Rated X wrote:Sabrblade wrote:The name "Afterbreaker" appeared in both the latest TCC magazine issue and on the Collectors Club Twitter. It seems they tried to use the "Afterburner" name at first, but couldn't, and so went for an alternative.
The real problem is the fandom actually acknowledges these silly name changes done for legal reasons.
If John Smith in New York cant sue Mrs. Smith in Florida for naming her newborn son John, what makes fictional characters names any different ? As silly as it sounds, I can legally name my child "Afterburner".
It's a freakin word ! Unless another company has already produced a transformable robot toy named "Afterburner" there should be no basis for a lawsuit. Funpub shouldn't be scared of "Afterburner Tampons" or "Afterburner Personal Lubricant" or whoever was the last company to print the word "Afterburner" on a cardboard box.
Trademarks work a bit differently than that. Put short, the fact they changed his name means that:
a.) another toy company has gotten hold of the name, thus are the only ones allowed to use it. Doesn't matter what kind of toy, it's still in the same category as Transformers is. Your examples would actually be perfectly legal as they fall in different categories, but that may eventually lead to scenario b.
b.) being a common word in every day use (it's an engine component), the word may have become "generic", meaning it has no more distinguishable market value. Such words can no longer be trademarked and some have fallen victim to it.
On the flipside, it could simply be Hasbro's desire to keep "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" names separate, since this is still a G.I. Joe-based set. That's supposedly the main reason why Gen. Junkyard was renamed "Junkheap", as there's a "Junkyard" in G.I. Joe. and the name is more closely associated with that line.
The resident Rewind... well, half of one
- Jelze Bunnycat =:3
Looking for:
- TR Furos (Hardhead's head) and Crashbash (lost him
)
- PotP Punch head
- TR Galvatron right arm (the gun one)
- CW Brake-Neck/UW Wildrider, CW Offroad
- TR Twinferno & Grotusque
- Greenlight, Lancer and PotP Elita-1 (plus repro Victorion hands and feet?)