Iron Maiden Sues Ion Maiden

Video game's name, logo are way too similar to band's, lawsuit claims
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2019 2:34 PM CDT
Iron Maiden Sues Ion Maiden
Universal Music Enterprises New Iron Maiden Release EN VIVO! Tuesday, March 27, 2012.   (PRNewsFoto/Universal Music Enterprises)

Iron Maiden is a metal band. Ion Maiden is an "old-school first-person shooter" video game coming out later this year. Not surprisingly, the former is suing the latter over its similar name—and a number of other similarities, Kotaku reports. More specifically, the holding company for the British band is suing Ion Maiden's publisher, 3D Realms for $2 million, claiming the game's name, logo, and marketing are "an effort to confuse consumers into believing Defendant’s products and services are somehow affiliated with or approved by Iron Maiden." The aforementioned logo, for example, appears to be inspired by Iron Maiden's trademark "steelcut" logo, and, as CNN reports, the lawsuit claims the game itself has "the same look and feel" as Iron Maiden's own video game, Legacy of the Beast.

The suit, which also notes that the game's main character is named Shelly Harrison and argues that's a reference to Iron Maiden lead singer Steve Harris, says "customers who view Defendant’s video game and merchandise are likely to believe that Iron Maiden is somehow affiliated with Defendant" and lists several examples of consumers who mistakenly believed just that. The whole thing is an effort by the game publisher, the suit argues, to sell the game and its related merchandise. But on Twitter, 3D Realms says the lawsuit's claims are so "frivolous" that "anyone who has played Ion Maiden would find [them] more over the top than Shelly’s 'Loverboy,' her signature 18-round triple-barreled revolver." (More Iron Maiden stories.)

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