Futuremark tries to trademark ‘Pwnage’

Posted at: 4:23am 3rd March 2008 by Ben Hardwidge

What’s next – LHX Attack ROFLCOPTER?

You know something has stopped being cool when the big corporations takeover, and it looks as though l33t speak is about to join words such as ‘groovy’ and ‘dishy’ in the vocabulary of big companies trying to get down with the kids. Shortly after announcing its own games studio, 3DMark creator Futuremark has now attempted to trademark the word ‘pwnage.’

You can see the full application here, and it’s clear that Futuremark means business with the trademark, wanting it to cover everything from computer games to ‘motion picture films on fictional characters.’ The latter could be a problem for the guys at Pure Pwnage, who make their own comedy videos about life as gamers.

Among the other possible uses listed are ‘cases for mobile phones’ and ‘downloadable ring tones,’ which suggests that Futuremark either has big plans for ‘Pwnage’ as a brand, or it hasn’t decided quite what it’s going to do with the trademark yet.

Futuremark has so far declined to comment on the trademark application, and it has yet to be examined by an attorney. Is it a bit rich of Futuremark to try to trademark a term that’s been used by gamers for years, and how could Futuremark attempt to crack down on its use? Let us know your thoughts.

Via Trademork