What should we trademark?

We have some game development software called Construct 2. We are based in the UK.

As far as we are aware, we're the only business with game development software called Construct.

We'd like to protect this name. Looking far far ahead, we may even release Construct 3.

• Should we/can we register a trademark application for Construct, or does it have to be specific and be Construct 2?
• If we have another piece of software we want to develop in the future (for example lets call it Blue Bannanas ), can we trademark this name in advance?

This is a U.S. focused answer but most of it likely applies in the U.K.

"Construct" is a weak trademark. The reason is that it is a common word and I am guessing that it is also descriptive of your product. For these reasons, you will likely have other people who are or who will want to use the same mark or a similar mark. This doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get a trademark on this name (though maybe you can't), but it will be a weaker mark and you will have to live with other people using similar names for similar products.

For Blue Bananas, in the U.S. you can start the trademark process before that software is ready to launch (this is called intent to use ), but you can't actually get the trademark until the product is ready to launch. You can keep this process going for awhile in case development is taking longer than expected.

Of course you should file paperwork for the naming rights to your game.

For all you know, you could be the next cult-hit, a-la Angry Birds or Halo, and really, really want to protect your IP.

Wether you file for ' Construct ' or ' Construct 2 ', it shouldn't matter. Obviously when you file it will declare that this is a video game (or framework for building video games? I was a little confused by your verbiage). By formally filing, you make sure someone can't hijack your IP (intellectual Property) and simply re-release your game.

Look at this story - a popular, but relatively lower tier game called TorchLight 2, a Diablo clone, had all of its artwork stolen and used for an iOS game. Luckily, they had a moderate legal defense and protected themselves. Link Here Always do the minimum legal steps to protect yourself from massive headaches down the road.

Disclaimer : I am not a lawyer, just speaking from personal experience and research. Dont come running to me in a few years if something awful happens.

This is what I have learned from grad school:

In the US you own copyright just by making the logo into material form (business card, site, etc.). You can register the copyright for $60 which adds it to the national registry so others can look up and see you registered it. This give you a better chance of winning an infringement lawsuit if you can prove that there are significant monetary damages by proving you want to protect it and when you protected it.

Each specific logo/copy has to be in the public domain for 4 years before it can be trademarked. This has to be maintained by keeping it public. So any variation including old logos have to remain in public for the trademark to avoid being considered abandoned. Which is why many companies still have 'retro' versions of their designs.

But basically you own the copyright just by making the logo and that's usually enough to win a court case if you have to to go court. Typically the threat of lawsuit and a mean cease and desist will suffice.

I'd recommend paying the $60 if you are concerned and definitely check this out: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp Also, the US and UK have been continuing to make steps to coordinate intellectual property rules. Read this: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/about/press/press-release/press-release-2010/press-release-20100922.htm Hope this helps!