would be to hammer out a licensing agreement and to put an Iron Maiden soundtrack to the game, everybody wins.

 

[Lanrutcon]

This is bullshit.

Guys, buy the game. The demo was insane. They took the Build engine to the next level.

 

[Noboru Wataya]

Thanks to iron maiden I know this game exists.

 

[odhin]

Oh well, they're fucked.

Oh Well, wherever, wherever you are,
Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far.

GOAT Band tho

 

[Ellis]

I had been looking forward to this game for so long now.

Thanks for ruining a good thing, Iron Maiden.

Wankers.

 

[SaucyJack]

Eh, the problem with this is that an iron maiden is a real thing (if not actually ever used in medieval times), and the game stars a lady (a maiden) while all the people in the band are dudes, as far as I know, so you have a completely different imagery.

If the band was fronted by a woman wearing armor, they might have a case.

The case is about the similarity in the logo. I can see their point, but I suspect that it's sufficiently different for them to get away with it,

 

[Ellis]

3D Realms statement regarding this bullshit lawsuit;

We’ve recently heard about a lawsuit filed in California by the band Iron Maiden, claiming our old-school first-person shooter Ion Maiden is infringing on their trademark. From what we’ve heard, the suit claims our main character, Shelly Harrison, originally debuting in 2016’s Bombshell, is based on their musician Steve Harris; our skull bomb icon found in-game is based on their skeleton mascot Eddie; our logo in itself is based on theirs; and other frivolous claims anyone who has played Ion Maiden would find more over the top than Shelly’s “Loverboy”, her signature 18-round triple-barreled revolver. We at 3D Realms, our co-publishers 1C Entertainment, and developer Voidpoint will review our options once we receive official notice of the lawsuit and will make any necessary decisions at the appropriate time.

Regardless, everyone continues to work diligently on Ion Maiden to deliver the best possible experience later this year.

 

[odhin]

And yeah, to be clear on my opinion, this lawsuit is just bullshit.
As much love as I have for the band in question, their stance is nonsensical and I hope they receive some sort of internet "backlash" regarding this retarded situation.

 

[Spukc]

I agree with iron maiden.
The logo font is way way too similar.
Also ion maden vs iron maiden? Yeah how about no.

Dumb devs made stupid decision and now they pay the price.
I hope a name change is all what will happen.
But i def think they leached of the brand name,

Idiots..

i never agree with these suing threads but this time? Yup

 

[Helios]

I agree with iron maiden.
The logo font is way way too similar.
Also ion maden vs iron maiden? Yeah how about no.

Dumb devs made stupid decision and now they pay the price.
I hope a name change is all what will happen.
But i def think they leached of the brand name,

Idiots..

i never agree with these suing threads but this time? Yup

LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You

For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than to Google it for themselves.

lmgtfy.com

 

[Spukc]

LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You

For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than to Google it for themselves.

lmgtfy.com

wow a LMGTFY link that's pretty passive aggressive

fyi i am talking about the font in no way is that ion maiden logo not stealing from iron maiden.

 

[odhin]

I agree with iron maiden.
The logo font is way way too similar.
Also ion maden vs iron maiden? Yeah how about no.

Dumb devs made stupid decision and now they pay the price.
I hope a name change is all what will happen.
But i def think they leached of the brand name,

Idiots..

i never agree with these suing threads but this time? Yup

Dude, c'mon, you serious?

The logo font its nothing like Iron Maiden's one, as we can clearly see in the OP.
The only identical letter is the 'I' because, you know, its a damn 'I'
The other letters look nothing alike.

They don't own the word Maiden and Ion =/= Iron, fact.

The skull on the logo looks nothing like Eddie the Head and it's as banal as any other skull head out there.

The protaganist, from what I can see visually, has nothing to do with the band as well.

Its BS and they should get rightfully called on it.

 

[The Pleasure]

The "I" looks exactly the same!
SUE them!!

 

[The Scrivener]

Ageing British metal band Iron Maiden

Watch the fucking language.

 

[Hissing Sid]

‘The dev men came across the sea
They brought us pain and misery
They robbed our trademark, they killed our creed
They took our name for their own need’

‘Sue for those bills....’

‘Sue for your liiiiifffeeeeee....’

*Drum fill*

 

[MilkyJoe]

Now puns are not allowed...

 

[Spukc]

Dude, c'mon, you serious?

The logo font its nothing like Iron Maiden's one, as we can clearly see in the OP.
The only identical letter is the 'I' because, you know, its a damn 'I'
The other letters look nothing alike.

They don't own the word Maiden and Ion =/= Iron, fact.

The skull on the logo looks nothing like Eddie the Head and it's as banal as any other skull head out there.

The protaganist, from what I can see visually, has nothing to do with the band as well.

Its BS and they should get rightfully called on it.

Sorry have to disagree i do a lot of typography/ logo design that shit is def not safe.
The O,D and N are way way to similar.

The most important problem is the damn name ION MAIDEN.

It's like starting a band with 4 male singers and calling it Ackstreetboys.

They flew a little bit close to the sun.
That 2M asking price is bs but i hope they got good lawyers.

 

[Airola]

You have to be naive as hell if you don't believe they named the game with the band's name in mind. It's a clever name that makes it stand out from other titles because of the similarity to Iron Maiden, and the game's logo is purposefully made into looking like a heavy metal band logo.

That said, why on earth the people from Iron Maiden care about this at all. It's a nice little pun. I bet the team has many who are fans of the band and I think that's one of the reasons the name was initially picked. It's a clever name marketingwise and kinda also shows respect and appreciation towards the band.

 

[Airola]

It's like starting a band with 4 male singers and calling it Ackstreetboys.

That would be funny as hell

I guess Backstreet Boys would have the legal right to go against them, but at the same time I would be sad for them being humorless and not allowing a band with a funny pun exist.

 

[mitch1971]

I hope the band loose. Loosers.

 

[odhin]

Sorry have to disagree i do a lot of typography/ logo design that shit is def not safe.
The O,D and N are way way to similar.

The most important problem is the damn name ION MAIDEN.

It's like starting a band with 4 male singers and calling it Ackstreetboys.

They flew a little bit close to the sun.
That 2M asking price is bs but i hope they got good lawyers.

How the hell are the O, D, N similar at all?
I also use alot of different fonts in my line of work (building web sites, apps, etc) and I sure as hell may have use fonts more similar do those of Iron Maidens logo than this one.
I mean, just look at the images on the OP, and how can you say with a straight face that the O, D and N are way to similar? Am I missing something?

The name is similar, sure, and like Airola said, yeah, it probably isn't a coincidence.
Still, tough luck, its not named Iron Maiden, its named Ion Maiden.

If I do create a band or any other project, I can call it (insert word)Maiden or Iron(insert word) as long as it's not trademarked, period.

I suppose they can try and sue them for the likeness of the name because of what they said (“...commenting that they were misled into believing that the Ion Maiden game was an Iron Maiden game.”, etc), its really the only point they can make, but good luck on that and proving intent.

Anyway, Up the Irons!

 

[Helios]

The most important problem is the damn name ION MAIDEN.

I thought the problem was the logo, not the name. If someone looks at Ion Maiden, sees the misspelling, see that the game is about a chick shooting a ridiculous revolver, sees that the skull on the logo has no resemblance to Eddie, has none of the music from Iron Maiden and STILL thinks it's a game based on Iron Maiden than the fault is not on the developers.

 

[lock2k]

I hope they sort it out, otherwise they wasted years developing this.

 

[Lanrutcon]

It's called Ion Maiden and has a futuristic lady on the cover.

I mean.

They could rename it Byron Raiden, and feature the story of a British poet turned thunder god transported to the future to serve in law enforcement.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Eddie the Skeleton will want blood for this.

BLOOD!

Oh and Iron Maiden made a mint on their Beer (which is my local Brewer) so this is dumb.

 

[Solarstrike]

Eddie needs his own game.

 

[Ar¢tos]

If they wanted their game to piggyback on the name of a famous band, wouldn't they pick a band that is actually relevant nowadays?
When I hear Iron Maiden the first thing that comes to my mind is a bunch of geriatric rockers on wheelchairs in a retirement home.
The main member of the band is in his 60s...

 

[Ryllix_]

If they wanted their game to piggyback on the name of a famous band, wouldn't they pick a band that is actually relevant nowadays?
When I hear Iron Maiden the first thing that comes to my mind is a bunch of geriatric rockers on wheelchairs in a retirement home.
The main member of the band is in his 60s...

Lol you have to be kidding. You could argue that Iron Maiden is bigger and more famous today than they even were in the 80s. Their most recent album went number 1 in like 20 countries, number 4 in the US and sold a ton of copies. Also there is no "main member" but if you mean Bruce Dickinson he's running and jumping around on stage pretty well for a "geriatric."

 

[lock2k]

Eddie needs his own game.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Shit, I hope my gambling store chain "Betallica" is going to be OK.

 

[The Scrivener]

I hope the band loose. Loosers.

Looks like we found our Blaze Bayley fan.

 

[The Scrivener]

Am I missing something?

Well, two other linguistic technical aspects maybe.

Iron is pronounced similar enough to Ion (I know it's I-ON but I-ON Maiden sounds awkward, so the game will sound exactly like the band name I-UN Maiden).
The word maiden is archaic, so the similarities to the popular band are more obvious. Fine sir, O' how many a fair maiden dost thou knoweth in 2019?

(Actually I'm forgetting that the band's name is reference to a torture device, but the cover of the game is a woman. Which actually makes it worse if you think about it - it's a more clear play on words than naming yourself after an object.)

It's an obvious play on words and Maiden have a right to defend their brand. (That sounds awful to say "brand"!)

Anyway, Up the Irons!

(Edit: I wonder if the devs are claiming innocence? I'd be funny if the game has a main menu theme that sounded like "The Trooper" or something.)

 

[TLZ]

Well they saw free money on the table.

It is bs of course.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

I’m all in favor of this

So tired of titles that are just taken from a song or a band. Wow you made a reference here is a cookie.

Doubly tired of lame puns.

Made a lame pun referencing a band?

 

[The Scrivener]

Funniest shit all day - another reason not to read Kotaku - their reader's write stuff like this:

I saw them back in 2013, I went to see Alice Cooper as an opener and never really liked Iron Maiden but they were really really good. Bruce Campbell hit every single high note and the stage setting was fantastic, and it actually made me appreciate their music a lot more.

 

[thief183]

I agree with iron maiden.
The logo font is way way too similar.
Also ion maden vs iron maiden? Yeah how about no.

Dumb devs made stupid decision and now they pay the price.
I hope a name change is all what will happen.
But i def think they leached of the brand name,

Idiots..

i never agree with these suing threads but this time? Yup

Can't believe you are serius.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Funniest shit all day - another reason not to read Kotaku - their reader's write stuff like this:

I saw them back in 2013, I went to see Alice Cooper as an opener and never really liked Iron Maiden but they were really really good. Bruce Campbell hit every single high note and the stage setting was fantastic, and it actually made me appreciate their music a lot more.

Ash is the lead singer for Iron Maiden?

 

[odhin]

If they wanted their game to piggyback on the name of a famous band, wouldn't they pick a band that is actually relevant nowadays?
When I hear Iron Maiden the first thing that comes to my mind is a bunch of geriatric rockers on wheelchairs in a retirement home.
The main member of the band is in his 60s...

Yes, they are in their sixties and so what? Thay still give better performances than bands one thirds their age.
Saw them last year and it was amazing, its like the years don't pass by those guys. Bruce was singing his heart out while jumping and running all over the place, can't believe how he does that when I'm already without breath at the end of the first song just as a spectator

Well, two other linguistic technical aspects maybe.

Iron is pronounced similar enough to Ion (I know it's I-ON but I-ON Maiden sounds awkward, so the game will sound exactly like the band name I-UN Maiden).
The word maiden is archaic, so the similarities to the popular band are more obvious. Fine sir, O' how many a fair maiden dost thou knoweth in 2019?

(Actually I'm forgetting that the band's name is reference to a torture device, but the cover of the game is a woman. Which actually makes it worse if you think about it - it's a more clear play on words than naming yourself after an object.)

It's an obvious play on words and Maiden have a right to defend their brand. (That sounds awful to say "brand"!)

Anyway, Up the Irons!

(Edit: I wonder if the devs are claiming innocence? I'd be funny if the game has a main menu theme that sounded like "The Trooper" or something.)

All fair and square, but my question ("Am I missing something") was directly related to the font on the logos being similar.

But yeah, like I stated before, ofcourse the choice of name is not "innocent", and thats the only thing they can legitimately argue against. Nevertheless, its still something not worth suing for in my eyes. Very far fetched indeed.

Well they saw free money on the table.

It is bs of course.

That's the thing tho, they don't even need the money for sure.

 

[AlexxKidd]

Put them in the iron maiden!

 

[Airola]

If I do create a band or any other project, I can call it (insert word)Maiden or Iron(insert word) as long as it's not trademarked, period.

Honestly though I think you couldn't have a band named Metalica, or Megadeath, or Anthraks.
And at least in Finland I recall you are not allowed to have a company with a title too similar with one existing already.

I wonder if there was any legal trouble with Ryan Adams having a career with his name

 

[Shifty]

Man, the music biz these days really is a Different World.

And as much as I dig Iron Maiden, I hope this doesn't go too far. Ion Maiden is one of the cooler looking old-school shooter callbacks coming out, in part thanks to that goofy pun.

 

[odhin]

Honestly though I think you couldn't have a band named Metalica, or Megadeath, or Anthraks.
And at least in Finland I recall you are not allowed to have a company with a title too similar with one existing already.

I wonder if there was any legal trouble with Ryan Adams having a career with his name

Yeah, sure. But its somewhat different.
For instance, to call my band Snow Maiden or some shit like that instead of Ironed Maid or Iron Maided or whatever
One its just a title that happens to have a word that coincides with another band(s) / brand(s). The other is just plain fuckery.

Not that I would do it ofc, just saying.

 

[wipeout364]

I agree with iron maiden.
The logo font is way way too similar.
Also ion maden vs iron maiden? Yeah how about no.

Dumb devs made stupid decision and now they pay the price.
I hope a name change is all what will happen.
But i def think they leached of the brand name,

Idiots..

i never agree with these suing threads but this time? Yup

Really? I think I had the complete opposite opinion, the fonts and colors are completely different, and the cover setting artwork is in a completely different style.

I mean Iron Maiden completely ripped off deathlok from marvel in their character design for that cover.