

Ask HN : legal use of trademark names - innocentpixel

I am making a game. And in the game you can get different rewards for being a &quot;gangster&quot;, like cars, watches etc. Is it legal (not infringing) to name the cars by name for example BMW, Bugatti, Ferrari etc. or not?
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blackdogie
Assuming you are in the US, or US law applies, but I'm not a trademark lawyer,
but I would suggest you look at what other companies have done, i.e. Rocktstar
for GTA. Here they used similar car designs, and gave them similar names, but
not the same [http://www.gta4.net/vehicles/](http://www.gta4.net/vehicles/) In
the long run this will save you having to prove that you are using them under
the fair use guidelines
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_(U.S._trademark_law)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_\(U.S._trademark_law\))

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innocentpixel
Thanks. I am not in the US no. I will look at other uses.

I have read this article and as far as i can see my game using the real names
wouldn't fall under any of the "bad" usage trademark infringement," "trademark
dilution," "trademark tarnishment,"and "defamation.". But I would still want a
second opinion even before taking it up with a trademark lawyer :)

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ScottWhigham
I think this is one of those questions best answered with the old saw, "If you
have to ask the question, you know the answer."

