Tribes Ring

[Ghryphen]

http://digg.com/gaming_news/Computer_Game_Inspired_Ring

[Stang]

To bad he didnt think about that when the game was popular could made a little cash :).

[Gambit]

Somebody still owns the rights to those symbols. He starts making a few and they could easily come down on him, hard.

[Ghryphen]

Hmm, so you think strategy guides which use game logo's and such owe royalties?

[Gambit]

If they're charging money for them, it's a pretty cut-n-dried legal issue. If they give 'em away for free, somewhat less so, but companies can lose their trademark if they don't protect it.

Linden Labs had a pretty cool solution to someone who was doing some unofficial stuff (extensions? Can't remember) with their "Second Life" game. They sent 'em a letter that said, basically, "Hey, you're using our protected property without our permission, and that's not cool. However, we hereby issue you a license to continue doing so until/unless we tell you to stop." One analysis I read said that is a great way to legally protect your trademark without coming across to the user community as a jerk.

IMHO, Vivendi, or whoever now owns the marks on that ring, would be well-served to issue such a letter to the guy who makes 'em.

[Stang]

Was he even making it to sell? I think he just made it for himself and show off.

[Gambit]

The guy in the thread Gryph linked bought it from the guy who was offering to make & sell them. He links to that thread where the item is offered in his post.

[Cerberus]

neat