No sooner than did GaymerCon gather enough financial backing to organize its first ever meeting in 2013 did a trademark issue — something that pisses off gamers of any orientation — arise with the name. “Gaymer” has been trademarked by the guy who owns gaymer.org, and he even sent a cease-and-desist letter over to Reddit for its r/gaymer subreddit. That didn’t bode well for GaymerCon.
While the convention’s organisers negotiated with Chris Vizzini, the trademark’s owner, for a shared-use agreement they strongly disputed that “gaymer” was anything more than a generic term with a long history of use in gaming’s vernacular. Vizzini insisted on a licensing deal, and the convention’s argument evidently means little under the law, as organisers have said the convention now will be called GaymerX. The community’s site, which has just launched, also is called GaymerConnect. There’s more of an explanation in the video above.
While I’m not entirely sure how changing “GaymerCon” to “GaymerX” gets this off Vizzin’s radar, unlike everyone else with Internet access, I’m not an expert in copyright and trademark law. Whatever the case, GaymerX is slated for Aug. 3-4 in San Francisco.
GaymerCon Renamed GaymerX [GamePolitics]
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