Zynga to sue DC over the name 'SmallVille'

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Holy Lord, people are still not looking at the source article, are they?

What's better is a lot are Vet members.

 

[jipperman]

Has anyone actually checked the source on this?

 

[Valdsator]

What is it with these companies suing others for using common words? Someone needs to make a game called Edge of Scrollsville or something, this is getting ridiculous.

*checks source*

Oh for f-...

 

[The Bucket]

... Im... actually okay with this. Zynga arent saying they should own everything with 'vill' in the name, but this is a browser based game, and I think given the capitalisation (of which DC has no precedent of using) its a fair chance people could associate it with Farmville and whatever.

Edit:

Wait, so its a complaint about a game name that zynga dont even have?
Well thats just downright petty, especially as DC smallvilles probably older than any member of zynga, let alone the company...
Does this mean no one can make a game that ends in ville with zynga trying to sue them?

Not Smallville. SmallVille. There's a big difference, and I can't see any real reason for it but to associate themselves with the premier browser based gaming brand.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

I think TC should be reported for trolling and baiting with the title of this topic

 

[Ruwrak]

Merf... So, are they going to sue the powerpuff girls series for having the word TownsVille now too?

I mean.. that would be the continuity right?

 

[Tharwen]

To be fair, Farmville is original and innovative as a product. The rest of their games are identical though.

<url=http://www.comicrelated.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2601>Amy Genkins, VP of DC's business and legal affairs, called Zynga's claims 'absurd' and said firmly it would not stand up in court as the name Smallville has been tied with the Superman franchise for over seven decades.

I think DC's precedent is clear. However, I'd also like to take the moment to note that some of the things people are allowed to copyright are ABSURD.

[sub]Psst! It's Trademark[/sub]

 

[The Bucket]

Merf... So, are they going to sue the powerpuff girls series for having the word TownsVille now too?

I mean.. that would be the continuity right?

Powepuff girls isnt a browser based game.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"Amy Genkins, VP of DC's business and legal affairs, called Zynga's claims 'absurd' and said firmly it would not stand up in court as the name Smallville has been tied with the Superman franchise for over seven decades."

My thoughts exactly... Are they crazy? :O

 

[Dogstile]

I'm glad I read the sources.

Anyway, if this was true, I was thinking that Zynga would have had the upper hand considering that using the V in uppercase would have been a move to ride the coattails of those popular things.

 

[Ruwrak]

Merf... So, are they going to sue the powerpuff girls series for having the word TownsVille now too?

I mean.. that would be the continuity right?

Powepuff girls isnt a browser based game.

You didn't see the joke there did you?
It's about the name. (That's what people generally sue about)

""In short, we will not drop our charges till DC drops the capitalized 'V' in 'SmallVille'."

It's not about wether or not it's a browsergame or not, it's about how recognizable the name is. If you don't see how FarmVille and SmallVile or TownsVille look alike, you need to look again.

Then again, this is the internet, no room for jokes when everything is srs bsns right?

 

[zehydra]

"Zynga has spent years on researching and developing innovative and original games."

that's bull.

Zynga can go to hell.

They're suing over a capital letter placement, and THAT'S what you object to?

Also, I'm relatively sure that the Smallville series generated more profits in a year than any of Zynga's shitty games.

And how dare they insinuate that they're bigger than DC? DC comics, for fuck's sake!

lol, it's not that I don't object to that either. I just refuse to see Zynga as a legitimate game company. They have admitted that they copy and steal other people's ideas, and now they're complaining that people are ripping off their games?

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

I'm glad I read the sources.

Anyway, if this was true, I was thinking that Zynga would have had the upper hand considering that using the V in uppercase would have been a move to ride the coattails of those popular things.

Love how they jumped without reading everything right?

 

[CleverCover]

Yeah, I didn't get trolled today! I actually checked the source out before I typed/read anything else!

Yeah! Maybe tomorrow, though OP.

 

[lokiduck]

When I saw the title I laughed and said "oh Zynga what have you gotten yourself into."

Seriously they whole V in smallVille is a bit too close to the Ville games but really? Everyone knows Smallville is connected with DC and Superman.

I mean for Pete's sake there was a tv show named Smallville!

 

[Lancer873]

You know... as much as I think Zynga is a douchecanoe of a company, I almost have to side with them here. I mean, if I saw the name "SmallVille" in an ad, I would probably think "Ugh, it's another cruddy Zynga game. I'm not gonna touch it." This isn't like the "edge" copyright, or the whole "scrolls" business that Notch is getting into, this one could actually cause some confusion, and that's what copyright law is about. As much as we hate Zynga, they deserve to be treated equally under the law, and I don't think that this is a total case of copyright trolling, especially given that their conditions are only that DC drops the capital V.

 

[BrainWalker]

"In short, we will not drop our charges till DC drops the capitalized 'V' in 'SmallVille'.

This actually isn't as completely baseless and ignorant as I originally thought it would be. Why else WOULD they capitalize the V in Smallville? I mean, yeah, the fictional town of Smallville has been tied to the Superman franchise for "seven decades," but no one spells the name of their town with a capital letter in the middle. PittsBurgh, CleveLand, and SmallVille just look stupid. It seems like a reasonable assumption that SmallVille, with a capital V, is intended to reference Zynga's terrible [Noun]Ville series of games. I don't know that that means that anyone would actually confuse "SmallVille" with a Zynga product and that that consumer confusion would steal any of their market or whatever madness Zynga is whining about. Then again, the average FarmVille player isn't someone who follows gaming/comic news, and might reasonably assume Zynga got a license to make some Superman-themed content.

Come to think of it, what is even the market for a social MMO based on Superman's hometown? Are there any DC fans out there who really want to waste their time on one of these bland social "games?"

Having said all that, this is still a pretty stupid thing to go to court over. I'm just saying, it's not complete garbage. Zynga might actually have a tiny case here.

Edit: Aaaand upon seeing the rest of the posts in this thread I see that I been troll'd.

Clever girl.

 

[Kelorin]

At some point Zynga will sue The Simpsons for the use of Shelbyville.

 

[FaceFaceFace]

All of your arguments are now invalid. Seriously. Because it isn't even real. Too bad no one reads past the first page before posting their own insightful comments.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

My god... The 57th post? 55 people didn't bother to check the source?

You do know how to read white writing, don't you? [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.316122.12847431]