Iconic heavy metal band Iron Maiden and its holding company have filed a lawsuit against the publishers of a video game called Ion Maiden for trademark infringement.
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Released last year, Ion Maiden is the latest game to be published by 3D Realms, the company behind Duke Nukem 3D, Prey, Max Payne, and more. The lawsuit claims the Ion Maiden name and brand is “incredibly blatant” trademark infringement and could create “confusion among consumers”.
“Defendant’s Ion Maiden name is nearly identical to the Iron Maiden trademark in appearance, sound and overall commercial impression,” the complaint says. “Defendant also uses the Ion Maiden name to sell merchandise including shirts and mouse pads.”
The lawsuit also notes that Iron Maiden has sold computer games in the past and that 3D Realms’ trademark for Ion Maiden is a “virtually identical imitation” of the band’s.
The band’s holding company wants US $2 million ($2.89M), along with forcing 3D Realms to give up the ionmaiden.com domain and to stop using the name in general, as it’s “confusingly similar” to Iron Maiden’s.
Now, I understand that the band has a case here, but come the fuck on, man. Ion Maiden is an indie game, it’s probably not raking in trucks of cash. For the band to turn around and crack the legal whip at them feels gross and unnecessary, particularly when we’re talking about a fucking metal band.
According to The Wealth Record, Iron Maiden has a net worth of $125 million and are more than capable of generating up to nearly US $3 million in gross ticket sales per fucking show. That’s not even taking into consideration album and merch sales. It’s not like them or their interested parties are short of cash.
And fuck, I seriously doubt anyone is actually getting Ion Maiden confused with Iron Maiden or their own shitty video games anyway.
