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Sony wants to trademark "Let's play", or streaming or something...

Nineshadow
By Nineshadow
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You've heard of a "Let's Play" video, right? That's a common term for YouTube videos featuring video game commentary and gameplay. People have built careers out of this kind of content (folks like Pewdiepie, Game Grumps, Markiplier and others) and it's a fairly ubiquitous term -- which makes it all the more weird that Sony is apparently trying to trademark it. Really.

The trademark filing was discovered by users on NeoGaf earlier this week, and it describes a service focusing on the "electronic transmission and streaming of video games via global and local computer networks." In other words, its a trademark on gaming videos just like the kind the community already describes as "Let's Play" videos. This is problematic for obvious reasons -- Sony seems to be attempting to take trademarked ownership of a entertainment style created by the community itself. It's also strange for less obvious reasons: the term "Let's Play" is ancient in internet terms.

Dive deep into the history of the world wide web, and you'll find pre-YouTube "Let's Play" threads on Something Awful's gaming forum dating back over ten years. These simple screenshot and caption galleries eventually evolved into videos, then YouTube channels. Now entire businesses are based on the concept -- including one YouTube channel with over three million subscribers simply named "Let's Play." That's a lot of common use history. So why is Sony trying to trademark it?

One theory is that it's simply being registered for use in an ad campaign. That's reasonable, but the trademark specifically describes "streaming of video games." Perhaps Sony is seeking to re-brand the PlayStation 4's Twitch streaming application? At this point, it's unclear. Either way, it's probably not an issue: the trademark is in "non-final action" status, which usually means the application was sent back because something was wrong. Still, we've reached out to Sony for official comment and will let you know if we hear anything.

 

SOURCE:http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/08/sony-is-trying-to-trademark-lets-play-videos/

Trademark application : https://trademarks.justia.com/868/01/let-s-86801899.html

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

This is pretty bad. The description is way too vague.

 

Electronic transmission and streaming of video games via global and local computer networks; streaming of audio, visual, and audiovisual material via global and local computer networks

That defines all of Let's Play videos, but I don't think that is what it is about. I think it's about game streaming , something like the Nvidia Shield. But then, it could also be game livestreaming , like Twitch. It could be any video of any game sent through any network. It's way way too vague.

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You heard it here first

Sony invented 

Electronic transmission and streaming of video games via global and local computer networks

RyanTheCanadian

Network Administration / Systems Management and Security / White Hat

 

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Yawn...

 

Good luck, Sony.

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Pretty sure they're aiming for "Game streaming" services like nvidia shield and cloud gaming, not "lets play" videos...

 

At least it sounds a LOT more like they're going for those kinds of services, all hinges on that "Local computer networks" part, lets plays are not streamed locally.

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I wonder what Achievement Hunter thinks of this..

 

 

(They own the YouTube channel "Let's Play")

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Oh, for God's sake...

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on the bright side, no more Minecraft Let's Play :D 

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Pretty sure they're aiming for "Game streaming" services like nvidia shield and cloud gaming, not "lets play" videos...

At least it sounds a LOT more like they're going for those kinds of services, all hinges on that "Local computer networks" part, lets plays are not streamed locally.

Yeah, that sounds more like it, even though we also have had streaming of video games before. Anyway, it's a bad trademark application because it's so vague. It could be Let's Plays, streaming, or any kind of recorded video game videos sent through a network.

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Sony's first step on being a patent troll

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

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Sony's first step on being a patent troll

 

The walk down the path blazed by a little known company called "nintendo" begins...

I make bad life decisions.

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Yeah, that sounds more like it, even though we also have had streaming of video games before. Anyway, it's a bad trademark application because it's so vague. It could be Let's Plays, streaming, or any kind of recorded video game videos sent through a network.

 

I'll have to take a look at the full patent, but pretty sure the source either has confirmation bias, or just wants to stir the waters with a catchy headline.

Either way, this patent won't pass so long as at least 5 minutes of research is done, and even if it does it will be challenged all over the place, you're right that that particular phrasing is far too vague and leaves too much to be interpreted.

 

 

 

The walk down the path blazed by a little known company called "nintendo" begins...

 

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it would be like filling a patent for the human lungs

then I could sue anybody who uses them

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I was going to post this earlier but waited cause there was no article to quote and make the post nice, I saw it here: https://trademarks.justia.com/868/01/let-s-86801899.html

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-.- really, GL with that though

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Patent trolling at its finest...

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

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If "candy" and "saga" can be trademarked, this shouldn't be a problem for Sony to obtain

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I'll have to take a look at the full patent, but pretty sure the source either has confirmation bias, or just wants to stir the waters with a catchy headline.

Either way, this patent won't pass so long as at least 5 minutes of research is done, and even if it does it will be challenged all over the place, you're right that that particular phrasing is far too vague and leaves too much to be interpreted.

It's not a patent.
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HA hopefully this will be rejected as it should since you can't trade mark a widely adopted subject unless the concept is unique (apple computers vs a regular apple), and if it isn't rejected we can be assured sony bribed someone and should see them as the crap company they are.

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Why have all corporations gone full retard?

Ketchup is better than mustard.

GUI is better than Command Line Interface.

Dubs are better than subs

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I would be surprised if they didn't get the patient, to be honest...

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The idea of trying to patent a well know phrase that has existed for a decade is stupid in the first place.  Like why, why do you need this Sony?

 

 

 

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HaHa, KeK

 

Is that like a crappy league ripoff?

I make bad life decisions.

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