Iron and the Maiden

[Ardius]

Like I said, the "and the" is the main problem, because it is so tiny it is clearly trying to take advantage of the recognition of the words "Iron Maiden". Not to mention that Maiden have to take such a strong stance to avoid being weakened in future arguments.

I don't think people should be as annoyed at Maiden's management as they perhaps are for this, because they have little choice other than letting people make money off the name and perhaps misleading people into thinking something produced by someone else is representative of their quality. What if said material had lots of swearing in it (or other negative things)? This could be mistakenly connected to the band just because someone mistook the material for being the band's product not someone else's.

 

[Cornfed Hick]

this is a Maidenfans forum. The fact that we talk about Iron and the Maiden shows already the connection with the band Iron Maiden.

Well, that's a bit of a logical flaw.  I only posted this thread because Iron Maiden -- the real band that is the subject of the Maidenfans forum -- is actually suing the comic book.  Were it not for the news release about the lawsuit, I would never have heard of the comic book.  That said, had I heard of it, I no doubt would have thought of the band, but likely would not have thought the band was affiliated with the comic. 

 

[pilau]

Yes Forostar, but you cannot ignore the long discussion which is going on  around this subject by the members of Maidnfans (i.e. us).

 

[Forostar]

Were it not for the news release about the lawsuit, I would never have heard of the comic book.

The comic is new so it's difficult to predict this. I didn't notice the comic book, nor this particular lawsuit, but thanks to a Maidenfan it was brought to my attention.

That said, had I heard of it, I no doubt would have thought of the band, but likely would not have thought the band was affiliated with the comic. 

The band and their management have eyes and ears too.
But indeed: They've made a free commercial by fighting the name. And I bet the makers won't mind that.

 

[MisterAJ]

Iron maiden is still around? They've *gotta* be pushing 60. Maybe this frivolous lawsuit is just a way to hype their opening in Vegas across the street from Barry Manilow's act.

ROFL... Out of touch much..?

quarter of a million people in Rio...

Judas and the Priest. Hey! That sounds good.

That DOES sound good...

*Pulls out his drawing kit*

 

[national acrobat]

I don't like it when artists try to attract attention by using someone else's name.

And it has worked. I've come across this magazine in the past by searching for the words 'Iron Maiden' on eBay. It's quite blatant exploitation of someone else's popularity.

 

[SneakySneaky]

And it has worked. I've come across this magazine in the past by searching for the words 'Iron Maiden' on eBay. It's quite blatant exploitation of someone else's popularity.

Just because it came up as a result from a search engine?  Come on,  you might have searched for "iron man" and a Maiden cd might have come up at some point.

 

[MisterAJ]

I've actually read the comic, and the title really doesn't have anything to do with the story.

There's this guy, called Iron, who have a robotic hand.

And then there's this girl, obviously the Maiden, that gets tangled up into Mr.Iron's zany life...

And thats the weak ass explanation to the title...

 

[SneakySneaky]

Sounds a pretty lame story to me  .  Anyway,  I think the lawsuit is just a joke.  They shouldn't even have bothered.

 

[national acrobat]

Just because it came up as a result from a search engine?  Come on,  you might have searched for "iron man" and a Maiden cd might have come up at some point.

I maintain what I said, "maiden" is not a common word.

 

[Ardius]

Sounds a pretty lame story to me  .  Anyway,  I think the lawsuit is just a joke.  They shouldn't even have bothered.

But if they hadn't bothered now, what would they say if it happened again on a bigger scale? The accused would just point to this case as an example of people being allowed to use their fame - obviously its in Maiden's best interests to make sure they keep a strong position on this.

Yes, its a minor offense, but a minor offense massively weakens their position in the attack of much bigger offense.

 

[SneakySneaky]

Maiden is a common word.  You watch Lord of the rings or any film about the medieval ages you hear the word.  You play monkey island,  and there's an iron maiden mentioned.  There are tons of examples.  Sure,  when you hear the word "iron maiden" your first thought will probably be of the band,  but that's because you're a fan,  or listen to metal in general.  If someone writes a book called November Rain,  I'll probably think of GnR first.

 

[Dead Boss]

Maiden is a common word.  You watch Lord of the rings or any film about the medieval ages you hear the word.  You play monkey island,  and there's an iron maiden mentioned.  There are tons of examples.  Sure,  when you hear the word "iron maiden" your first thought will probably be of the band,  but that's because you're a fan,  or listen to metal in general.  If someone writes a book called November Rain,  I'll probably think of GnR first.

Maybe in English speaking countries Iron Maiden could evoke other things, but in many countries "Iron Maiden" is used only for the band. The torture device is called "Železná panna" in Slovak for example.

 

[Ardius]

Maiden is a common word.  You watch Lord of the rings or any film about the medieval ages you hear the word.  You play monkey island,  and there's an iron maiden mentioned.  There are tons of examples.  Sure,  when you hear the word "iron maiden" your first thought will probably be of the band,  but that's because you're a fan,  or listen to metal in general.   If someone writes a book called November Rain,  I'll probably think of GnR first.

But your examples are not of people intentionally using it in their title quite blatantly.....of course you can't copyright the words, but you can take people to court for attempting to use your fame.
All they had to do was make the "and the" more obvious, but no, they thought they could make more money from decieving people.

 

[Forostar]

Maybe in English speaking countries Iron Maiden could evoke other things, but in many countries "Iron Maiden" is used only for the band.

I don't believe that. People in all countries know that most words do not suddenly derive from bandnames.
Ever heard of etymology?

English is understood in many countries and quite some people on the world are eager to learn. Quite some Maiden fans know the history of the name. Naturally I am not counting people who only download music and never read about the band. But they are not fans anyway.

 

[pilau]

Yes Forostar, however people in countries where English is not the common language, the use of the words Iron Maiden is used to refer to the band, while a translation of the words to the native language is used to refer to the device itself.

 

[Dead Boss]

Forostar: You're from Scandinavia, right? Image you hear your neighbour yelling "IRON MAIDEN". What would you think?

 

[Forostar]

Alright I guess I misinterpreted what you guys meant.

And I am Dutch.

 

[SneakySneaky]

Ok,  so let's say that at first you notice only the two words "iron maiden".  You look again,  see the "and the" and realize it probably doesn't have anything to do with the band.  Big deal...   Nobody will buy it thinking it's got anything to do with Maiden.

 

[Ardius]

Ok,  so let's say that at first you notice only the two words "iron maiden".  You look again,  see the "and the" and realize it probably doesn't have anything to do with the band.  Big deal...   Nobody will buy it thinking it's got anything to do with Maiden.

I think they would, and clearly the band thinks so too. But thats irrelevant. You wanted to know why the band would be so harsh - its to make sure they are not caught out the next time this happens on a larger scale, whether or not people would actually be fooled by the name matters little, the potential is the point and the future risk.