Is it Okay for Artists to Create Projects with “Cyberpunk” in the Name?
When revered Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt RED announced their plans to trademark CYBERPUNK, they were met with skepticism and worry. Anyone who sought to establish a creative project using the name felt stifled. Others believed the move a bit imperious. And then we have someone like Bruce Bethke who actually coined the term back in 1980. Naturally, he felt compelled to respond to the trademark attempt.
Bethke had coined Cyberpunk the term for his short story of the same name. Since then, he’s witnessed numerous trademark attempts fail. In speaking to World Trademark Review, a website dedicated to trademark news, he mentioned one attempt by a comic book creator:
“My understanding of American trademark law is that trademark depends on context. “While you can trademark a logotype or a unique variation – eg, as I recall, R. Talsorian Games’ trademark was specifically for a role-playing game named ‘Cyberpunk 2020’ – you can’t just trademark a word for all purposes everywhere. Hence when some company back in the 1980s tried to claim a trademark on the word ‘cyberpunk’ because they were publishing a Cyberpunk comic book, well, tough – it didn’t hold up.”Â
Keep in mind, CD Projekt RED’s sole purpose, allegedly, is keeping external projects from associating their names with that of Cyberpunk 2077 and future games created by the developer. At the same time, they hope to avoid any legal disputes as a result of other trademarks. You can read all about their claims here.
Nevertheless, Bethke is worried because he is a working author and, like so many artists, wishes to avoid conflict on the basis of what is now a widely-used term. It’s better to operate without notions of trademark breaches. “I do rather wish someone from CD Projekt RED would contact me, though, to clarify a few of my concerns,” he said. “Most of all, I wish people all over the internet would pay a tiny percentage of their attention to what I’m doing now, as opposed to something I did 37 years ago. I really wish that just once, someone would offer me an enormous fucking pile of money to lay hands upon them and pronounce them the one true purveyor of cyberpunk.”Â
Too bad for Bethke he didn’t trademark the term when he had the chance. However, credit where credit is due; if he is the man behind the name, other creators owe him some recognition.
CD Projekt RED’s highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 is currently slated for an “It’s ready when it’s ready” release date. Expect to hear more news from COGconnected as it comes. For now, do let us know your thoughts on this trademark attempt and writer Bethke’s response. Have a glorious day.