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Breaking: Palladium Books sues Trion Worlds over "Rifts" title
by Rubi Bayer 
May 11th 2010
Back at the end of April, we heard a fair amount of news from Trion Worlds, including the name change of Heroes of Telara. The name change came about during testing and development as the game's portals or "rifts" emerged as a central feature of the game, inspiring the new name Rift: Planes of Telara.
Evidently MMO fans weren't the only ones that heard this news. Palladium Books has filed a lawsuit citing trademark infringement of the name of Palladium's popular long-standing RPG, similarly titled "Rifts." If you're unfamiliar with the title, Palladium's version of Rifts is a PnP game centered around rifts that open on earth, exposing the players to monsters and elements from many other lands -- a very familiar concept. Rifts is Palladium's primary and most familiar IP, so they are understandably anxious to protect it.
Not much is known about the lawsuit at this point other than "it was filed." Basic details such as the parties involved and Palladium's sources are available, and we'll keep our eye out for more information over the next few weeks.
Source massively
Comments
Trion has very little to worry about. At most we might see a name change, dropping the word Rift, but even that is unlikely.
I have to say - when I first heard about this game I wondered if it was based on Rifts. That made me interested and that is what the basis of the suit would be.
In my case they were right. Chances are though. yeah. . just a name change if even that.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
Palladium get the name back then stop fu$5&ng around and make a Rifts mmo of your own pls.
The first thing I thought of when I read about this game was Palladium's Rifts game. It's more than just borrowing the name, but the element that various types of monters are coming through the Rifts is part of the core of the Rifts pen and paper game. The Rifts pen and paper game does use a lot of various elements of fantasy, sci-fi and even cyberpunk, so someone else making something similar is inevitable, but Trion Worlds seemed to borrow rather heavily.
The concept of Rifts, and inter-planer invasions / travel is a core part of many fantasy and fiction literature and games. Palladium did not invent the concept, nor is it unique, and only their particular IP can be copyrighted. Trion has absolutely nothing to worry about regarding the Rift concept or gameplay, even that both games are RPGs.
The only concern might be with the Rift: Planes of Telara name itself. Palladium has the name Rifts trademarked, and though Trion is walking a fine line with their name, it is still not the same exact name that Palladium has trademarked. I'm sure Trion's lawyers prepared for this when the change occured. That said, I'm not too fond of Telara's new name anyway.
It went from HoT to PoT. While both are good things, I understand why you don't like the new name. Also agree that Trion really has nothing to worry about. At most, another name change. What if they changed it to Portal: Planes of Telara? Valve would probably get upset, eh? Trademarks!
LOL - Beware the wrath of Gabe Newell!
The very first thing I thought about during the reveal of Trions games was how similar the concept and name was to the palladium game.
It also made me sad that there is no rifts game yet.
Never heard of Rifts. The concept reminded me of Oblivion.
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Delanor
Here's some pearls for free, on the house. Save the company time, energy, and money fighting this one. Call it Telara: Passages, Passages of Telara, or Passage: Planes of Telara, or hell, how 'bout just plain old "Telara", tell Rifts to pack it, and be done with the whole thing. At the very least, Rift: Planes of Telara sounds too unoriginal anyhow.
Edit: Couple more, Telara: Gateways or Gateways of/to Telara
Your fail comment, failed.
Ningen wa ningen da.
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http://twitter.com/Ciovala
Wikipedia-Rifts
The wiki page does a decent job describing the game in case you wanted to see the similarities.
Planes of Telara.
There, fixed it....Carry on.
This will likely be the defense Trion takes
The retort will be: "it is a popular pnp rpg that has been around for 20 years ... where da hell has your head been buried for the last 20 years?!"
*judge forces name change*
/end yar.
You stay sassy!
Marvel has sued/threatened and won over naming in super hero genre games. I believe the basis of validity is hinged on how similar the genres are. RIFTS could techinically argue that their fanatasy rpg is very similar to Trions work and shares direct marketing especially if RIFTS ever grants rights to an mmo.
I expect a name change but who knows what might play out.
You stay sassy!
The concept used dates back to the dawn of mankind. I doubt the lawsuit is about the concept. Just about the name.
Btw, I also never heard of these games before:
RIFT Games
Cosmic Rift
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Dark Rift
Chasm: The Rift
Time Rift
Koronis Rift
RiftSpace
The list of games containing the word rift probably goes on and on. Perhaps they should all sue eachother.
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Delanor
I can also see this happening, but tbh i had never heard of rifts and i have been playing rpg pnp games for the last 20 years lol, shoot me for being a nub but i have honestly never heard of Rifts pnp before today.
As I said in the other thread, I find it outrageus. Rift is a normal word! What will come next, a copyright on "hello"? Laughable American law system! (sorry... but a nation where a person can sue a company because coffee is hot for 2 million dollar HAS a laughable law system).
I personally feel that Trion was not intentionally trying to copy anything from Palladium. But on the other hand I can understand how Palladium might feel threatened. They should just work together. Trion pays Palladium to license the game officially and thus be able to use some of the cooler ideas of Rifts. This would help Palladium with extra revenue and it would help Trion by bringing in some of the Rifts fans. Win win situation. Why fight?
your argument is just stupid. Rift:_______ is much different. You are calling the game Rift. The ":" creates a subtitle. I love when people that do not understand grammar fight about grammatic stuff.
Apple has been a fruit around since the dawn of complex plants yet when used as a trade marked label Steve Jobs would have a few serious issues with anyone trying to use it with regards to computers.
The issue resides with using a trade marked brand label on a similar, competing model. If a pnp rpg used RIFT or RIFTS as their name every single judge on the planet would rule in Palladiums favor. What will be determined is if a fantasy mmo is considered the same genre (perhaps Palladium holds rights specifically to the name's use for any mmo in the future ... we will have to see).
Looking at the details behind Palladiums trade mark on RIFTS will make it clear I am sure. Regional laws will also apply. Some games have different names throughout different countries but I do not think that would be prefered for an mmo trying to form brand recognition.
I have to say I keep seeing people use the argument that a common word cannot be trade marked. That is utterly and completely false.
I'll point out that I couldn't care less over who wins but it is interesting drama I guess
You stay sassy!
The name itself would put it in direct competition with Palladium, should they ever make a video game based on thier own game; something that they have considered and even attempted in the past.
Palladium is very familiar with naming/ copyright infringements, they themselves had to change the name of one of their PnP RPG books. Nightbane was originally titled Nightspawn, or some such stuff.
It's nothing to do with content. If Trions game turns out to get a reputation for being an abysmal mess, it could impact palladium's ability to sell a game based on their own IP, just because people may make a connection between Trion's game and Palladium's due to similar names.
It's not just that they use the word Rift. Rifts is just a single book out of dozens of books that Palladium has published. Every book after Rifts is named just like Tions game. Rifts: Wormwood, Rifts: Lonestar, Rifts: Coalition, Rifts: Mercenaries, etc.
And copyright enforcement isn't just a US law. Pretty much every civilized nation enforces patents, trademarks, and copyrights. It's the IP equivalent of someone running around your hometown, using your name, and giving you a bad reputation. Palladium has the right to protect the marketability of their IP.
The woman who sued McDonald's over the coffee sustained 3rd degree burns and had to have multiple surgeries involving skin grafts in order to correct the damage. It cost her thousands of dollars in medical bills; not to mention the pain of undergoing skin grafts. This is a part of the suit that people never hear about, or tend to overlook. Another silly part of it is that McDonald's admitted to not just making their coffee hot, but hot enough to seriously injure an individual. They do this for one reason, they found that most people who buy their coffee are usually buying for others, and that the coffee tends to not be consumed until about a half hour after purchase. They make the coffee so friggin hot so that half an hour after you purchase it it will STILL be hot. I won't drink coffee from McDonald's for this one reason, it's to friggin hot to drink! I can go to a Wawa and get a cup of coffee that I can drink immediately. Believe it or not, there is a world of dif. between a HOT beverage and an EXTREMELY HOT beverage, and if you give people a cup of liquid that is LITERALLY JUST SHY OF BOILING TEMPATURES, they need to know.
Marvel sued Cryptic and NCSoft over City of Heroes. They claimed copyright violations because players could not just create characters that looked like Marvel superheroes, they could give them the same abilities and NAME. They claimed that Cryptic was using this ability as a means to sell the game. Basically it's ok to create a giant, green skinned, invinsible guy, but you can't name him Hulk; which a LOT of people did.
Considering that they probably have more than a weak case against Trion. Curious to see how this ends.
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Delanor
I'm an American, but I completely agree with you.
It is a law system that rewards the idiots that lack enough common sense to know that a cup of coffee is usually served 'hot'. Hell, why have common sense when you don't have to it, you don't need it, and the system will hold your hand for you. This is why this country now breeds complete imbeciles and I believe our government wants it that way, hence we become more dependent upon government.
Don't even get me started on the epidemic running rampant in this country in regards to people and their lack of responsibility for one's own actions.
Having said all that, I can say with almost 100% certainty that Trion will be forced to change the name. Say what you will about "I'm sure they have lawyers, that looked into...". If that is indeed the case, they need to hire new lawyers. You can't use a name that has been trademarked specifically for something that so closely resembles the idea/service that the trademarked name stands for.
Your fail comment, failed.
The problem with that is, it sort of shoots Palladium in the foot with the marketing of their own computer games that might be in the works. I think Palladium does have a good base to stand on with this lawsuit, considering I went to the games website and read the page on what the rifts were and thought to myself "Wow, they are stepping reallly close to Rifts..." I guess I'm not the only person who thought this. But as I stated before, Palladium cant just sit back and let Trion go, because when the Rifts games come out then Trion can turn around and sue Palladium. Mostly because they didnt defend their IP when they had the chance......Such a great legal system eh?