Trenched trademark man vows to fight on

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 11 July, 2011

Wants to turn board game into video game.

The designer preventing Double Fine's Trenched from releasing in Europe has vowed to continue his trademark battle with Microsoft, Eurogamer can reveal.

Last month Eurogamer broke the news that Xbox Live Arcade game Trenched was blocked from release in certain parts of Europe because of a trademark held by abstract board game Trench.

The trademark, filed by Portuguese board game designer Rui Alípio Monteiro in 2009, covers both board games and computer games.

Trench, the board game, like Double Fine's Trenched, focuses on military strategy and army ranks and is set in the World War I era.

Now, Monteiro, through Portuguese company Criações a Solo, has issued a statement to Eurogamer that reveals his side of the Trenched trademark battle story – and his plans to turn Trench into a video game. It is reproduced here in full:

"The board is in the shape of a diamond with two horizontal lines suggesting the Trenches, and the pieces are pyramid-shaped. All this symbolizes a classic military confrontation on real battlefields.

"The game has an elegant design, innovative and solid game dynamics. On the line of the great classic games, it has the potential to be played and sold all over the globe.

"Always bearing the international market in mind, and after legal advice, Rui Alípio Monteiro registered the brand both in Portugal and internationally. In September 2009, he was granted the Trademark Registration Certificate for Trench nº 007508501 in the European Union. On 18th June 2010 he applied for the Trademark Registration of Trench in the USA, whose registration was granted on the 15th March 2011 under the Register nº 85066103.

"He also owns the international Certificates regarding the visual aspect of the game and components. Although the original idea was to produce a board game, he has also registered the trademark for electronic Games, since part of Rui Alípio Monteiro's global project is to turn Trench into an appealing electronic game, already in the development phase.

"Criações a Solo has paid full attention to this leading project and the game gained a reputable list of triumphs filled with praise from both private and public Portuguese entities.

"All this has put Criações a Solo in evidence during their presence at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2011 in Germany. Those who appreciate strategy games became very interested on Trench, including Chess fans. Thus, we can say that the Portuguese entrepreneurs and creators are conquering their well-deserved place internationally.

"Currently, Trench is on the production phase by the hand of the well-know Portuguese publisher Runadrake, LDA. and has already an exclusive distributor for Portugal and Spain, SR. BRINQUEDO, LDA. Many news are still to come regarding Trench, that will be at the next Essen Fair in Germany.

"Criações a Solo of Rui Alípio Monteiro and the pioneer project Trench are not related to and are chronologically previous to the XBLA game named Trenched, recently launched by Microsoft.

"This company, until the present date, has never contacted nor has any relation with Rui Alípio Monteiro. Criações a Solo and Rui Alípio Monteiro, taking into account all investment already made, cannot do anything else but to obviously defend all their author's copyright and intellectual property against any infringements, as any designer would, and perpetuate their creation with the main goal of putting Trench in the international Hall of Fame of both classic electronic and board games."

In a further development, on Friday our Portuguese colleagues Eurogamer.pt noticed Monteiro's Trench website had been defaced by a hacker called Mr. ShKrEb. A screenshot of the website taken on Friday evening is below.

Monteiro's defence of his trademark could mean a long European delay for Trenched while trademark issues are resolved. Alternatively, Double Fine could re-release the game in Europe under a different name.

Trenched emerged on schedule in the US last month but failed to appear in Europe. At the time, Microsoft stated the delay was due to "unexpected challenges with distribution".

Microsoft is yet to respond to Eurogamer's request for comment.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Shikasama #1 11 months ago

    Can someone, somewhere please release an official statement without using the word 'innovative'.

    You all spend so much time innovating it's amazing most games look and play the same these days.

  • rowsdower #2 11 months ago

    Replace the mech models with medieval barmaids and have done with it. You can call it "Wenched".

  • Dizzy #3 11 months ago

    Oh noes a board game with the name Trench!!!??

    Maybe he should look up other games?

    http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch....

    Looks like MS will kick his ass hard. There is even a WW1 game called Trench from 1975!!!
    Edited by Dizzy at 11/07/11 @ 15:41

  • estel #4 11 months ago

    If he was granted the trademark in the US back in March, is there a reason that they didn't challenge the game's release there too?

  • matrim83 #5 11 months ago

    Cant they just rename the game to avoid these trademark piranhas?

  • vibroguy #6 11 months ago

    if he held the EU and US trademark, then why wasn't it delayed in the states?

  • jonbwfc #7 11 months ago

    Wait, 2009 is 'old' now?

  • southpaw #8 11 months ago

    Got it on my US account. play it regularly on my UK account. Suck on that Monteiro.
    Edited by southpaw at 11/07/11 @ 15:46

  • rockavitch #9 11 months ago

    To be fair there are rules to trademarking and this guy seemed to follow them so I'm going to have to take his side here and say bad luck to Microsoft, I doubt they'd be doing anything different if roles were reversed.

  • randompanda #10 11 months ago

    Haha, what's with the image?

  • superfurry #11 11 months ago

    Can't see why they don't just change the name. We managed with Star Fox/Star Wing/Lylat Wars.

  • TheJuriel #12 11 months ago

    Oh, cunt.

    Abstract game ruins an actual game, yay.

  • Fozzie_bear #13 11 months ago

    Cant they just rename the game to avoid these trademark piranhas?

    Well, they could do, couldn't they?

    Bit unfair to call him a piranha. He's got a TM for his game and it covers electronic games too. Why should he be forced to change the name of the videogame version of his own game when he has a TM?

    He's hardly Tim Langdell, is he?

  • Shikasama #14 11 months ago

    How is he a trademark piranha?

    This is so far removed from anything even remotely like the Langdell fiasco, but people just see 'GAME NOT RELEASED BECAUSE OF TRADEMARK' and jump to conclusions without actually reading anything.

  • giant_frying_pan #15 11 months ago

    I imagine this will be resolved with a settlement between the two parties, either a monetary agreement or perhaps a publishing deal from Microsoft. This doesn't seem like a typical patent troll or squatting situation. But I do hope it's resolved quickly, as I'm keen to play Trenched but don't really want to buy it on another account.

  • Embra #16 11 months ago

    Got to agree with rockavitch. These things happen often, we just never hear about it. Change the name of Trenched, life goes on. At least the Portugese chap actually produced a game and did everything above board (yay! A pun!). What this isn't is another "Edge McEdgy of the Edge" situation.

  • ZuluHero #17 11 months ago

    I think matrim83 was talking about Double Fine?

  • CaptainQuint #18 11 months ago

    EG reading like The Sun again. Sensational trash filled with a strong whiff of personal agenda.

    Since when has 2009 been "old"?

    The man appears to have a valid objection to the usage of the term and he shouldn't be demonised for legally owning a property which happens to clash with the title of the latest video game.

    I'm already on the side of Double Fine here - I don't need EG to coerce me into it.

  • CptFantastic #19 11 months ago

    Wow...and negotiating a 20% royalty fee for a game that's on the edge of being released and not having to break out a sweat?
    Crikey, some Portuguese people are insanely stupid.

  • Daeltaja #20 11 months ago

    What a dick. Won't allow the release of an actual game that people have made because he might fancy making a game someday?

    Ugh.

  • lolercopter #21 11 months ago

    Considering how terribly Microsoft Portugal handles the Xbox brand over here it's not surprising I haven't heard anything about them approaching Monteiro regarding the trademark. Change Trenched's name and everything will be Double Fine. Zing.

  • Whitster #22 11 months ago

    So his game is called Trench and the other game is called Trenched?

    That's two different words, whats the problem here?

  • GAmbrose #23 11 months ago

    Apparently one of the mechs is called Trench?

  • sonicyoda #24 11 months ago

    Legal stuff is confusing.

  • geeza2020 #25 11 months ago

    Trenches, Trenched, Trencher, The trench, trench war, I am Trench, Return of the Trench, World War Trench, Trench vs Trench - heres a few different names to get you started MS. Leave the little portugeuse fella alone!

  • ONI5 #26 11 months ago

    MS will show him a presentation of how much he will lose in legal fees and make him give up.

  • frunk #27 11 months ago

    @rowsdower
    Replace the mech models with medieval barmaids and have done with it. You can call it "Wenched".

    Unfortunately for them there is already a card game based drinking game around women called "Wench" :)

    I will be at Essen this year (again) - I will report back how Trench plays!

  • lordofthedunce #28 11 months ago

    This isn't a real legal battle until Rui Alípio Monteiro does an ill-advised rap in front of his webcam and posts it on Youtube.

  • thegogsunit #29 11 months ago

    This game better be good if it ever comes out here

  • Shikasama #30 11 months ago

    The impressive aspect of this is that there is supposed to be some level of due diligence to avoid exactly this sort of thing.

    I remember the guy from Split/Second saying they had an arse of a time trying to get a name that would be suitable and legal across Europe on the EG podcast.

  • cowell #31 11 months ago

    Correct! If the Double Fine lawyers had actually done their job, they wouldnt even be in this situation. Its a basic part of creating a product to make sure you have ownership of the name.

    This guy is hardly a trademark troll. He actually has a product and its even in the same ballpark.

    DF just need to get on, rename it, rework the game. Problem is for them, will the cost of reworking the game with a new title actually be offset by the sales it generates over her? Most Live Arcade titles have a short life and every passing day, as the global PR buzz diminishes, is seeing the demand reduce. It would not surprise me if this wasn't cost effective to change or to fight in court and the game remains exclusive to NA.

  • brseg #32 11 months ago

    Surprised that big companies mess up with this stuff. The guy has a perfectly valid trademark (I assume), and has to protect it. Just change the name, move on. My contribution: 'Trounced' - appropriate in the situation ;)

  • zabou #33 11 months ago

    Totally agree

    What’s really a shame is that not only a big company messes up big time, but gamers immediately take there side not knowing all the facts. “The hell with the Portuguese. We want to play!!!!! Poor MS! They must be right!” Well they were/are not. Here comes a guy, who has an idea, works hard to bring it to life, followed all the procedures and at the end he’s a troll, a thief, a mother f… Worth, not only MS messes up big time, but they also decided to proceed with the illegal release in America, they don't have the license!!!. And why???? Because they probably think the Portuguese guy won’t get them there!! Shame on them. They should have assumed there mistake contacted the guy, made an agreement and problem solved. They don’t even contacted him, what the f..k!!!!! And here we are pissed of because we want to play, but MS just don’t give a dame to us, they are expecting us to buy it via a US account. But I won’t. I am European, I want to buy it here won’t give a cent to a disrespectful company, won’t take part of that illegal solution. When we have a company we don’t always make benefits, sometimes we have to lose money too.

    @ FRUNK don’t forget to tell us then, I am curious about that board game now, and if it’s good, I’ll buy it.

  • yoomazir #34 11 months ago

    he wants the phat cash

  • tomjoadsghost #35 11 months ago

    Isnt it amazing that its games with such listless uninspiring titles which are causing all the problems

  • kangarootoo #36 11 months ago

    "Cant they just rename the game to avoid these trademark piranhas?"

    That clearly doesn't apply in this case.


    @Daeltaja

    "Won't allow the release of an actual game that people have made because he might fancy making a game someday?"

    Oh read the article you lazy tit, ffs.

  • scuffpuppies #37 11 months ago

    "....to turn Trench into an appealing electronic game, already in the development phase"
    ______________________________

    Bullshit. He probably never thought about it until realising the free publicity he's received. I can see him now, sat in front of his four year old PC reading 'C++ for Dummies'

  • jon1138 #38 11 months ago

    "If the Double Fine lawyers had actually done their job, they wouldnt even be in this situation"

    @cowell : Double Fine doesn't own the IP. It's Microsoft...

  • RobotRocker #39 11 months ago

    He's a complete moron if he plans to fight it though. Better way would be to charge MS a one time fee for the use of the name and then use that money to fund his own game instead of pissing his own money away fighting Microsoft's high priced lawyers.

  • WinterSnowblind #40 11 months ago

    @cowell
    Yeah, it's a shame but sales for the game over here are going to be terrible (assuming we even get it!). Hype for the game was high when they were doing a lot of interviews and those GiantBomb QL's that made the game look hilarious.. but that's all dried up now. I've honestly lost interest and have moved on.

  • Harmonica #41 11 months ago

    So you have a classic style boardgame and a future videogame called Trench, how on earth does it affect another completely different game called TrenchED with mechs and shit? Seriously? Is there going to be any confusion? No. How many boardgames are there with similar or identical names to videogames? Thousands.

    Fuck trademark law up the ass. I could care less about both parties and hopefully they'll do us a favour and stop with their generic boring-named games for the future.
    Edited by Harmonica at 12/07/11 @ 00:12

  • Lee_Morris #42 11 months ago

    I love Double Fine, so this isn't a knock against them but why shouldn't this guy defend the trademark he registered 2 years ago. The blame for this lies solely at Microsoft's feet as the publishers. I cannot believe they didn't check to see whether it could be released, not just in a country but a whole continent. This really does highlight how focused they are on America and the reas of the world is really just an afterthought.

  • dagas #43 11 months ago

    How hard could it be to change the name? When Sega released the Dreamcast in EU they had to change the red swirl to a blue swirl and that was enough to prevent trademark issues.

  • UncleLou #44 11 months ago

    Cant they just rename the game to avoid these trademark piranhas?

    Owning a trademark, using it for your own product and defending it against similar trademarks does not make you a "trademark piranha", it's the basic essence of trademarks.
    Edited by UncleLou at 12/07/11 @ 09:27

  • DwarfyP #45 11 months ago

    So Trench is going to become a video game. Wonder what platforms. Obviously not Xbox anymore :)

  • KDR_11k #46 11 months ago

    2009 is old in terms of videogames, I guess videogame journalists apply the same logic to other markets.

  • Kami #47 11 months ago

    "if he held the EU and US trademark, then why wasn't it delayed in the states?"

    I give you... Tim Langdell as evidence that the USOPT is a useless, greedy bunch of corporate jack-suckers.

    It just seems we take patents and trademarks a bit more seriously this side of the pond.

  • Freek #48 11 months ago

    The man has an actual game with a publisher and has trademarked that. Nothing weird about that at all. This is soley Microsofts own fault for not doing proper research before creating Trenched.

  • glaeken #49 11 months ago

    Just rename it to EdgeofTrench. I can not see any problems with that.

  • 8bitMofo #50 11 months ago

    Get down with the kids and just call it TR3NCH3D.
    Edited by 8bitMofo at 12/07/11 @ 16:55

  • InsoFox #51 11 months ago

    Everything else aside, it's actually a bit of a bloody pain changing the name of a game, especially at last minute. So everyone who is saying 'why don't they just change the name?' they are probably doing that, but you don't just flip a switch.

  • schachmatt #52 11 months ago

    The portuguese Langdell.

    Trench and Trenched are two different words. I don't even know where the problem lies except for some low-life smelling the big money.

  • cyber_nicco #53 11 months ago

    Jesus, people. "Trench" and "Trenched" are not the same words! Does his trademark cover "Trenches", "Trenching", "Trencher", "Trench(...)"? How about "Entrenched"?

    Does his trademark cover everything having anything to do with trenches and warfare?