3D Realms made some games you may have heard of in the past, such as Wolfenstein and Duke Nukem. They recently launched a new game called "Ion Maiden." This upset Iron Maiden and they decided to sue the game makers for $2 million.
The band claims confusion in the marketplace.
The suit implies that the title of the game is “incredibly blatant” trademark infringement trying to "trade off of Iron Maiden’s notoriety.” The band claims the game will "cause confusion among consumers" and notes that the game “is nearly identical to the Iron Maiden trademark in appearance, sound and overall commercial impression.” For the record, here is the game's logo, which does not remind me of Iron Maiden too much, but I guess I wouldn't be classified as a casual gamer:
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Maiden also makes the claim that "Ion Maiden" bares too strong a resemblance to their own mobile game, Legacy of the Beast. They even try to link the main character of the game, Shelley Harrison, to Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris.
Naturally, they claim the skull in the logo is a rip off of their mascot Eddie.
3D Realms has responded to the suit, calling it frivolous:
(1/4) We’ve recently heard about a lawsuit filed in California by the band Iron Maiden, claiming our old-school first-person shooter Ion Maiden (@Bombshell_Game) is infringing on their trademark.
From what we’ve heard, the suit claims our main character…
— 3D Realms (@3DRealms) May 30, 2019
… (2/4) Shelly Harrison, originally debuting in 2016’s Bombshell, is based on their musician Steve Harris; our skull bomb icon found in-game is based on their skeleton mascot Eddie; our logo in itself is based on theirs; and other frivolous claims anyone who has played…
— 3D Realms (@3DRealms) May 30, 2019
(3/4)… Ion Maiden would find more over the top than Shelly’s “Loverboy”, her signature 18-round triple-barreled revolver.
We at 3D Realms, our co-publishers 1C Entertainment, and developer Voidpoint will review our options once we receive official notice of the…
— 3D Realms (@3DRealms) May 30, 2019
(4/4)… lawsuit and will make any necessary decisions at the appropriate time.
Regardless, everyone continues to work diligently on Ion Maiden to deliver the best possible experience later this year.
— 3D Realms (@3DRealms) May 30, 2019
