quote:
Originally posted by DuplicateMan:
"Champion" is probably as good a name as "Samson", "Hercules", or "Thor". I'm more worried about trademarks than copyrights. Though many of the characters roaming in my head are similar to some DC or Marvel characters, it shouldn't be too hard to make them unique. My "Champion" may have super strength, speed, and durability, but his origin and personality are VERY different from Superman's. However, like with superpowers, it seems that all the good names are already taken. Keeping away from the well-known names isn't that hard, but DC & Marvel have created thousands of characters, many of whom are obscure. How many good names are there for sorcerors or super-strong types or speedsters? And how many of those names are already taken? [sad] Of course this is academic; the odds of my stuff hitting the "big time" (or even the "small time") are very slim.
I don't know that success in this industry is entirely driven by a character's cool name or powers. Look at the Matrix, which has broad cross-demographic appeal. "NEO" isn't a name which is particularly descritive: its Latin for "new" and happens to be an anagram for "One".

Neo's appeal as a character is that of a typical Chosen One in a Quest. This is the sort of thing whihc you see typically in fantasy epics. with the Matrix, they've taken a time-honoured conept and given it a hi-tech gloss. (Its also mixed up with a great deal of human paranoia about the nature of reality, too - its a clever mix.)

Calling the main character "SUPERMAN" rather than the more ambiguous "NEO" would have hurt the story, not assisted in selling it.

I went to an interesting conference yesterday, and heard a bunch of marketing people talk about how the most appealing concepts for many consumers combined tradition with innovation. It seemed to me that this is exactly why LOEG has such a cult following.

But now we're getting into marketing, not law. If you're worried about trade marks, why not do a search of whatever you come up with to make sure no one else has got it registered? Its free and easy to use: www.uspto.gov is the site. Just follow the prompts.

Of course, this doesn't help you with the Lanham Act (I doubt, for example, that DC has the name "SINESTRO" registered as a trade mark, but they'd be able to successfully sue you if you used it).

quote:

many good names are there for sorcerors or super-strong types or speedsters? And how many of those names are already taken? [sad]
Names of Sorcerers Not Taken:

The Djinn of Fire
M'urrlin
Golden Kismet


Names of Strong Types Not Taken

Column
Impacta
I-beam

Names of Speedsters Not Taken

Lightdancer
Amok
Pace

Not that these are particularly brilliant, but it doesn't take too much imagination to come up with a superhero name which you think will have appeal. Look at Promethea, for example. I've noticed that superhero names are going gradually out of vogue, anyway: witness John Constantine, Cage, Cable (I know its not his real name but everyone thought it was for a long time), Lara Croft, Tom Strong.