Kid Named After Everquest Character

eToychest writes "Sony Online Entertainment just sent notice that some poor baby has been named after a character in EverQuest. Apparently players really, really love this game. Case in point: player Tabitha Ayers gave birth to a baby girl January 6, 2005, and promptly named her Firiona Vie Ayers, in honor of EverQuest's famous spokes-elf. The path to geekdom for this child has aready been paved in 12-sided dice and character sheets." At this point I think it's safe to say that SOE is going to be the cause of the downfall of Civilization.

Comments

What's the big deal?

[Anonymous Coward]

How is this any different to naming a child after a film star or a musician, except it's in a different medium?

...at least it ain't 'Turok'

[latent_biologist]

Anyone else remember Akklaim's marketing scheme a few years back?

Re:...at least it ain't 'Turok'

[Anonymous Coward]

I was signed up and very ready to name my second-born "Turok Parker" for 10 g's. We were very close to winning.

Would love to know if anyone actually won. Guess we may never find out.

Re:More importantly . . .

[Seumas]

And some people play a game so much that they'd name their child after an in-game character. Such a person would probably make a pretty pre-occupied, inadequate parent.

Trademark law, not copyright (was Re:copyright)

[WillAdams]

Correct.

Names don't have sufficient expressibility to fall under copyright law.

Trademark also won't allow one to usurp an extant name save in a very specific / limited role (an example of the extreme to which this can be taken is McDonald's in the US). Then, it falls under law for ``trade dress'' &c.

A friend of mine's patronymic was used in a certain recent fantasy series --- sent a nastygram by an overzealous (and ignorant) person in a law office alleging violation of their trademark he responded w/ copies of his incorporation certificate for his company (long before the novels were written), and his birth certificate (he's older than the author, and his family name is an old one in Wales). He then received two different responses, one apologising, the other threatening further action. He responded to the first, but included a copy of the latter.

He received personal phone calls from a principal in the law firm and the movie studio which had gotten the rights for the book, apologising, and thanking him for his forbearance, and asking what they could do to put a physical expression on the apology. They also stated that the person who'd sent the second letter was now sending out resume's instead.

He wound up w/ round trip tickets to England to the premier, and a chance to meet the author who was delighted by his name.

William