Iron and the Maiden

Ardius said:
But thats irrelevant.
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Actually, it's not only relevant, it is probably the key issue in the legal case.  Again, the issue is whether there is a likelihood of consumer confusion.  If no one would think the comic book was affiliated with the band, then there can be no likelihood consumer confusion, and it's probably not a trademark violation. 
 
Dead Boss said:
Forostar: You're from Scandinavia, right?
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Forostar said:
And I am Dutch. :)
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You should be flattered. ;) Not that there's anything wrong with Dutchland, err, The Netherlands, but Scandinavia rules.  :D

As for the language confusion: is this comic book distributed outside English speaking countries?  If it's not, then I'm afraid it's not really a strong argument.
 
^Why's that? It doesn't have to be internationally known in order to have a "strong case".

cornfedhick said:
Actually, it's not only relevant, it is probably the key issue in the legal case.  Again, the issue is whether there is a likelihood of consumer confusion.  If no one would think the comic book was affiliated with the band, then there can be no likelihood consumer confusion, and it's probably not a trademark violation. 
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I don't like to be thought as "no one"  :P

I think it has a strong case for customer confusion based purely on the fact it highlights the words "Iron Maiden" and makes "and the" all but invisible.
 
I agree Ardius. It's really that plain and simple. They exploited the popularity of Iron Maiden to attract potential readers, and that's illegal, that's it.
 
I disagree.  You simply cannot be certain that they did it on purpose so they could exploit Maiden's popularity.  Of the whole phrase "Iron and the Maiden", obviously "Iron" and "Maiden" are the most striking words and not because of the band only.  They're just striking words.  We see that happen a lot.  In movies,  books,  etc,  only some part of the title is highlighted. 

I'm not necessarily saying that this is what they did here,  but no one can be sure they did it so they could use the band's fame.  Only if you want it to be that way.  But anyway,  if someone goes and buys this thinking it's got anything to do with the band,  probably has some intelligence issues.  The comic might catch your attention because you're a fan,  but once you look again you realize it's got nothing in common.

It reminds me of a time I went to the video store and noticed a thriller called "fear of the dark".  Now of course at first I thought of the band,  but reading the plot,  I found nothing that implicated Maiden.  Didn't even bother to rent it.  Copyright issue?  Who on earth would care?
 
^Again, thats a different example, this is the band's name, something that holds more recognition than a song name or album name and thus something they can be more strong on with copyright. But really, they do this to protect themselves in future like I keep saying.
 
Invader said:
You should be flattered. ;) Not that there's anything wrong with Dutchland, err, The Netherlands, but Scandinavia rules.  :D

As for the language confusion: is this comic book distributed outside English speaking countries?  If it's not, then I'm afraid it's not really a strong argument.
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Of course it's not an argument about comic. SneakySneaky just forgot that there are other countries.

SneakySneaky said:
It reminds me of a time I went to the video store and noticed a thriller called "fear of the dark".  Now of course at first I thought of the band,  but reading the plot,  I found nothing that implicated Maiden.  Didn't even bother to rent it.  Copyright issue?  Who on earth would care?
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Oh but that is interesting. I'm not saying that film was named after Maiden's album but you actually remember the film name. Now you even made and advertisement! And what's happening now? We all know comic we probably wouldn't know otherwise. It's very unfair to bring attention to product by using name of something well-known.
 
So let me get this straight.  We're talking about a band who got a name even though there was another band using it in the 60's.  I'm not even implying Maiden did it on purpose back then,  I'm just trying to show that this matter is just stupid.  Not one person with average IQ will buy this because of Maiden. 

And btw,  "fear of the dark" probably has almost the same recognition as Maiden themselves,  so I really don't think there's a difference.
 
And who's talking about buying it? You KNOW it. That's basic marketing. And not only that, but Maiden also started this law case, so it will bring more attention to comic.
 
Why is it that bad to know it?  And having a lawsuit against them already gives them more popularity as you said.  So basically this is having the exact opposite effect.  Pointless don't you think?
 
SneakySneaky said:
So let me get this straight.  We're talking about a band who got a name even though there was another band using it in the 60's.  I'm not even implying Maiden did it on purpose back then,  I'm just trying to show that this matter is just stupid.  Not one person with average IQ will buy this because of Maiden. 

And btw,  "fear of the dark" probably has almost the same recognition as Maiden themselves,  so I really don't think there's a difference.
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You fail to see my point yet again - its not a problem per se with people being misled in this particular case. Its a problem with what happens when someone else does it to a larger scale in future? If Maiden do nothing now they only leave themselves open to criticism later.
 
I get what you're trying to say.  But I really don't think this lawsuit will work as a warning to other potential "copyright" infringements. 
First of all,  we all agree that this whole thing has given the comic book more publicity.  Others might actually want to "provoke" a lawsuit to be wider known (see what happens when books like DaVinci code or Harry Potter are released).  So again,  if someone will try to use Maiden's fame,  it's probably a "good strategy" to get sued. 
And anyway,  if there is a copyright infringement on a larger scale,  they will be right to sue,  but this is just too minor and will not prevent future situations.
 
SneakySneaky said:
I get what you're trying to say.  But I really don't think this lawsuit will work as a warning to other potential "copyright" infringements. 
First of all,  we all agree that this whole thing has given the comic book more publicity.  Others might actually want to "provoke" a lawsuit to be wider known (see what happens when books like DaVinci code or Harry Potter are released).  So again,  if someone will try to use Maiden's fame,  it's probably a "good strategy" to get sued. 
And anyway,  if there is a copyright infringement on a larger scale,  they will be right to sue,  but this is just too minor and will not prevent future situations.
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Again, I don't mean "as a warning" or as "prevention". I mean when they have to take someone else to court, the defenders will just point to this case and it will instantly weaken Maiden's case. Sure, Maiden will still be within their rights and will probably win in court anyway, but they can't know that will happen for certain, better safe than sorry, eh?
Also, I don't think its fair to throw all blame at the band making this decision (this is not aimed at you, but others who are "outraged" at the band's decision). The band leave this kind of thing to their management to sort out so they can focus on other things, so the band themselves are not making this decision (though its still a fair point to question why the management is still doing this as it is admittedly heavy handed).
 
And here was me thinking the Camero was a good look...

It's either an homage by an ignorant fan or he's clearly just trying to get second hand consumer attention. I'm not very impressed with Maiden's management in this case. Sure, the guy should change the name... but any more money awarded in damages that those to recuperate legal fees is frivolous at best. It's not as if Iron Maiden don't have enough money.
 
First time I saw a preview for this comic I thought, AWESOME an Iron Maiden comic, I hope it doesn't suck!

and then I learned it had nothing to do with the band and didn't bother checking it out. So I think they have the right to sue, especially if the title is misleading to display IRON and the MAIDEN with little emphasis on the 'and the'. But I feel bad for the guy, cause he must be a fan.  And I'm sure it isn't an intentional attempt to make money, I'm sure there's some maiden love there. So I'm torn. If anything they should just make him alter the way the title is presented as to not confuse.
 
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