The Free Companions no more??

[digz]

Looks like Devs took our guild name away after all this time

[Aeneas]

I don't know if it requires somebody reporting a name for something like this to happen, but if that is in fact the case - i hope you're proud of yourself.


On the same note, i know the black company had their name revoked and were forced to change recently as well - that guild has been around since headstart and is among the chillest and most fun group of people on the server.


I'd be really disappointed if it were a player responsible for these forced changes to respectable guilds.

[nakedfatguy]

What the heck is going on? How many years have we been called TFC and NOW they change it?! VERY strange.

[Nevthial]

????? What's wrong with that name?????????????? I don't get it.

[Aeneas]

whatever, if any Companions find themselves Free may 1st, downloading a 12 gig client, and holding a shiny new beta key - i'll see you in Hyboria.

[Dimz]

shouldn't they be fixing lag and not worrying about guild names, don't get why name was changed though unless leader paid for a name change, why wats it changed to??

[Nevthial]

Oh, I see why they changed it. How cute, someone must have reported the name after reading Conan books. Geeze, some folks need to get a real life and quit sticking their nose into other people's business. ( I hope you read this whomever you are.)

[Litz]

Just raise your prices. Call yourselves "The Really Cheep Companions"

[Boldrin]

What kind of ******* does stuff like this!!! Get a ****ing life!! Probably some guy still living in his moms basement mad at the world cuz he's a loser so he wants to bring others down.

[Riorik]

I'm pretty sure you can't really trademark (or copyright) a phrase like "the free companions" or "the black company". You might try but it'd be unenforceable due to prior art, etc. If it was changed for a specific reason, it's probably just what I'd term an overzealous admin.

[Tallyn]

What kind of ******* does stuff like this!!! Get a ****ing life!! Probably some guy still living in his moms basement mad at the world cuz he's a loser so he wants to bring others down.

I agree. This is some STUPID **** that Turbine is pulling. The Black Company. Comprises of a color and a common word when referring to a group of people, or mercenaries. The Free Companions. Again, Free is a relatively common word and Companions is a word to describe a group of people that are friends. I could understand if it was a guildname that was almost universally associates with a particular fantasy theme, HOWEVER, these names are generic enough that it really is ludicrous to think that someone has any kind of control over them.

[Strakeln]

What kind of ******* does stuff like this!!! Get a ****ing life!! Probably some guy still living in his moms basement mad at the world cuz he's a loser so he wants to bring others down.

Hall monitors do this kind of thing.

I can think of a couple of examples from these forums.

[Boldrin]

Hall monitors do this kind of thing.

I can think of a couple of examples from these forums.

Well they can monitor this... SUCK my ****!!!!

[ShadowFox1978]

Sorry to hear about this. You all are a great bunch and I would hate to lose some of you over something as dumb as this. The dev's should spend more time fixing an unplayable game and less harassing customers.

[Scooter]

I'm pretty sure you can't really trademark (or copyright) a phrase like "the free companions" or "the black company". You might try but it'd be unenforceable due to prior art, etc. If it was changed for a specific reason, it's probably just what I'd term an overzealous admin.

You can. And you certainly can enforce it when its used in the same context as the original trademark.

McDonalds can't use the trademark "Show me the beef."

It probably just isnt worth the risk for Turbine to allow such things.


We might all want to lighten up, not just the dweeb who reported it.

[Boulderun]

It's unlikely that actual developers have anything to do with this kind of activity. It falls more in the GM / customer service area, who we determined long ago are 100% useless.

[Cuchilo]

TFC just changed back to Thre Free Companions. CORRECTION: On the who page they are listed correctly, but if you eyeball one of them its wrong. I really wanna hear what happened with this.

/me grabs popcorn and waits for a dev to please explain.

[Riorik]

You can. And you certainly can enforce it when its used in the same context as the original trademark.

McDonalds can't use the trademark "Show me the beef."

It probably just isnt worth the risk for Turbine to allow such things.


We might all want to lighten up, not just the dweeb who reported it.

I agree but disagree - if there's examples of this in the public domain, you can try to trademark/copyright/patent (depending on what precisely we're discussing) - but it can be challenged later.

[Dark_Helmet]

Oh, I see why they changed it. How cute, someone must have reported the name after reading Conan books. Geeze, some folks need to get a real life and quit sticking their noses into other people's business. ( I hope you read this whomever you are.)

Considering the term "The Free Companions" was used going back at least to the 1300s, I fail to see how modern books (such as the Conan or The Well of Echoes series) could ever take common terms and prevent their usage.

It was a common term used during the era of Peter The Cruel. It is based on The Free Companies in history and is not a proper name or historical figure.

ABOUT the middle of the year 1365 a formidable expedition set out from France for the invasion of Castile. It consisted of the celebrated Free Companies, marauding bands of French and English knights and archers whose allegiance was to the sword, and who, having laid waste France, now sought fresh prey in Spain. Valiant and daring were these reckless freebooters, bred to war, living on rapine, battle their delight, revel their relaxation. For years the French and English Free Companies had been enemies. Now a truce existed between their princes, and they had joined hands under the leadership of the renowned knight Bertrand du Guesclin, at that time the most famous soldier of France. Sir Hugh de Calverley headed the English bands, known as the White Company, and made up largely of men-at-arms, that is, of heavy armed horsemen; but with a strong contingent of the formidable English archers. The total force comprised more than twelve thousand men.

Clearly, if this was the case, you could never use any name ever mentioned in the Bible as well as there are books of baby names which would preclude any proper name; Encyclopedias which would preclude any other normal word. Heck, that means that any one who has the word Dungeon and / or Dragon in their Guild name shall also be vanquished? How about the word barbarian?


Just because another game systems steals from history should not preclude our usage.


I think the proof falls back onto Turbine for the "proof" that the term is copyrighted or is a trademark.

QED

[maddmatt70]

Pretty disappointing - I hope this gets resolved and the free companions get their name back. Great guild full of good people, who are great ambassadors to the game.