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I came up with the best title for my game - a title that is catchy and also indicative of the gameplay, plus there isn't any other game on the market with a similar name. But after a Google search, I found a company in another country using the same name.

To put my situation better in context, imagine a game like Minecraft being in development, only to find out that there's another company called something like Minecraft Studios in a far-off country dealing with digital graphics and art for media (including games).

Aside from the legal aspect of it (lawsuits, cease-and-desists, etc.), what disadvantages would there be to have my game named the same as a company dealing in a similar field?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Just use the name and after that you will see if you will have to change the name or not. Just try it out. Probably you wont have any problems \$\endgroup\$
    – Hydro
    Oct 11, 2020 at 10:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ You really need a legal professional who is experienced with trademark law to advise you on what you do or do not have to do. If it was me? I'd change it to avoid potential for trouble, but I'm not a legal professional and I don't know if that's something I would need to do. \$\endgroup\$
    – Maximus Minimus
    Oct 11, 2020 at 11:35
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    \$\begingroup\$ "Not sure if I'm able to take the risk of getting sued" — nothing we can say here will make that risk go away. If you want protection against legal action, talk to a lawyer, not a game developer. From a game standpoint though, even ignoring the legal side, consider that you'll be competing with this other company for search hits. This could make it harder to get players into your game. \$\endgroup\$
    – DMGregory ♦
    Oct 11, 2020 at 12:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ I reworded and reopened the question. Although it is still a bit broad, I think if it had popped up in this state, I would not have closed it right away. (Keep in mind that users can still answer on other aspects of the issue, as long as they answer the question; this makes the current answer an acceptable one, per our standards.) \$\endgroup\$
    – Vaillancourt ♦
    Oct 12, 2020 at 1:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Vaillancourt I agree with that decision, this question is much more on-topic after edit. And thank you for tweaking my answer as well :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Sciborg
    Oct 12, 2020 at 14:40

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The biggest risk you face is a customer confusion issue. If your game has the same identifying name as a company, anybody who tries to search for your game will probably get the company in their search results instead, which lessens the searchability of your game - especially if you are a small indie developer and the game isn't popular yet.

That being said, Spooky's House of Jumpscares was forced to rename itself to Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion after a lawsuit from a company called Spooky House Studios. So you could absolutely have a lawsuit brought against you even if it's legally spurious to do so, hence why I recommend talking to a lawyer if you have genuine concerns.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for your advice and the link. It definitely helped me bring things into perspective! 😊 \$\endgroup\$
    – WorriedPhantom09
    Oct 11, 2020 at 14:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ Or talk to the company first? They could very well say "yeah, sure, if anything it will benefit us". \$\endgroup\$
    – Vorac
    Oct 13, 2020 at 4:22

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